barratt dream start - new build

cats!

Be careful - resale values can be painful.

Is there a clause in the contract stating if you sell then all monies are due to barratts on completion? How much of the development is HA? How does the property compare to others in similar areas?

Barratts, along with other developers, only offer something which benefits them in the longrun!

Take good advice and got a food survey. There have been many threads about snagging items not being fixed.

dmg24

I would agree not to buy an apartment in the City Centre, but there are still areas around Nottingham that are holding their prices.

What area are you in nick? Is it one of the developments at Arnold or Aspley? x

Jonbvn

You will probably find that most lenders will be vary wary of lending more than 75% LTV of the part you own. There was a post about this recently, mentioning that A&L had tightened up on lending for new build apts.

Caracul

Nick, I was looking at the dream start scheme too. There are a few other similar deals out there from other house developers. For the sceptics out there - sure this is a good deal for Barratts - they get to keep 25% equity in a house with no risk. If the house price falls, you pay 25% of the original price. If it increases, then you pay 25% of the new price.

Obviously you need to look at whether the price will drop or not and whether its going to work out in the long run, but as nick said, this is one way to afford a house that would be unobtainable otherwise - and a nice new one with a guarantee on it too.

Nick, ask them to pay stamp duties or reduce the price. Also, try to get the show house and tell them to throw in the carpets etc. The show house may well have the garage plastered and insulated for use as an office and so you gain another habitable room too...


good luck and keep me posted.

sarkin

RoxieW You have to compare like with like, dont know about your part of the country but a 4 bed, 4 bath new build will be half the price of a 4 bed 1930's property.

The reason there are incentives on new builds are they are hard to shift, they loose value over night and of last friday Aliance and leicster will not lend on any newbuilds without 30% deposit. Kind of says it all really, If I was nickb_2581 I would stay away. If the property was that good there would be no incentives, discounts and all the other weird and wonderful schemes that the builder comes up with. Just the take it or leave price that you get with other propertys. As you can see I am not a new build fan but as always this is just MHO.

chelseablue

Isn't it schemes like this that keep pushing the prices up?

Pez2

nickb_2581 wrote: »

if its payable when selling the house they take 25% of the property's sale price.

Is that right? I thought that with these kind of deals that if the property sells for less than what you paid for it then you still owe 25% of the original value.

plane_boy2000

Nick - lot of interesting advice here, but to be honest this is a really local decision to you. Yes its true that in some places there is oversupply and prices are falling, but not in all places. Where I live there are quite a few new builds (I bought one 3 years ago) and they offer pretty good value, as when you factor in the incentives they are actualy selling for the same / less than equivilent older property. On a square footage basis our house was a lot cheaper than anything else we liked, and has risen in value in line with the market, so I dont think we were done buying new. Factor in the no maintenance for a few years, and new everything and I think they make a lot of sense if you buy well.

Re the management fees etc you have no chance of getting rid of those - they are not charged by the builder but by a management co who will be responsible for the building, and communal areas etc. I havent paid a charge for year, but the last time I did it was 20 a month. That high charge would scare me off.

RoxieW

Sarkin - my point was that you get alot of new build knockers who'll turn they're nose up. Of course he should look at what else he could get for his money but I'm assuming he has already done that and not liked what he saw.

Where I live new builds and older properties are similar in price for the same bedrooms. Pros and cons to each of course ie low maintainance v larger rooms (possibly), more character v better facilities (ie more bathrooms, ensuite etc).

Doozergirl

The price issue isn't with new builds on the whole - yes you do pay a premium for them but houses seem to hold their value a lot better.

The issue is with new build apartments. There is far too much supply. With offers like this, there is no doubt that the developer is struggling to sell. If it were such a popular area with high demand for the particular property type, they won't need to incentivise at all, let alone not bother asking you for 25% of the value - yet.

School catchment areas mean nothing with apartments. I don't anyone outside London who has a child and lives in a flat.

Tread very, very carefully.

ps. there is no stamp duty to pay on £124,000 - the threshold is £125,001 these days.

pps. RoxieW, the OP can't afford other things. The developer is wooing him with the prospect of spending only £90,000. The words wood and trees spring to mind.