cheeky offers on new builds!

[tibywibs]

Hi All,
Hub and I are 1st time buyers looking at new builds for £165k, getting a 30% interest free govt loan as part of a deposit (yes we'll be able to pay this back in 5 years!) and mortgage for the rest after paying a 5% deposit. there's 4 left on the plot and they're already built so sales girl said there's room for a deal as they want to sell them now! Thing is as we're new to this, how much of a deal is a deal? help!!

Sounds like they've got a problem. What is the property market like round and about? Have you tried the www.upmystreet.com recent sales for comparisons? If I thought a builder was in trouble I'd go for a 20% discount (£130k-£135k) and see the reaction If it's a hearty laugh it might be way too low. If they think about it a little before rejecting, you're close. If they bite your hand off, you've gone too high :)

I think 20% will result in a laugh. 5% you should get, plus your legal/survey fees paid as a bonus.

I disagree. :) That builder is in BIG trouble if he's got four finished properties still empty. Every day they stand there unsold, he's not only losing profit but he might not have enough capital to get going with the next project. The words 'there's room for a deal' are the best in you'll ever get! Aim low and you can always bid up...

Partly depends on the size of the company doing the build. A smaller company with cashflow issues is likely to give a bigger discount than a big company which just wants to move on to something else. 20% would be a pretty big cut and you'd only be likely to get this if the builder is in serious trouble or the market is going down at an alarming rate in that area. Otherwise I would say 5-10% would be more normal - even in the current environment. They should usually cover legal/surveyor's fees as stated above - and they may well throw in white goods, etc as well.

When you look to do a deal your first offer is probably never going to be accepted, but you will probably meet in the middle. Also you are never going to get if you don't ask. At the height of the market we bought a house offered 15% lower than asking price expecting to end up about 3% lower we actually agreed at 10% lower. So yes I would start at 20% and if necessary work your way down.

Agree with Lizcat. I would put a cheeky offer in (we did a couple of years ago and saved 20% of offer price), but you will need to either be really confident when you make the offer - tell them what a strong position you are in (mortgage in place, ready to move, can complete quickly, etc.) OR go down the route of ...you really love the house, but can only afford xxx (you can always say a couple of weeks later that you've managed to get a loan from a relative and can increase by another £5k.

Weigh up how much the house is really worth - if they are struggling to sell it at that price, chances are you may struggle to sell on and make a profit. Compare to other houses in the area and if you can get like for like cheaper, use this in your negotiation.

If they've opened by saying they'd do a deal, they're obviously happy to negotiate and will take your offer seriously. Good luck.

Thanks for all your replys, we went in at 124k which was met with a sharp intake of breath so we simply stated we could not afford to go over 130. we have left it with them but are secretly hoping if it's too low still they'll come back to use with something near 130 but something they're happy with!