Buying a New Build Home

I’ve had 4 new builds. I was a cash buyer for my current house. I researched when the builders half year would be. Based on that being around my house hunting time I made an offer for my brand new house. I also asked for a dishwasher.
My offer was accepted because presumable the builder (nationwide major house builder) wanted his books to look good for the half year returns!
Worth every penny & I know from Rightmove comparing houses around bought at the same time, me I got a very good deal indeed!
It’s always worth a try

Argh zombie thread!

I think the OPs daughter might have made her decision.
The OP is March 2018

I've just been on MSE, it seems very likely the interest rate is going to be raised. I do feel for the many people who have stretched themselves due to the increase in prices over the past few years. We bought late 80's and our mortgage just went up and up and up - I still remember the taste of our supper one end of month evening, curry powder in water. Think it was out of date too!

Ours was new build. We really had no idea about buying new builds (this was some years ago) and were considering paying the full price until the saleswoman, sensing we were backing out asked if a 20% discount would help. Of course we jumped at it then. Later we realised that a lot of the houses had been sold and they wanted to wrap up the sales side, and we could probably have pushed them further as we'd agreed a fast move. and maybe got some extras for the house as well.

Depends where you are in the country I think, any house built round us sells before it's completed. But it's certainly worth trying if it looks like they are taking a while to sell, or if there are only one or two left out of a number of builds.

It all depends on the market, how fast houses on that estate are selling. As the stamp duty holiday is ending prices could well level off, all you can’t do is do your homework and pay what you can afford.

Find out when the end of the builder’s financial year falls. Frequently, but not always, 31 December. Look the company’s details up online. They are usually very keen to do deals to complete by their year end (or even half year) to achieve the target number of sales they have set themselves, a detail the City is interested in with the larger builders.

If they offer to pay legal costs don’t go with that ‘incentive’ as it will mean having to use a firm recommended by the builder and guess whose interests they will have at heart, to keep getting recommendations?

One word of caution - some of the big builders aren’t great on quality control so do your homework.

Absolutely, new builds are negotiable the same as resales. In fact, if the market is slow and seller is not moving his inventory fast enough, most the time he will take a lower offer. I'd offer at least $5000 less than asking, especially if the market is slow, but you can make any offer you'd like. Seller can always counter your offer. Be sure to be Pre-Approved for a loan before submitting offers unless you have cash.

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I've been on both sides of that bargaining process. I've pulled out when my offer wasn't accepted AND I've increased my offer and got the house.

The 'ones that got away' I still hanker after and regret, long since moving on from their alternatives!

I'm definitely going New Build next time. Fed up with an older house that needs constant upkeep.

First and foremost you have to be patient in the home buying process. When I bought my home it took me almost a year to find the right one. I even had to go through like 3 agents until I finally found one and t it can be a long process. Make sure you know what you are looking for before you start. Going to some sites like Realtor.com or Homefinder.com can really help you find the right place for you. It would also be great to check a trusted housing developer in your area. You could read this article about this promising residential property that might be a perfect fit for you and your kids.

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Ramblingrose, daughter and her boyfriend were going to have as large a mortgage as they could and a massive help to buy loan of £80k!!!!! There is no way that they could save £80k to pay off the loan after 5 years so they would have to pay interest. The rate increases are compound and also affected by the RPI so that is a scary unknown. In no time at all, she could have been paying £1400 + interest per annum on the help to buy portion and rising. Also mortgage rates are less favourable for help to buy. We could not see how all these factors together would be a good deal. We looked at several articles online and couldn’t find much in favour of the scheme. Not for my daughter at least.

My son and girlfriend also bought a house about a year ago on Help to Buy, they are managing to save now because they are paying much less than they were when they were renting in London, but they have gone out 40 miles or so and pay quite a bit on their commute. Hopefully they will be able to wipe off some of the extra borrowing when the full amount becomes payable. They didn't manage to negotiate a discount unfortunately, I wish they had because I thought their house was a little over priced, but the selling point of this development is that it's right next door to a train station that has a very good, fast connection to London and therefore popular with commuters.

My daughter bought her first house on Help to Buy, she was fine although I did encourage her to pay it off when the time came for her to remortgage. Luckily she had had a few pay rises and was able to do so. Help to Buy was not a financial nightmare for her but an aid to getting on the housing ladder.

Well, the house is not to be. Daughter sent an email with the max price she could afford and the reply came back that they couldn’t drop that low (which implied that the price was negotiable to some extent). So she’s pulled out. I’m relieved to be honest. She will get over the disappointment and realise it was for the best. Thanks for all your comments.

I wonder if there is any info on the help to buy schemes on the moneysavingexpert website .If anyone would know pro's and con's it will be marti n lewis.
Might be worth taking a look . Everything I've heard about it was positive unless things have changed

I used to work for a new home builder. It was a long time ago, but it's always worth asking for something like carpets or turf to be included in the price. We used to build in what was called 'an incentive' into the price, which could be the deposit, carpets and curtains or possibly landscaping. Things may have changed now though.

SpringyChicken - I'd be interested to know why Help to Buy can turn into a financial nightmare as I was thinking of recommending it to my children.
Can you elaborate, please?

There is never anything to lose by making an offer, the worse they can say is no.

Woops !! forgot to add ask Negotiator for help towards Solicitors costs this is not unreasonable or for Company to carpet the property Barrets used to this as part of the deal it goes a long way to help new buyers.

Srpingchicken I was a New Homes Negotiator for many years and I know from experience that there is a degree of moveability on the price quoted,if the house is already completed she can offer a price reduction due to the kitchen/bathroom/tiling/choices being done also to agree a quick exchange of contracts will help discounts.
A good negotiator will put this to her Sales Manager because this time of year many Companies of New Build will be looking for their end of year completion figures ie (April) Good Luck.

Well I guess we always want what we can’t have, with the cost of moving, solicitors fees etc. It might make more sense to be saving towards a newer house and not borrowing too much. Good luck whatever she decides to do.

Friends of my son & dil were able to negotiate a substabtial discount on their new build. They held out for when there was only a 1 left on that particular bit of the plot. The building company wasn’t leagally allowed to move on to the next part of the estate while houses sit empty.