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Persimmon New Build
GBR78
Posts: 61 Forumite
I know it's been mentioned on here numerous times, but a lot of things I see are now quite dated so a fresh view would be great.
Persimmon are building on a site fairly local to us. It's not a massive plot of land and is in a similar area to our current house so we know the lay of the land etc.
We currently own a 1930's property which we have carried out a number of changes to, but we are at a point now where the left over things that are likely to need doing in the foreseeable future are the very expensive items. Kitchen has already been replaced, and the majority of the rooms have been stripped and redecorated a lot more tastefully than when we bought the property a number of years ago. This has all taken time though, and (as with many people in this day and age), our time is short. As much as we love the older houses, the cost, time and work needed is heading outside of our levels and we wonder if a new-build property might just give us the break we need to just get on with what we enjoy......family time and enjoying ourselves rather than working all day at work then facing working evenings and weekends on getting the current house to the 'perfect' place.
We have never considered a new build before, and would only do it for these very reasons....a blank canvas/a new way of living/less worry about having to replace a roof or fencing or windows etc etc etc.....you get the idea i'm sure! It's not that our current house is falling down or anything, but what we start as a cheap job has always led to us uncovering something that has needed further investment meaning that we have had to put other jobs on hold, but now a number of these could do with being done.
So hence, the new build. I know Persimmon have had a rough review over the past and will be sure to bear this in mind, but this new site has a couple of property types that we have found interesting. They are offering part-ex and help to buy on these properties - neither of which we necessarily need, but either of which we may chose to run with if the offer is right. I have been surveying Zoopla recently for its estimated valuation of our current property and believe we would have well beyond 10% deposit to put down, maybe north of 15%, on the more expensive new build of the ones that we are considering, although it would be nice to clear some debt and hold some cash back for a few bits so we may restrict our deposit to do that.
Looking at the schemes they are offering, should we decide a new build route is the way we want to go, then what can we expect? I can't gauge sold-prices of properties local to us to get a better idea of ours due to the fact that most of the houses around us vary. Nothing in the same range as ours has sold in the time we have lived there, although some of the nearby terraced houses have sold in that time they are completely different in age, style and size. I understand a part-ex is likely to be a percentage below its usual marketable value and we accept that - for a reduction in selling hassle this may be worthwhile - and I have a figure in mind that would work out financially for us to move which sits well in the range of the figures on Zoopla. My understanding of this estimate is that it follows the general local pattern for appreciation/depreciation and applies it to your purchase price. As we bought at a fairly good price (some 15k+ below asking) and we have carried out some significant works, I would hope this figure is more than reasonable. Are they likely to have a maximum ratio of part-ex to new build purchase?
Moving on to the help to buy, as I've mentioned, we might not really need to use it, but it is something i'm a bit green about. I understand that its a 20% 'loan' of which you pay nothing for 5 years. From that point you pay the 'fee' only of initially 1.75% rising yearly by 1%+RPI. Obviously this is a bit of a risky move as RPI could rise massively over the next 5 years and we could find ourselves facing another big payment every month, on the other hand, its a 5 year interest free loan that we could repay at any time (in 10% lumps), so it may allow us the opportunity to save up a good lump towards at least the 10% over that period and we could clear some. Has anyone on here gone that route?
Thirdly, is there still a lack of bargaining power when using any of these schemes? In an ideal world i'd like to negotiate some reduction and some 'extras', although we are quite willing to run with standard equipment for some time and replace in the future with our own personal touches, so its not like we are looking into £000's of additional items. I can understand that a part ex is probably the weaker of the chances of any deals, but then I also read numerous accounts where people have been given a lower part ex value, but the same amount has been cut from the asking price of the new build, so its a swings-and-roundabouts type of thing. Or are developers a little more open to deals now?
Thanks in advance!
Persimmon are building on a site fairly local to us. It's not a massive plot of land and is in a similar area to our current house so we know the lay of the land etc.
