Advice On A Wimpy New Build!!!!

john0612

We are thinking of enquiring about a new biuld (wimpy) on outskirts of town, but what i need to know is, what can be haggled for and what will they negotiate on?

Being in the building trade (painter&dec) i see what goes on, on sites so i know there's cost cutting all over the place but obvioulsy would want the best in our house.

Just looking for something up my sleeve before we go to the sales centre, there's no show home so i don't know what to expect.

cheers in advance :beer:

bunking_off

In the current climate, *everything* can be haggled on.

Try for a discount, 100% part ex, for them to pay legal fees, extra sockets etc to be fitted, free carpets, free wardrobes etc etc. You won't get all of that, but the more you push the more you'll get...

Don't know what build stage the estate is at, but at the ones local to here (Barratt, Redrow, Bryant) they're clearly not managing to sell prior to build completion...if your chosen location has houses in that state, I think you should be able to squeeze them until the pips scream.

Ian_W

bunking_off wrote: Try for a discount, 100% part ex, for them to pay legal fees, extra sockets etc to be fitted, free carpets, free wardrobes etc etc. You won't get all of that, but the more you push the more you'll get...

Depends on your area and whether the development is selling well - but in most places seems they're falling over themselves to offer incentives because new builds are not selling as quickly as they need to.
Only thing I'd not be sure of is Part-Ex. I'm sure I read on another thread a while ago that a lot of builders are shying away because they're having trouble getting rid of their p/x stock. If you're already under offer or haven't a property to sell, there should be plenty of incentives - So fill yer boots!! :j If you haven't sold yours, they may not be keen on offering much until you're "procedable". :mad:
There is a poster on the site called "Terrierlady" who works in that line of business - if you go back through the posts and have a look at any relating to new houses she's been very helpful in what she says.
Best of luck - let us know how you get on.

Omertron

You could also try buying off-plan, i.e. before the house has even been started. This should net you the best discount around 10% when last I looked a year or two ago. Also, being a painter and decorator, you could always ask for that to be left to you as you are likely to do a better ob anyway?

And as the other posters have said, the more you ask for, the more you'll get :-)

terrierlady

Hi how did you get on did you leave your name and a telephone number to allow the sales negotiator to chase you up? Wise move, they will phone you non stop now with lots of nice incentives as long as you are proceed able. ie nothing to sell. with regard to p/x step carefully and get your home valued first, the offer you get from any developer will usually be forced sale price.
DONT RESERVE ON FIRST VIEWING.
make a wish list of what you NEED not what you WANT
Go for big incentives First as the incentives will get smaller each time you gain one.
Before you select a plot THINK,
Do you need a cul de sac position( have children or pets) less chance of heavy traffic,
Dont buy the plot at the head of the cul de sac as all headlights on winter evenings will grace your lounge.This plot usually carries larger incentives.
Look for the home with a nice brick wall if possible(no extra charge) and will provide better security less upkeep.
Sunny garden look for a south/south west facing one, she/he should have a list of sizes and the cost of rear turf.( nice one for incentive)
If they don't have the show home on that development ask or look on the net and find out where they do have that house type, visit , and see where the plugs and telephone points are in case you need more. You will be shown plans but lots of people cant read them and need to view first.
When you sign the reservation form they will ask for a reservation fee usually between £250-500 pounds, this come off your completions statement.
Get a copy of the reservation checklist which should state what you have been told and shown, this should carry your and the sales negotiators signature, that way you are both covered.
Check to see if electric in the garage?new Homes are on Water Meters.
If they require you to speak to their mortgage adviser do so it may surprise you if he beats your previous offer.
You will need to exchange contracts in 28 days so using a solicitor they advise(NOT Theirs) will make it happen quicker as any solicitor working with a developer knows the score on exchanges, get your deposit ready, remember some funds take 30 days to be released.
PLAY HARD TO GET, the incentives are there for the taking .

john0612

Thanks for all of the above...... we didn't go in the end up, was such a nice day that we went out for the day instead.

I may wait a while because barratt are building across the street from them but they have not released any prices yet, plus at the other side of town bellway and robertsons are have just started to create a site so i think i'll hang fire and play them off each other when more details are released as i can't be bothered with the constant pestering which will duly aplly if i give them my number.

I didn't realise their was so many in the first stages of build so they'll all be trying to compete so i'll let you know how things go.

Hunnymonster

terrierlady wrote:

Sunny garden look for a south/south west facing one, she/he should have a list of sizes and the cost of rear turf.( nice one for incentive)

Being in the middle of deweeding my back garden (new build) ahead of laying turf - I'd run a mile from it being turfed from the outset - I've removed approaching 5 cubic metres of weeds from my back garden.

I'm just about the only one in the street that seems to have done any preparation before rolling out the turf - net result is that they all have these galloping weeds breaking through their (previously) lovely expensively laid lawns and no way of controlling them - next door but one is already talking about ripping his grass up at the end of the year to "do it properly"

Of course with grass on top it's gonna be a bigger job.

bunking_off

Hunnymonster wrote:

I'd run a mile from it being turfed from the outset - I've removed approaching 5 cubic metres of weeds from my back garden.

Agree 110%. With a lawn, the quality of what's underneath is what really matters. Leave it to them and it'll be building rubble. No amount of care & attention is going to solve that - you can end up ripping it out and starting again. Barrow in your own top soil and you'll have a lawn that'll last.

On my estate, a good 3/4 of the lawns are dying - there's not enough subsoil to cope with a few days without rain.

Do yourself a favour and don't take setting up the garden as one of their incentives.

terrierlady

depends on the site construction manager and how well supervised the groundworkers are, remember the land scapers are the ones to watch.
If they have respect for the site manager/future contracts the job will be done.

bunking_off

terrierlady, I know you're in the business so usually value your comments, but you are joking when you say that, aren't you?

As with all subcontractors the groundworkers will do the absolute minimum they can get away with. The site manager will also do the absolute minimum he can get away with.

If, by their taking short cuts, they cause an issue (e.g. crappy quality lawn) where the blame can be apportioned elsewhere - obviously it's dying because the new owner didn't take care of it, did he? - and the issue won't come to light until months/years afterwards, that isn't their problem because they'll be long gone. And from my experience I don't mean long gone to another site, I mean long gone to another builder. I wouldn't rate anyone's chances of persuading a builder to come back and relay turf...

I've seen this happen time & time again, both on my new build and that of friends, with a variety of build companies.

If you want a decent quality lawn, you really do need to clear all of the rubble and top off with Grade-1 topsoil. It's better to overspend on soil and scrimp on turf rather than vice versa. I saw what my builders delivered to my neighbours, and it certainly wasn't grade 1 : I barrowed it around to their back and found glass and (used) condoms in it. I saw what another builder delivered to my brother, and although it was marginally better quality, it still wasn't particularly good stuff: what my father (a farmer) referred to as "carrot washings".

terrierlady

no i wasn't joking, we get a bonus on how many complaints we DON'T receive and if the problem was widespread it would be picked up by the regional sales manager,contracts manager and site construction.
Completion is strong in the new homes business, many developments are made up of 4-6 different builders competing for sales and to make the sales we rely on word of mouth, yes some lawns will die from the very reason you stated people forget to water them but overall most survive.
on our development we were out 4 hours just watering to keep turf/plants alive last weekend, not part of our job we are sales.
Il agree to differ as you have suffered problems and i know all builders are not the same.
Same old story I'm afraid down to sales negotiator, site manager, landscapers,
customer requirements.I think its called Pride in the Job.