New house offer

moneypost

We sold last year and have been in rented accommodation waiting to buy a house. We have finally found somewhere but it is a new build (less than ten houses) and the property will not be available for at least six months. With house prices going the way they are (and they are definitely going down in our area) I'm not sure how we should approach this. I think we're in a good position since we are cash buyers and the developer will not have to pay marketing costs. At the moment I just want to reserve the plot so I'm expecting to pay a deposit of some kind. However, at some point we're going to need to agree a purchase price. Does anyone have experience of this kind of transaction? At what point should we agree the purchase price? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Captain_Mainwaring_2

Don't pay a penny until you have agreed a price.

Lotus-eater

Do you really want to buy a newbuild and one that won't be available for 6 months at this time? What happens if you agree a price, pay a deposit and prices drop 7% in that time, how sick would you feel then? Do you think they all will be reserved considering what we are hearing about developers having trouble selling new builds?

clobber_2

There are plenty of threads on this board from people who have bought off plan, the value of the property has dropped in the interim, and then find themselves approaching completeion having paid a deposit and being unable to obtain a mortgage because the LTV is now too high. Can't pull out without losing deposit and developers expenses, can't buy because can't get a mortgage.

I wouldn't even think about negotiating with them til it's finished.

wymondham

well said above, don't pay a penny or sign anything until it's built with an agreed price you're happy with.. plus in six month's it will be worth £30k less as well!!!!

mrs_deadline

If there's a particularly desirable plot, you could try and reserve it for a small returnable deposit but put off agreeing contracts/prices until they are in a position to give you a firm moving-in date.

gfplux

If you can reserve it now without agreeing a FIRM price then you should do so.
During the lead up to discussing the price make sure you have the size of the living space and look around at other new builds in the area and compare the price per square meter.
You should not pay more per sq meter for a new build than a property completed 2 to 3 years ago with all the extras in it that you always have to buy when you move in to a new build.