We currently own a 1930's property which we have carried out a number of changes to, but we are at a point now where the left over things that are likely to need doing in the foreseeable future are the very expensive items. Kitchen has already been replaced, and the majority of the rooms have been stripped and redecorated a lot more tastefully than when we bought the property a number of years ago. This has all taken time though, and (as with many people in this day and age), our time is short. As much as we love the older houses, the cost, time and work needed is heading outside of our levels and we wonder if a new-build property might just give us the break we need to just get on with what we enjoy......family time and enjoying ourselves rather than working all day at work then facing working evenings and weekends on getting the current house to the 'perfect' place.
We have never considered a new build before, and would only do it for these very reasons....a blank canvas/a new way of living/less worry about having to replace a roof or fencing or windows etc etc etc.....you get the idea i'm sure! It's not that our current house is falling down or anything, but what we start as a cheap job has always led to us uncovering something that has needed further investment meaning that we have had to put other jobs on hold, but now a number of these could do with being done.
So hence, the new build. I know Persimmon have had a rough review over the past and will be sure to bear this in mind, but this new site has a couple of property types that we have found interesting. They are offering part-ex and help to buy on these properties - neither of which we necessarily need, but either of which we may chose to run with if the offer is right. I have been surveying Zoopla recently for its estimated valuation of our current property and believe we would have well beyond 10% deposit to put down, maybe north of 15%, on the more expensive new build of the ones that we are considering, although it would be nice to clear some debt and hold some cash back for a few bits so we may restrict our deposit to do that.
Looking at the schemes they are offering, should we decide a new build route is the way we want to go, then what can we expect? I can't gauge sold-prices of properties local to us to get a better idea of ours due to the fact that most of the houses around us vary. Nothing in the same range as ours has sold in the time we have lived there, although some of the nearby terraced houses have sold in that time they are completely different in age, style and size. I understand a part-ex is likely to be a percentage below its usual marketable value and we accept that - for a reduction in selling hassle this may be worthwhile - and I have a figure in mind that would work out financially for us to move which sits well in the range of the figures on Zoopla. My understanding of this estimate is that it follows the general local pattern for appreciation/depreciation and applies it to your purchase price. As we bought at a fairly good price (some 15k+ below asking) and we have carried out some significant works, I would hope this figure is more than reasonable. Are they likely to have a maximum ratio of part-ex to new build purchase?
Moving on to the help to buy, as I've mentioned, we might not really need to use it, but it is something i'm a bit green about. I understand that its a 20% 'loan' of which you pay nothing for 5 years. From that point you pay the 'fee' only of initially 1.75% rising yearly by 1%+RPI. Obviously this is a bit of a risky move as RPI could rise massively over the next 5 years and we could find ourselves facing another big payment every month, on the other hand, its a 5 year interest free loan that we could repay at any time (in 10% lumps), so it may allow us the opportunity to save up a good lump towards at least the 10% over that period and we could clear some. Has anyone on here gone that route?
Thirdly, is there still a lack of bargaining power when using any of these schemes? In an ideal world i'd like to negotiate some reduction and some 'extras', although we are quite willing to run with standard equipment for some time and replace in the future with our own personal touches, so its not like we are looking into £000's of additional items. I can understand that a part ex is probably the weaker of the chances of any deals, but then I also read numerous accounts where people have been given a lower part ex value, but the same amount has been cut from the asking price of the new build, so its a swings-and-roundabouts type of thing. Or are developers a little more open to deals now?
Thanks in advance!
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Comments
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We bought a Charles church house (same as persimmon just slightly better spec) in 2014, we used help to buy we got our stamp duty £9k paid, all the kitchen appliances built in, carpets (but they were horrid so ended up upgrading anyway) outside tap, turf. Think that was about it
In terms of house quality, it's not the best. You do get 2 years for them to come out & repair things. Customer service if you can ever get hold of them are pretty poor.
