grrr - Persimmon sales man SO rude

gemima

:mad: Been out looking at a very large housing estate development in our area today. Its not in the best area but surprisingly all developers houses are still being sold from plan - well there are a few houses in stock but not what we are looking for.

Anyway, in view of everything we have read about the credit crunch we hit persimmon with an offer 20% below asking price today (up for sale for £299,995). We are sold with a small chain behind us. Basically he told us that he wouldn't even entertain putting the offer to his bosses and that they would probably only accept an offer of £290,000 which equates to 4%!!!! He said that they were selling off plan and that people were prepared to pay for their houses - I told him they were mad!! He also said he had sold 6 this week. This house is partly built but we can't look round or even get near it and when we said we would probably want to wait and see what it finishes like he told us it would be sold by then. He is not the only developer on that site - there are 2 others.

He also told us we would be foolish to sell up and go and rent too and to think very carefully. His colleague seemed slightly embarrassed and when he went out the door she said thank god he is retiring this year. Before we left we finally said £250,000 which is 16% below marketed price. Personally I don't think this is unreasonable.

First of all, I just can't get my head around the amount of people who are a) buying off plan and b) parting with so much cash so close to the asking price.
This has put us off going in with a similar offer with one of the other developers on the site - Bloor Homes. They seem to be selling theirs well too and even though their end of financial year is coming up I am beginning to think they won't budge either.

What do you all think about this? Are there any developments in your area that are remaining strong in this climate - I am referring to Archers Gate in Amesbury, Wiltshire if anyone has ever heard of it.

Thanks

m00m00

stick to your 250k offer, it will save you stamp duty as well

they will come back to you in a few weeks for sure.

people might be WANTING to buy off plan, but it will be a different story entirely when they try and raise a mortgage.

MORPH3US

Are you sure people are buying off plan or is that just what the sales man tells you....

I do a bit of sales and there's nothing like making people think they are going to miss out to make them hurry up and buy (possibly at a price higher than they wanted to pay).

Cazza

Realistic discounts at the moment are c10% off the advertised price. Being sold doesn't unfortunately make any difference as most builders won't even start to negotiate until you're in this situation.

Lots of people are buying off plan still, so they not necessarily lying on that front; the market is getting tough for them though. If you wait until the properties are finished then there's a chance it might be gone, but it's unlikely that ALL of them will be gone. It depends on how much you like one particular house!

Builders tend to like to do "deals" rather than take money off the actual house :rolleyes:. Try asking for 5% deposit paid, 3% stamp duty paid and your estate agents fees paid!

guyrulius

Consider this when thinking about renting - the average salary in Salisbury is £23k. Archers Gate starting prices are around the 250k mark i.e. 10x average salary.

You are obviously ok because you have equity from a previous sale.

In a market potentially experiencing a mortgage famine, how do you think that estate will hold up price-wise? There's going to be a lot of negative equity in that little patch IMO.

I quite like the estate and I would put up with being under the fast jet circuit at Boscombe Down but Persimmon are going to be more realistic with their pricing before long.

The same at Sarum View by Salisbury football ground where the ground work is going in now.

gemima

You obviously know the area well and thanks for reply.

I think the problem is that alot of people buying on this site are either army families or spilling down from the London suburbs (even though I wouldn't do that commute everyday).

As for Sarum View - had you noticed that Charles Church were due to do the building there ranging from 2 - 6 bedroom houses and now Persimmon are doing it and are only building 1-4 bedroom houses - something about the market maybe and more likely to do with the area!!!

My husband and I did say that there would be alot of negative equity on that site in the next few years and yes, we do have equity from our current sale and because we can't afford the prices in Salisbury (where we live) to upgrade to the next level we are looking at Amesbury, so even more annoying that we can't get a property there when we live in a nicer part of Wiltshire.

Couldn't understand the bit you mentioned about renting though?

Also half those on the estate probably don't know that come June/July there will be alot of night flying happening over their heads!:rotfl:

glen8

we have just bought a new house and negotiated a 50k discount (made up of cash discount and extras we actually needed)

That said....people are paying close to the asking price. I know of three couples who have paid the asking price :rolleyes:

I know the people on this forum are financially savvy but most aren't and haven't a clue about the economy

Persimmons have always been tight, try some of the others

If you really like the house though, well....that's another story. Do you wan't a home or an investment?

guyrulius

gemima wrote: »

You obviously know the area well and thanks for reply.

I think the problem is that alot of people buying on this site are either army families or spilling down from the London suburbs (even though I wouldn't do that commute everyday).

As for Sarum View - had you noticed that Charles Church were due to do the building there ranging from 2 - 6 bedroom houses and now Persimmon are doing it and are only building 1-4 bedroom houses - something about the market maybe and more likely to do with the area!!!

My husband and I did say that there would be alot of negative equity on that site in the next few years and yes, we do have equity from our current sale and because we can't afford the prices in Salisbury (where we live) to upgrade to the next level we are looking at Amesbury, so even more annoying that we can't get a property there when we live in a nicer part of Wiltshire.

Couldn't understand the bit you mentioned about renting though?

Also half those on the estate probably don't know that come June/July there will be alot of night flying happening over their heads!:rotfl:

I rent in Winterbourne about 3 miles from Boscombe because despite earning about 45k a year, I've decided I'm not prepared to pay 300k for a 2 bed house in what is clearly an unsustainable market.

Archers Gate is perfect as a commuter village but Solstice Park which was supposed to provide the jobs isn't really taking off.

The mortgage famine will decimate Salisbury prices - people will always want to live here but demand is a function of desire and ability to pay. People forget that last bit.

Now you point it out I had noticed part of the Sarum View change. Honestly, would you want to live next to an active airfield with a TA rifle range and a football club all within 300m? The noise is never ending.

gemima

Didn't think about reducing it down by other methods.

Just thought it might be a better idea to go to Bloor Homes tomorrow (prefer their internal build quality anyway but thought would get a better deal with Poosimmon!!).

So, what about asking for a 10% discount, they pay 5% deposit and all fees - that would bring it down to the hard cash we actually want to pay as opposed to asking them for a straight 15% off??

gemima

Yes and partridge Way - says it all really! I wouldn't want to live there!

Winterbourne is a lovely village and we would love to live there. I guess we are a little edgy about renting because we have 2 young children and are petrified of falling off the Salisbury bubble and not being able to get back on again.

glen8

what about carpets, tiled flooring, turfing, fencing etc etc

It's all the things you'll need to buy anyway?

If you have already sold, got your new mortgage promise then you should be able to strike a cracking deal