New build with help to buy pushed into March

pjw1592

Hi all!

I reserved a new build property back in July for £195k under the Help to Buy scheme and was assured that it would be complete by October. As the months have gone by, the build completion date has been pushed further and further back, and today I was given the news that the completion date has been pushed back to the 31st March, meaning I will no longer be eligible to use the current Help to Buy scheme. Instead, I will have to use the new Help to Buy scheme, which means I am capped at buying a property priced at no more than £186,100 (for the North East). I’m devastated.

Earlier this week we were informed by NatWest that the valuation actually came back at £185k, rather than £195k. When my mortgage advisor asked if we could settle on £185k, the builder declined, saying that we should find another lender. We were going to try out another lender today, and then we were told the news about the build date by the sales rep.

Does anyone have any advice here? The property really is perfect, and I am devastated at the prospect of losing it for the sake of the builder not wanting to budge on £8,900 pounds. Has anyone ever been in a situation like this before? If so, do you have any advice about how I could perhaps bend the builder’s arm?

SpiderLegs

Pay up or walk basically. 

917700

Did you get any incentives on this plot? 

Thrugelmir

You reserved last July but haven't exchanged contracts yet?  Hardly surprising that completion has been pushed back. Developers will prioritise sold plots first. 

If it remains unsold then may well be repriced in due course with the new ceiling for HTB in mind. 

pjw1592

917700 said:

Did you get any incentives on this plot? 

Hi there! Yes, the builder is offering a £5k cash back incentive on each of the apartments.

pjw1592

Thrugelmir said:

You reserved last July but haven't exchanged contracts yet?  Hardly surprising that completion has been pushed back. Developers will prioritise sold plots first. 

If it remains unsold then may well be repriced in due course with the new ceiling for HTB in mind. 

Hi! Thanks for your response.

Indeed! There were huge issues with the ESW1 form, which many lenders were not accepting. Lots of buyers have already backed out due to the amount of time that it has taken. I got confirmation of the valuation through just this week, when the developer finally forwarded the correct paperwork.

It’s been such a frustrating process. The property is an apartment, and they were initially going to release the first five floors in October, with floors 6-12 in December. They have now decided to complete the entire block at once, meaning many H2B customers who have reserved more expensive properties are also going to be affected!

Thrugelmir

pjw1592 said:

917700 said:

Did you get any incentives on this plot? 

Hi there! Yes, the builder is offering a £5k cash back incentive on each of the apartments.

That narrows the gap to £4k. 

pjw1592

Thrugelmir said:

pjw1592 said:

917700 said:

Did you get any incentives on this plot? 

Hi there! Yes, the builder is offering a £5k cash back incentive on each of the apartments.

That narrows the gap to £4k. 

Unfortunately the builder seems adamant that they don’t want to reduce the price by taking away the cash back incentive. They think that doing so would make it look like I had been favoured over others who bought properties at the same price within the block. This was, however, before it was confirmed that they would no longer be able to complete before the 28th Feb. Even if they did reduce the price by £5k, I’m not in a position to put another £4K down as I am using all of my savings to fund the deposit. It’s such a shame, but I feel I will have to walk, and I was so close.