They have been to fix our front door 3 times
Water tank leaked through our lounge ceiling, apparently a manufacturer fault. They have been to replace valves/thermostats about 4 times now
Our spindles on the stairs were not fixed properly to the banister so our little one could of fell through should he off pushed them
Lots of cosmetic things like re painting, sanding & refitting doors, filling in nail holes etc
Most of our neighbours have had various problems. I suppose we were not to unlucky with ours
I can't speak for otger house builders as we have only ever had our house from new, I wouldn't buy another persimmon but we are considering buying another new build, so it hasn't put us off buying new
With help to buy you can't alter your house so if you want to put a conservatory on etc you have to repay your loan first
We r selling ours and had to pay various costs, admin fees, in order to get a redemption figure for our solicitors, but without htb we wouldn't of been able to buy our house in the first place0 -
Thats quite useful info, thanks.
I expect there to be issues, so i'm not that concerned by there being some......at least, not that concerned as long as they can be bought back in to address them! Minor amounts of redecoration/filling etc we don't mind doing ourselves so that isn't the end of the world, again, as long as anything major is covered off. We would look to bring in a snagger too I think, so we have a concise list on top of things we may find ourselves.
A friend has moved into a Persimmon home on another site fairly recently (around a year ago) and has been very light on problems, having only had a couple that were sorted right away.
Interesting what you say about the Help to Buy loan needing to be repair before you change the house. I assume that would only be effective for major changes that would alter value - so the conservatory you mention, along with any structural work? I guess day-to-day changes (redecoration and garden work etc) are no problems, but the likes of knocking walls down, building conservatories/extensions/porches are off limits? How about bathroom/kitchen?
Thanks again!0 -
We have never considered a new build before, and would only do it for these very reasons....a blank canvas/a new way of living/less worry about having to replace a roof or fencing or windows etc etc etc.....you get the idea i'm sure! It's not that our current house is falling down or anything, but what we start as a cheap job has always led to us uncovering something that has needed further investment meaning that we have had to put other jobs on hold, but now a number of these could do with being done.
Don't see a new build as some kind of utopia that avoids spending and worry. We had renovated our last property a 1970's house, and wanted a rest. We bought a new build 4 years ago - when properties were still not selling, so the price we paid was equivalent to other houses in the area (we would not have considered paying a new build premium). New build also worked for us as we had a relocation package.
There are a lot of immediate costs and jobs that you don't get with buying a house that has previously been lived in. Cabinets, shelving, mirrors, an outside socket, security lights, patios and landscaping jobs in the garden...
We decided not to be too finicky with expecting perfection, and our snagging list was small. However within a month of moving in, I had a call at work from the site office to say we needed to come home as water was flooding out of the house. The postman had noticed it and by the time we go there they had turned the water off at the stopcock but still nearly 5,000 gallons of water had poured through the downstairs. The plumber had used the wrong sized connector where the mains water comes in under the sink and it had 'popped off' after we had left for work that day. Yes, the builders were liable, yes it was put right but it was incredibly stressful and certainly not the escape from living in DIY hell, as we had no flooring downstairs whilst it was all dried out and hassle haggling over costs for replacements.
The other thing that frustrates if you are competent to do jobs yourselves, is the way in which things are designed and positioned. I have a badly designed kitchen, patio doors that open into my garden gate (because they just buy them all the same way from the window company no matter which way the house is handed), radiators are not square under the windows (that really bugs me). Our TV socket is on the opposite wall to where we have our tv so I have a cable across the room. If I had been doing the work it would have been different, but now it will have to wait, or more likely we sell to someone who isn't as bothered as we are by these things.
We have a very good plot, so are torn at the moment between re-configuring this house to get it how we want it, or buy another project. One thing's for sure I wouldn't buy another new build. We didn't buy from a national builder, but a largish regional builder based in the east midlands.
Edit - forgot the leaky shower. When they came out to rectify it they knew the problem straight away. Apparently tray should be fitted and sealed and then enclosure sits on a sealed tray. But when they project manage works been done they don't programme in the sealing until the end, so they happily carry on fitting shower enclosures that they know will leak, then go round doing remedial works when they do leak! Really annoying!0 -
Hi
Just my thoughts as I'm currently living in a new build from persimmon (April 2016 purchase date). My honest advice is don't buy one! This is my second new build and I wouldn't recommend them at all.
