New build flat

user1977

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

The communal system is metered and the estate agent says I could use any energy company for it. 

In what sense is it "communal" then?

It is a singular heat source and each flat has its own meter showing what they are using.

You can't pick your own supplier then.

greenwood132

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

The communal system is metered and the estate agent says I could use any energy company for it. 

In what sense is it "communal" then?

It is a singular heat source and each flat has its own meter showing what they are using.

You can't pick your own supplier then.

EA says you can, I'll ask a resident when I next view

silvercar

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

The communal system is metered and the estate agent says I could use any energy company for it. 

In what sense is it "communal" then?

It is a singular heat source and each flat has its own meter showing what they are using.

You can't pick your own supplier then.

You pick your own supplier for electricity. The heating is supplied from the heat source through your own “heating” meter. So you only get charged for what you use and benefit from not having your own boiler to maintain.

user1977

silvercar said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

The communal system is metered and the estate agent says I could use any energy company for it. 

In what sense is it "communal" then?

It is a singular heat source and each flat has its own meter showing what they are using.

You can't pick your own supplier then.

You pick your own supplier for electricity. The heating is supplied from the heat source through your own “heating” meter. So you only get charged for what you use and benefit from not having your own boiler to maintain.

You'll still be paying your share of the (probably not very competitive) cost of maintaining the communal system though, as well as being stuck with whatever non-domestic tariff they use.

ComicGeek

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

user1977 said:

greenwood132 said:

The communal system is metered and the estate agent says I could use any energy company for it. 

In what sense is it "communal" then?

It is a singular heat source and each flat has its own meter showing what they are using.

You can't pick your own supplier then.

EA says you can, I'll ask a resident when I next view

The EA is wrong, it's not possible with a communal heating system. Find out what the charges and rates are, communal systems are not protected under the government's price caps and some are astronomically high. Sometimes the admin costs are higher than actual energy costs too.

Some have private wire electrical systems that lock you into their electricity supplier as well, so really important to get full details. Get it all written down, assume anything that the EA says is wrong!

Sarah1Mitty2

greenwood132 said:

Hello all

I'm looking to buy something and have come to the conclusion that in my market I want to be close to the city centre. I'm in Plymouth and need 2 parking spaces and ideally a reasonable amount of space. I don't really want to deal with the issues of an old property with questionable previous maintenance and have come across a flat up for £425k in Teesra house. I'm afraid it's my first post so the forum won't let me post links to it.

They have flats like this on the first floor available for £365k this one is on the 3rd floor and is up for £425k all of them have been on sale for over a year and the development is almost complete. These flats do not have the views over the cricket pitch the 2 beds do and are priced at a premium. I like this development because it comes with 2 parking spaces ready for electric charging, there is a bike store and the flats themselves are high tech with cat 5 and modern heating systems. Even so if they haven't sold for a year that worries me I'd prefer the 3rd floor but can't afford £425k and would worry paying that for it as most the other flats have sold but these designs haven't. The design suits me but do you think if I offered £375k then I might not be taken seriously?

Sales of new-builds are way down so it might be worth a shot.

greenwood132

I tried, I offered £380 they said no so I went to £385 they still said no. 

[Deleted User]

greenwood132 said:

I tried, I offered £380 they said no so I went to £385 they still said no. 

If they aren't being realistic then all you can do is walk away. Probably for the best anyway, most new build flats are poor and you don't want to be in negative equity.

gwynlas

There are a number of two bed two parking spaces elsewhere with this agent so all bills are actual rather than projected, new builds have a premium built in and are rarely good value in a crowded market.

TheElectricCow

I’d be very wary of any property with a communal heating system, personally I wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole if it can be at all avoided.

From my experience in the housing sector (and these forums) I’ve heard no end to the issues that can arise from them, from both a functional and a billing perspective. Most notably the huge restrictions they can put on your ability to manage your own heating costs from being stuck with whatever the system happens to cost to maintain/operate and the general lack of regulation they have.