Off plan house purchase dilema, advice please...

[Loopylala7]

Quite literally yesterday, my DH and I put a deposit of £1000 down to reserve a plot which won't be ready until next Febuary. We've been looking for a while and have had a very limited search criteria as we want to get into the right catchment for DC.

As our budget is not the biggest, the houses which have been coming up have been going very fast, within a day or two, well for anything half decent, so we acted pretty quickly when this opportunity came up.

Problem is, today, a whole day after we committed, a house has come up in our area with the 3 beds we need, and is in a better location, and is quite a bit less money.

Now my understanding is that our £1000 is non-refundable. Has anyone got experience of pulling out of buying a new build this quickly? Are they entitled to keep our money? It seems madness that I can take a top back to a shop 28 days later and get a full refund, but a day or two after agreeing to buy this property we would be held to pay out £1000 for well changing our minds after one night? Can somebody please advise if they have been in this situation, or know the laws about it. Many thanks

[RedHelenB]

FWIW, I would be wary of pulling out in case this this house falls through & leaves you with nothing if it is so very important to be in this particular area, at least you know no one will take this new build away from you. Think of it this way, if this house you are now considering buying was £1000 more presumably you would still go ahead? £1000 as insurance doesn't sound that bad to me!

[RedHelenB]

And actually, if you do get house no.2 could you not sell your reserved plot on for £1000?

[PeterParkerSays]

Check your contract - I think you should have a 7 day cooling off period for something like this.

[prh47bridge]

There is a Consumer Code for Home Builders. This code applies to any builder registered with NHBC, Premier Guarantee or LABC Warranty. If your builder is covered by this they should refund your fee but they are allowed to deduct a reasonable amount for their costs. This should all be covered in the papers you signed. If the builder is not registered with one of these schemes they are not bound by the code so you may not get your money back.

For what it is worth you do not have any legal right to return clothing (or anything else) to a shop and get a refund just because you have changed your mind. Some shops will give you a refund but they are only legally required to do so if the goods are faulty.