This is my list of never ending problems/issues. Some resolved some still on going.
No gas to gas hob - totally missed until I moved in then realised connection was the wrong side of the hob so my new kitchen cupboards had to be drilled to fit.
Leak in downstairs cloakroom loo.
2 radiators not fitted correctly! So pulling away from the housing.
Guttering to front of the house leaking where it hadn't been connected correctly.
Doors not fitted correctly - new carpet throughout - doors needed sanding down so they could open/close.
Crack in one tile on roof.
Poor paint work throughout the entire house.
Poor finishing to bathroom and ensuite (so bad I'm currently paying a bathroom fitter to rectify)
Mud marks left on loft hatch (now I know this is silly but to me I should not have to clean mud in a never lived in house before I've completely moved in)
The finish to the house is generally poor and everything is an extra to buy. For example - no appliances, no tiling in kitchen (not even a splash back), no fencing provided or gate, boiler in kitchen not boxed in.........
The reason I moved, looking back I was in a really horrible cold apartment and just got a bit swept along with everything and a house that needed work to it really intimidated me.
I would never buy again from them.
I am one of the lucky ones in that my problems have been small. The people who live in my street all have had major issues, from leaking showers to cracks appearing in walls (not shrinkages, major cracks) to ensuite shower trays slipping etc.
I did however get turf, carpets and stamp duty paid.
Oh they also left the electrical consumer board right in the middle of the wall instead of placing it in the top corner..... That's something else I need to sort out.
With regards to help to buy - I did use this scheme but help
To buy wales. You can add a conservatory etc you just need permission from the scheme. You do not need to settle the loan. Also as it's an equity loan when you pay back you pay 10% of the equity not the loan amount. So for example if you had 20k as the equity loan but now your equity has gone up by 10% you would have to take that increase into account. Hope that makes sense?
Thanks sarah XFinally debt free and loving it!0 -
Decorating & such is fine I guess, new bathrooms, kitchens etc but if it increases the value of ur house then help to buy will get a slice of it as the alterations are not taken into consideration should you sell/redeem. I guess if you have the money to build an extension/conservatory then you will have the money to pay off the loan. I wouldn't use it if you didn't have to
Anything structural is not allowed unless it causes hardship (you need to alter for a disability etc)
I only know as we were going to get a conservatory done by a builder relative (cheaply) and found out we were not allowed0 -
Really you can't add a conservatory?
I think I may need to read all the material again as I'm sure it just advices you needed permission....but then I suppose permission can be denied...Finally debt free and loving it!0 -
Sarahlovesshoes wrote: »Hi
Oh they also left the electrical consumer board right in the middle of the wall instead of placing it in the top corner..... That's something else I need to sort out.
To be fair that is new building regs - but you are right it is bloody annoying and another reason for buying an older property.0 -
Sarahlovesshoes wrote: »Really you can't add a conservatory?
I think I may need to read all the material again as I'm sure it just advices you needed permission....but then I suppose permission can be denied...
No, I think help to buy Wales is the same. When we took it out I was under the impression you just needed permission & any alterations were disregarded when the house is valued. We are selling ours now & the website they give you with all the info on redeeming / stair casing / home improvements says no structural changes allowed only cosmetic0 -
No, I think help to buy Wales is the same. When we took it out I was under the impression you just needed permission & any alterations were disregarded when the house is valued. We are selling ours now & the website they give you with all the info on redeeming / stair casing / home improvements says no structural changes allowed only cosmetic
Hi - no you are right / I've just checked and re read the literature I was giving.
I suppose if you have money for a conservatory, then you should re pay the loan. I better get saving to get the loan paid back!
ThanksFinally debt free and loving it!0 -
If you do the maths on how much it will cost you to sell and buy, I'm guessing it will be anywhere from £25,000 upwards?
That would go a long way to pay good tradespeople to do the work in your current house and leave your weekends and evenings free. I'm getting ready for retirement and so spending money getting my house redecorated throughout,the guys have done a better job than I would have, in probably 10% of the time it would have taken me.0
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