New build house buying

[EllieJai44]

I know this isn't strictly pregnancy related but I am pregnant so can it count? 😂

Has anyone brought a new build house before? Did you negotiate on price?

We have a chance to buy a new build, theres 8 houses on the plot, 6 available been finished since beginning of this year and not selling fast (hoping this puts us in a better negotiating place?)

They are priced high for the area based on what has sold there in last 2 years.... we want to make an offer that we think is reasonable but its about 20-25k below asking price

Bump

I would give it a go. The worst thing they can say is no.

The fact they're finished with no interest means you're in a good place to negotiate. It's unlikely they will be able to give extras like fully tiling bathrooms or upgraded kitchens which are some of the easier things for them to throw in, but the builder will be wanting the plots sold now so no harm in asking. How much is the list price for 25k off?

We got a few incentives on our plot for our new build (stamp duty paid and extras rather than cash off), but while we were signing the paperwork two other couples came in to buy it so I think we were very lucky, definitely no room to negotiate too far! Haha.

@PlanBea see everything in the house is finished, it has flooring, appliances in the kitchen, bathrooms all tiled etc they are ready to just move your own stuff in!

They are up for 250k which is high priced for the area they are in with 4 bed houses normally selling for 200-210k in same area (these are 3 beds)

I work in the industry and YES definitely negotiate. If you can’t negotiate a price reduction, you could ask for a package to be included instead (eg. 10k towards extras + flooring throughout). Don’t be afraid to walk away. They will be desperate to clear stock plots and you’ll no doubt get a phone call the next day saying they’ve talked to their manager who has agreed to your offer. You hold many of the cards at the moment. Decide on a price you won’t go above and stick to it. Good luck!

@Floopyandtired thank you for your reply! We wasn't sure what extras they could add on when flooring is done, appliances already in the property and with stamp duty being wavered currently, my husband is keen to make a low offer but we are fully prepared for a no and be happy to walk away as we are in a good position to do that, we would live to move but we don't have to lol

@EllieJai44 they may be able to turf the garden, but you’re right probably not much else at this stage. Your best bet is to go in with an offer, say it’s your absolutely max and if they say no, you say well you’ve got our number if you change your mind. Then walk away. They will definitely call you to either accept your offer or continue negotiations. They’ll also be desperate for you to legally complete before Christmas as that will count towards their bonus, so if you can do that make sure you let them know. Really hope it works out for you 😊

I couldn’t negotiate on price with mine, but they managed to throw things in. So I bought it for the listed price, but they gave me back a few thousand, the house was leasehold but they bought the freehold on it before I purchased it (I started to back out when I knew it was leasehold). It was the last one of the phase that someone had backed out of buying, and everyone else wanted the ones still in build so they could choose their interior. I also got flooring, turf in the garden, and light fittings with mine so all in all it worked out quite well.

Yes - they knocked 30k off and gave us 15k worth of extras. They also part exchanged on our old house and made a loss on that when we refused to accept the buyers offer. This was a month after our initial interest when we’d pretty much decided not to proceed - the reduction made it too good not to buy and husband then chanced his arm with the extras.

@Meepmeeep wow thats a great deal you got! Were they already built or were they in the process of being built?

We are planning on going in with a low offer and then coming away if there's no budge on their end

The foundations were laid so bought completely off plan - got to make all house choices. When we initially pulled out we told the sales advisor the price we would have been happy to pay and when the price was lowered she contacted us on the Sunday and our deposit was paid on the Monday.

We were looking at new builds last year and usually before we’d even expressed any interest they were already telling us they could do a deal. One even suggested an offer £250k less would probably be accepted (yes, you read that right - £250k!!!!) so I would say negotiate the hell out of them. If they don’t want to sell at that price, they won’t sell

@Penny2020 how much were the houses to start with?! Thats crazy money off!

I know - ridiculous isn’t it. This was in Surrey, and they were stupidly overpriced to start with. They were beautiful though, we were very tempted but ended up going for something more affordable (boring!)

Yes you totally can, especially since it’s completed. If it was off plan or just launch they probably won’t budge but if it’s ready to move in and only final few they totally would.

Any idea why they haven’t sold? That would be a concern for me. If they’re nice new builds but aren’t selling I would want to know where. Market is red hot right now and things should be flying off. I’d think about that first. Could be legals as huge amount of issues with some new builds?

Either way, yes I would definitely knock something off!! Worst they can say is no, but considering some are still left, I’m sure you’ll be in with a chance!

@kittenpeak to start with it was COVID related as they finished at them just when lockdown started so estate agents were shut....now I'm nit too sure on the reason why, we personally think its the location of them, they are off the road in a gated area but the back onto a train station, its an end of line station where the trains roll into the station and its a dead end track so nothing noisy as we live in very quiet town!

Never be scared to put in a low offer, you can always raise it.

I've bought and sold a fair bit of property in my time and my general rule is that if the estate agent doesnt laugh at my opening offer, then I've gone in too high :D