New build and part ex questions

moreofthegoodstuff

We are having some valuations done on our house to look at part exchanging. The house is in good condition but if we were selling privately we planned to do up (repaint etc just to tidy up) is it worth doing loads knowing it’s going to a company and they won’t be as particular about details?

Should we expect to see an offer considerably less? They are also looking at paying towards our legal fees. What’s the catch? I don’t get it?

If we buy the new property, they advised there were maintenance fees for the site that are approx £180 per year that go up with inflation. My friend bought a house that had fees like this and the site ended up needing a major fix on drainage and all the home owners had to contribute. Is this something I need to be concerned about?

I guess I’m just feeling anxious as it seems too good to be true!

middleclassbutpoor

You will need to understand the maintenance agreement in what you are paying for? If you are being told that its £180 and it will only go up by inflation, it would suggest that your contract would have to have something in there which explains when more money can be asked for.

I would be looking very closely at the maintenance agreement because my experience is that as soon as the houses are sold, the costs are more likely to increase more than inflation.

In terms of your part ex - get the valuations and if they are not sufficient, then you don't have to do anything. If you think you can get more by paying to 'tart up' the house before placing on the market then go down that route at this time.

Personally speaking, the more you need the builder to do the transaction, the deal is less likely to be of benefit to you. We have seen people doing part ex run into issues so may be worth doing a search on here for those posts.

lisyloo

Part ex will probably offer you less but it will be a great deal less hassle and builder won’t get cold feet so less risk as well.

We spent the minimum to tart up a property recently but it was yellow after heavy smoking and therefore objectionable.
If it’s not objectionable then there is little value in doing anything as taste is subjective.
It’s only worth doing the minimum to remove any objections, the rest is pointless as new buyers will want to do their own.
I don’t think the builders will care unless there is something objectionable like vivid colours, heavy smoking, damage etc.

middleclassbutpoor

Here are some recent threads that may be worth reading. A common question and situation.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5958509/part-exchange-for-buying-new-build-property&highlight=part+exchange

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5956524/part-exchange-prospects&highlight=part+exchange

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5869445/part-exchange&highlight=part+exchange

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5916578/part-exchange-changes&highlight=part+exchange

knightstyle

We are going to see a builder about PXing our house, there has to be a 30% differential and if their head office accepts a PX in our area they will get two valuations and we will go from there.
I'll keep you updated if we go ahead.

Update, the house sold to another buyer who had already sold before we could get the valuers along. Gutted, now just have to wait for a buyer for our house and start again.

Hannah2

For the part-ex question, usually the builder will ask for valuations that would mean that your house would sell within 4 weeks, or 8 weeks etc and then decide to offer you a price based on that. They usually ask for valuations from 2 or 3 local estate agents. The nicer your house looks the quicker it might sell, therefore the higher the valuation offer for a quick sale onwards. We have part-exchanged previously and it worked well for us relocating as it was much less hassle - they hold onto a fee that is handed back once they check the property after you move out, think it was £500 for us. We also negotiated to have access to the old property for one week post completion so we could do the cleaning/filling in of holes left from shelf removal etc.

I was offered the minimum that i had decided i could afford to accept for my previous house so we decided to go for it. Obviously we didn't get anything knocked off the asking price for the new build which others did when they bought without part-ex. We still got £2,000 off our legal fees and full flooring. However, it took them over 6 months after we completed to sell the house we part-exchanged, and for £20,000 less than they gave us, so it really was worth it for us. That new build didn't have a maintenance contract attached though...

For the maintenance contract please make sure you know what you are signing up to. Yes you may get ad-hoc charges for dealing with vandalism, fly tipping, repairs to any play areas/equipment and communal areas but also the title may indicate that you are given 7 days to pay these extra fees and then late payment fees if you don't. Are the roads going to be adopted by the council or do these have to be covered by the maintenance contract too? Make sure you know what area on the map you are paying for - any public areas/woodland etc. Also check who will own the land that you are paying for - is it signed over to the maintenance company, or do the homeowners share the ownership. You will also have to pay fees if you sell your house and the purchasers will also have to pay to transfer their name onto the agreements.

Just make sure you know exactly what you are agreeing to.