Barratt Home Buying Process

ML420cdi

We are waiting for the second phase of a development to be 'released' and are interested in then purchasing a particular style of house that we saw on the first phase.

It seems the idea is that you put down £500 as a deposit and are then expected to 'exchange' 28 days later, at which point the 5% deposit would be payable.

Now each phase has a variety of house types and there is no way of knowing when the particular style we are interested in will start to be built let alone when it will be finished and ready to move in. Realistically I can't see there being a house to move into until some time next year.

Of course Barratt want us to use their financial advisors, some group called Torc24. I have talked to one of their reps and after they took some details confirmed we would be eligable for the governments HTB scheme.

Are they really going to be able to rush a mortgage through in 28 days?...I'm assuming they will otherwise they wouldn't be using this outfit am also assuming they will not overvalue the home otherwise again why would they be using their own people to arrange the finance?

Anyone else going through this process?...are there benefits of using an independent mortgage broker over the Torc24 crew?....on the assumption many people got there houses via them on the first phase I guess they know what they are doing?

Jolinar

Hi, we're just going through the process of buying a Barratt home. They talk about exchanging contracts in silly timescales, the reality is most solicitors will not exchange contracts until a mortgage offer is received and all the relevant searches are done, this most likely will take much longer than 28 days. We were given a date and that passed a few weeks ago, Barratts are happy to wait until everything is in place.


We used Mortgage Bureau for our mortgage, they aren't affiliated to Barratts it's just who they use in this area, maybe Torc24 are the same? Anyway the advisers did a good job and told us which mortgage we'd have the best chance of getting first time around and they chased up all the paperwork etc.


Good luck!

tomtontom

Can I suggest that before buying a Barratt home to you have a look at all the problems people have had with their properties? Sorry to be negative but better to know before you have committed thousands of pounds.

ML420cdi

tomtontom wrote: »

Can I suggest that before buying a Barratt home to you have a look at all the problems people have had with their properties? Sorry to be negative but better to know before you have committed thousands of pounds.

I think in years gone by their workmanship was somewhat dubious but they have won many more awards in recent years over other house builders. You rarely hear about all the happy Barratt home buyers on the internet.

horngkai

Moved into a Barratt build home in October. No major problems apart from the usual minor snags that you get for every new/old houses these days. The site manager been top notch and sorted everything out in a short timescale whenever I raised them even though as I said, my issues are mainly minor stuff.

I think it is largely dependant on the site manager rather than the company..... ask people who has already moved into the house and see what they say.

ethank

They will want you to speed through in 28 days, but you cannot apply if there is no availability until next year as a HTB authority to proceed only lasts 3 months from date of issue. A mortgage offer is valid for up to 6 months dependant on the lender.

kingstreet

ethank wrote: »

a HTB authority to proceed only lasts 3 months from date of issue

ATP gives three months to exchange, but ATE gives six months to completion, so it covers upto nine months in all.

Jolinar

tomtontom wrote: »

Can I suggest that before buying a Barratt home to you have a look at all the problems people have had with their properties? Sorry to be negative but better to know before you have committed thousands of pounds.

Google reviews for any major builder and none score highly, the people with problems are far more motivated to complain than the many more that are completely happy.

marlot

Jolinar wrote: »

Google reviews for any major builder and none score highly, the people with problems are far more motivated to complain than the many more that are completely happy.

Not quite true.

This survey shows some builders at 4-stars and others at 5-stars.

http://www.hbf.co.uk/policy-activities/customer-satisfaction-survey/2014-results/

Having looked at some of their work, I would never buy from a 4-star rated builder. Especially one who had been at 4-stars for a number of years. That indicates a severe quality problem, often from the top of the firm (in my view).

I'm not going to name names, but I saw from truly shocking building going on with one of them. Its a shame, as they have a design which my wife quite liked.

I'm fortunate, in that I used to work for one of the top (bespoke) builders, so know what I'm looking for. I can tell you that even amongst the 5-star builders there are some I'd buy from and some I'd check the build carefully. The MD of the firm I worked for would regularly spend a Sunday looking over the sites in a region, then re-visit with the regional build director first thing Monday morning. If the standard was right, bonuses followed. If not it could even be the sack. Quality doesn't happen by accident - it takes a determined focus from the top to the bottom of the company.

Just waiting to exchange now...