Part Exchange on a new build, any advice appreciated.

[Iola4]

We're going through the process of having the house valued by a building firm and awaiting the results of what the value will be, hopefully tomorrow!

We are mainly looking at this for the convenience however, our sized property in our area is very popular and will sell quickly and for what we ask if we did it the normal way. (We would rather not go go down the traditional route though as we need a bit of a smoother ride because we have a severely disabled child and this option, part ex, appeals)

Bit of info...the house is fully built/already carpeted/tiled/kitchen picked etc there no choices to be made or customisations available, so it's just sitting there.
There are 2 more unsold ones, one the same price as the plot we're interested in but different layout and another larger house 30k more.
Also the one we have interest in, they've already started building the next one like it, but the sales lady admitted she's a little puzzled why this layout hasn't sold (the plot we're interested in is the first of its design all the other designs are selling, we actually really like the layout!)...I've talked to friends and it's because they don't like corner plots...not a problem for us, we currently live on a corner plot and we happen to like it.

I'd like to pick mumsnetter brains on what to expect when this person calls with their valuation offer, do we have room to negotiate? What's ppls best advice?
Obviously we want to get the best deal we can just like anyone else at the end of the day.

Thanks X

[Otherpeoplesteens]

It really depends how much you think it's worth not being in a traditional chain that could collapse and how much is at risk.

We bought new from a developer which didn't offer P/E and when our buyer pulled out, although they gave us some time to find a new buyer they eventually put our plot back on the market. We had already forked out about £8k in customisations. In the end, we had to accept a much lower offer on our house anyway to rescue the new build. I'd rather have part-exchanged if the valuation was remotely reasonable.

[Iola4]

Thank you Otherpeoplesteens for that information, we're just waiting on them to get back with their offer, obviously if it's way off what we want then it would be a no go.

[hartof]

Haven't done Part Ex, but we did try a scheme Taylor Wimpy do called " Easy Mover" So we reserved the plot, they instructed an EA to sell our house at normal market value and we had 6 weeks to get an offer on our house.

We didn't sell in the 6 weeks (house needed some improvements and we couldn't drop price for what we needed to buy the new house) so we lost the house. We put our house up again last year on our own and sold very quickly so managed to buy a new build that was more or less ready.

If your house will sell as quick as you think maybe that's an option? I know a few developers offer this, and if their house isn't selling they may be willing to let you reserve it and put your house up on the market yourself.

[UnitedRoad]

We part exchanged ours when we bought this one 15 years ago. It had been on the market for 6 weeks (which was the minimum term) and hadn’t had any interest, so we decided to try PE. Our house was old, and we were told not to get our hopes up, as it was right on the edge of their age limit, so I was really worried.

The man who came round to value it was really nice. He said there were a couple of things that would need replacing in the future but nothing to worry about.

Our house had been on the market for £180, and we had been expecting offers lower than this though the estate agent, and my dad told us to expect a far lower PE offer, however they also offered us £180k. We were over the moon. It was such a easy process, and I’d definitely do it again.

[Iola4]

Thank you for your responses.
Its good to hear positive experiences.
Unfortunately there is no opportunity to reserve a plot. There is with another builder we're interested in but the houses haven't been started yet as the builder is looking at resubmitting planning for a different layout/specification or something of that sort. This would be an option if we weren't happy with the offer from the builder we've approached.
We haven't received an offer yet as I misunderstood what the gentleman told me! I'm a bit stressed so it's a good job the other half is on the ball with things.

[Planningchanged]

I’d be wary of the other builder with the replanning. We’ve just been scuppered by a builder doing something similar and completely changing the estate. We’d fallen in love with our new build (and had reserved it), but we just aren’t prepared to buy a house that will no longer have the same resale value due to the surrounding houses. So back to the drawing board for us

[thereinmadnesslies]

We did part ex on a house that was already fully built.
They got three estate agents around to value the house. They were not allowed to tell us directly what they were valuing the house at. Then the building company called and offered a part ex price which was lower than expected. They seemed very reliant on comparisons with other houses on the market, but didn’t look properly at the comparisons so initially they suggested that our four bed with three receptions was worth the same as a four bed with one reception and no garage.
They were open to discussing the valuation and eventually we got them to go up by £50k which took their offer to about £20k more than what were were prepared to accept.

Some stuff to be aware of :
It was a condition of the offer that we allowed the agents in to take photos as soon as we agreed the deal
We were supposed to give all three agents a key and allow them to give viewings at their convenience. We ‘forgot’ to do this and it was just before Xmas so I don’t think anyone was viewing anyway.
There was a very broad definition of fixtures and fittings - they expected us to leave all curtains and blinds and suggested we were supposed to leave anything attached to the wall eg shelves. We left the cheapest curtains we could find and removed and filled anything attached to the wall that we wanted to keep.
It was required that we left a certain number of keys and all the appliance manuals.

[thereinmadnesslies]

Sorry that’s really long, but happy to answer questions. It worked out ok for us but it wasn’t without hastle. We still had interact with estate agents but with less control because they weren’t working for us. Also we were expected to provide gas and electric safety Certs which was a job and cost I would have expected a buyer to cover in a conventional sale.

[Maydayredalert]

DO NOT accept their first offer!

My mum pxd and they called and offered her a really low amount. She said no obviously but within an hour they had called and offered her 20k more. I think personally she could have held out for more. You could also ask if they would pay legaks or stamp duty too.

[AutumnGlitterBall]

We part exchanged with Barratt a few years ago on a house which was a month off completion (previously reserved but they changed their minds at last minute to another plot). Home report valuation (Scotland) on our flat came in at 58-60k. Barratt offered 56k. Was still in negative equity from buying in late 2007. They said their offer was based on them offloading the flat within ten weeks. The alternative was to sell it ourselves which we didn’t know how how long would take and would probably need to pay estate agents fees so wouldn’t be better off and I really wanted the house. Corner plot, incidentally, so much bigger garden than other houses of that design. So we took it and Barratt ultimately sold the flat for 54k about a month later. Friends have said that Stewart Milne and Taylor Wimpey are much more generous with the offers.

Procedure-wise, very straightforward. And we had the flexibility to spend all day moving and hand the keys into sales office at closing rather than rushing to be out by one pm. We did have to pay a £500 deposit to make sure the flat was left clean enough but we got that back within a couple of weeks and I cleaned it myself, didn’t pay anyone to come in. Also expected to leave curtains/blinds which annoyed me as we didn’t even get curtain poles in the new house! But I also left cheap ones and I sold the white goods because we got fitted ones and Barratt only wanted the cooker left in the kitchen.

[Sforsh49]

Part ex with Taylor Wimpey. Simple 2 up 2 down. They offered us 70k which we turned down and accepted next offer of 72k which cleared that mortgage and paid the stamp duty. They sold our house for 49k eventually....... also in the paperwork was to leave curtains. I just refused as I loved my curtains and got our conveyancing solicitor to write to them and tell them it wasn't happening which he did and there was no issue with it. They wanted us to use a solicitor recommended by them and we refused and used a local firm which was the right thing to do for us as for some of stuff they were asking he just laughed at and said "well that's not happening is it!"

[Iola4]

Thank you mumnetters!

Loads of useful information and important points for me to take into account.

Planningchanged...Yes, the issue with the other builder does concern me. The ppl living in the 1st phase on the builders development must be very apprehensive with what will happen next.

thereinmadnesslies...you've given me a useful checklist of things to do/prepare for.