Bovis - Property Pulled whilst Reserving

richardday10

Hi all,

I am in need of some advice/ help.

As a first time buyer I have been left completely devastated by events that took place today whilst trying to secure our first home. After saving and searching for a home for what seems like an eternity we were finally sent a glimmer of hope when we received an email from Bovis advertising two bed homes that have just been launched at 231,995GBP. We received the email at 5:33pm whilst cycling home from work so didn't pick up the email until our return at 6pm, however the sales office closed at 5pm so knew this would not be a problem.

To ensure that we secured one of the new properties we arrived at the sales office at 5am and were the only people waiting all morning. Once the office opened we were welcomed inside and were then invited into the office slightly earlier than expected and started the reservation process. During the process we discovered that one of the properties was sold the previous night by phone out of hours at 231,995GBP and that there was only one property left, this was fine with us as we were the first in line and only required one home. However 5 minutes into the process we were then interrupted by an announcement that a director has requested that the property be pulled from the market for a price review. The increased price and release date is unknown, and the only thing the sales team could do to help was to allow us to keep our place in-line for the re-release (inflated price).

We were left devastated and shocked that this could happen! We had the exact mortgage requirements needed, the exact deposit needed and now left with the prospect that we may have to find additional funds or simply not be able to afford our first home. This comes as someone above believes they can squeeze even more money from the property.( integrated to a scheme that is focused to help people to buy their dream home)

Is there anything or anyone we can go to about this? They are not only sending out misleading emails but also creating even more hurdles for first time buyers making it even harder to get on the ladder :-(

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

marksoton

Devastated? Shocked?

I feel those emotions when someone i care about dies or is injured. Not when a property that doesn't even exist gets its price adjusted.

Honestly, get a grip.

AdrianC

Mark about has it.

It's a generic new-build house. No more, no less.

As for the phone sale "out of hours" - well, somebody clearly had the mobile phone number of the salesperson. Why didn't you?

Hoploz

Houses are worth whatever somebody is willing to pay. Selling so quickly has given the developer the idea that he could sell for more. That's supply and demand and we live in a capitalist society. Simple as that really.

dimbo61

Your brand new house will fall in value the day you pick up the keys!
Just like a new car ( think Ford Focus Not Jag F pace/ Porsche Macan or RR Evoque)
You will also have lots of Little things to pay for BT line, curtains and poles, carpets+ Garden, maybe new fence.

Bossypants

I understand that trying to buy a home can be an emotional process (boy do I understand!), but even so, I have to agree with Mark above. You didn't even know about this house yesterday, as yet it doesn't exist except on paper, yet you're 'devastated'? If that's your reaction now, how are you going to deal with getting outbid on a house you've seen and fallen in love with, a bad survey on the same, the threat of gazzumping right up until the moment of exchange (if in England/Wales), etc?

It's an unfortunate fact that house-buying is one of the most frustrating and stressful processes most of us go through during our lifetime, particularly where you are looking for a home, due to the added emotional aspect. In your shoes I would be looking at your reaction here as a wake-up call and start looking for a way to detach from the process more, otherwise you are letting yourselves in for a world of misery once you get a bit further down the line.

Thrugelmir

AdrianC wrote: »

Mark about has it.

It's a generic new-build house. No more, no less.

As for the phone sale "out of hours" - well, somebody clearly had the mobile phone number of the salesperson. Why didn't you?

Some years ago. Answer machines were invented. Take messages when the office is closed.

Cakeguts

You need to stop looking for a bit and start to research more about buying a house. I cannot imagine anyone going into a sales office and trying to reserve a house without looking at the area in which it is being built as well as looking carefully at the site of the house on the new estate. You seem to be in too much of a rush. New houses have a premium on them they drop in value as soon as you buy them so I can't understand why it HAS to be this new house that you only found out about the day before.

Have another look for houses in the area of the new house that you were trying to reserve. If they can sell a new two bed house for just under 233k you should be able to find an older property in the same area for less or you might even find a 3 bed but only in that area. That won't matter though because you are devastated that you missed out on living in that area?

Derboy

At the office at 5:00am?

It's because of this kind of over-eagerness and desperation that Directors are pulling houses for price-reviews and why buyers aren't getting any "deals" from developers.

Money_saving_maniac

I really do feel for you OP,it's very hard to be disappointed.
however I think you will find that searching for a home is the most soul destroying experience possible if you are tight on money.
You can't do anything about the email as they were not falsely advertising.
Good luck finding your dream home.

Davesnave

Like others, I think your post over-eggs the pudding. If you really feel like it reads, then take a step back and heed Bossypants' advice about becoming more detached from the process, and the product.

If you don't, it's likely that you'll make a poor decision.

I doubt if there are many experienced posters here who haven't at some time lost a house they really wanted, or bought one that with the benefit of hindsight, they should have left for someone else. It happens, frequently.

A few of us may even have come home to find our house uninhabitable and our possessions ruined. Even then, if we have our lives and our health, "devastated" might be too strong a term. It's very overworked.