Advice needed: how can I buy a house that is not even built yet?

[bergentulip]

We're looking to buy a new-build, part of a development, seems to be the best way to get more space for our money.

Seen the showhomes, but neither are particularly representative of the house we are interested in. So, how is it done? How can we make an offer on something we have not seen yet?

Supposed to be ready before the end of the year. Would be great to be in our own home with lots of space for christmas.

So, has anyone else bought something 'off the peg'? What questions should we be asking? How do we make sure we don't get ripped off and end up with something we don't actually like?

Thank you!

[Scottie22]

You have to be quite brave really! We nearly bought 'off plan' a few years ago but couldn't visualise the environment well enough i.e. proximity to neighbours, road etc based on the plans so we chickened out! Quite glad really as on plans it looked different to the reality when we finally saw it!

Obviously you can get plans from developer and make an offer. You usually have to put down quite a sizable deposit (ours was £1,000). You should be covered by NBCH (I think!) guarantee for any problems once you are in the house. You could ask developer if they have any houses on other developments which are similar to the ones you are interested in to have a look at?