Buying house now , not moving in till January

tink_1983

We pulled out of a purchase like this. Be mindful that the new build builders will want to exchange alot earlier than a normal house might.
So they wanted like 3 months from exchange till completion.  
Make sure your mortgage offer will cover the time scales and be expectant of delays 

amyr

Having bought a new build, I echo everyone else's advice about timelines. They really can slip significantly, even with the long stop dates in a contract. With the current industry materials shortages expected to worsen, this is going to become a more prolific issue... 

On your question about deposit, this may not be relevant to your situation, but bear in mind that while you might not have to send the full deposit prior to exchange, you will need to show proof of funds before exchange can happen - just in case you'd planned to save any proportion of what you need before the move. 

Expect to be pushed for exchange with a 28 day deadline.

mat1964

I exchanged on the sale of my house and purchase of a new build a month ago - but completion is not before 1 September. -so a 3 month gap at least.  

My buyers were happy to accept the extended completion - and the contract allows for a delay until end November if needed (there is unlikely to be a delay as we visited the house last week and aside from a few small areas, it's pretty much done and the NHBC sign off was due this week).  It's possible the house might be ready earlier, but I have a mortgage ERC which runs out end August, hence the 1/9 date.

I was lucky in that my buyers are renting locally and are very flexible - they did have to get an extension on their mortgage offer, but that wasn't a problem. 

Having said all of that, new build delays are common - other houses on the same development which were due for completion in October 2021 have a new date of March 2022.

amyr

mat1964 said:

I exchanged on the sale of my house and purchase of a new build a month ago - but completion is not before 1 September. -so a 3 month gap at least.  

My buyers were happy to accept the extended completion - and the contract allows for a delay until end November if needed (there is unlikely to be a delay as we visited the house last week and aside from a few small areas, it's pretty much done and the NHBC sign off was due this week).  It's possible the house might be ready earlier, but I have a mortgage ERC which runs out end August, hence the 1/9 date.

I was lucky in that my buyers are renting locally and are very flexible - they did have to get an extension on their mortgage offer, but that wasn't a problem. 

Having said all of that, new build delays are common - other houses on the same development which were due for completion in October 2021 have a new date of March 2022.

I'd say this is the thin end of the wedge. Materials shortages coming down the line are immense - roof tiles currently have a six month average lead time and steel is even worse. It's all speculation, but those of us working in industries relying on raw materials are expecting a pretty rough ride for at least 12 months.