Buying a Property that is not yer finished?

Dawn248

I'm a newly single mum-my ex always took the front seat with finances so excuse me being a bit clueless.
I've found a flat I can afford with my divorce settlement. It is not yet finished-the electrics and flooring still to go in-but the estate agents are taking 'reservations'.
I wonder if anyone has any advice for buying a property still being finished?
I am a cash buyer and can offer the asking price. One of the bedrooms has a velux window but it's not been done yet and it's still boarded up, so I can't see how much light there will be in the room.
I have some queries about insulation too (it's in the roof of the building) and sound proofing from the flat below.
Do I put in an offer subject to the finish, as I can't take their word for it being high spec?
Any advice would be really appreciated. Thank you.

G_M

Is this part of a development by a large construction company?

Or a one-off conversion of a single property by an individual builder/owner?

Any New Build should have Building Regulations certification which confirms it meets current standard (which inlcudes insulation etc), but the certificate onle gets issued on completion.

Shakin_Steve

You don't say how old your child(ren) is/are Dawn.

Dawn248

Hi. Thanks for the replies. Not sure how my daughters ages affect this..Does anyone have experience of putting down a reservation on an unfinished property and any possible issues to look out for? Thanks

booksurr

it matters who you are dealing with: small developer or major company name

if you do not want to answer GM's questions

G_M wrote: »

Is this part of a development by a large construction company?
Or a one-off conversion of a single property by an individual builder/owner?

then why not use the "search this forum" function using the phrase "buy off plan" as there are hundreds of posts covering the topic

this is the main one, it has >900 posts
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5414384

Shakin_Steve

Dawn248 wrote: »

Hi. Thanks for the replies. Not sure how my daughters ages affect this..Does anyone have experience of putting down a reservation on an unfinished property and any possible issues to look out for? Thanks

Sorry, Dawn, that did sound a bit abrupt. I was just thinking about having young children on the top floor of a house. That's why I asked about the age thing.

FBaby

You really really need to look at the specification and go over thin tooth what you are signing. The risk is that you are told something that gives you reassurance that all is fine to find out afterwards you are not getting what you were told, but didn't realise what you signed was different to what they said.

Could you ask advice from someone who would know a bit about building construction and regulations?

Dawn248

HI Thanks for all the replies. My daughters are in their teens so they'll be fine.
The building is a large house being converted into six flats by a developer. There's three small flats on the ground floor, two on the second and one flat at the top in the eaves, which is the one I like.
I've just had a read of some info online and apparently you put down a reservation to hold it. I believe there can be issues with finish dates not being met and snags afterwards so I've read about getting a guarantee written into the contract top get any snags fixed withing a set time.
I'll check out that link too, thanks very much for the advice.

somethingcorporate

It's not the snags you need to worry about - these are certain on almost all new builds, it's getting the property finished and in a habitable state to meet your timescales. These projects can often be delayed weeks/months. What do you do if this is the case?