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Original poster

Buying at the TOP of our budget!

27 replies

Jojolil · 04/06/2016 11:48

Are there any clever people out there who can advise me? We have put an offer in on a new build home. The developer will not accept it even though it is very very close to the guide price - he wants full wack! We are three weeks away from the referendum... should we hold fast? We REALLY like the house but we really cannot afford to up anymore. Feeling scared - don't want to lose it and can't pay anymore really... Help!!

OP posts:
Sunnyshores · 04/06/2016 12:06

Can I ask how much more exactly developer wants? and is it a small local developer or a nationwide company?

lljkk · 04/06/2016 12:09

If that's your ceiling that's your ceiling. There's always another nice house out there to buy instead. Why are you buying new, may I ask? I thought new meant a hefty premimum you never get back.

CoperCabana · 04/06/2016 12:10

Can you negotiate on full price but with carpets, turfed garden, extras included? Or any help with moving costs? Stamp duty? Somethimes, those are the things they will budge on. Fwiw, we paid absolutely top whack for our new build about 5 years ago, and it has increased in value by 50% so it felt very risky at the time, but looking back, absolutely the best thing to do!

PotteringAlong · 04/06/2016 12:11

If you cannot pay more you cannot pay more. Walk away.

Sunnyshores · 04/06/2016 12:19

Thats why I was asking how much more the developer wanted. If its £2k and hes a national builder, Id say go back and negotiate hard. He'll have sales targets to meet and there will be something you need and have budgetted for- turf, carpets, furniture from the show room, better kitchen stuff.

If its a small developer, can you ask him not to finish something - the garden, decoration. and you do it. Not ideal. But if you want this house it could be a compromoise.

If youre talking £5k+ youre unlikely to get that much of a reduction if hes already refusing. Dont pay more than you can afford.

helpbuyingahouse · 04/06/2016 12:22

Then walk away, they will come back to you. I saw a house that I Kind of liked, new build. Said I wanted to pay about 15% less and wanted stamp duty paid, they said no. I said good luck finding someone who will pay full asking (we are talking over 1m).

We found another house (not new build), that is the one we are buying.

The people from the new build called me back and said they wanted to negotiate. I told them they need even more luck to sell those houses now.

This is not in London, is it? If it is the same developer (the high end of a mass market brand) definitely say no, they will come back.

Original poster
Jojolil · 04/06/2016 13:28

Thank you so much for helping me all of you ...I know buying new is expensive but we like new as it's so easy to move in. The upkeep is so cheap and there is a LABC (??) Warranty. It's a one off house. A private developer. We asked him not to finish something but he said he had already paid for all the materials. There are no wardrobes/carpets/ to negotiate on.I think he's being greedy! We have walked away but I feel so sad!! I think you are right though perhaps we should be strong??

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Original poster
Jojolil · 04/06/2016 13:29

It's not London no.

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Original poster
Jojolil · 04/06/2016 13:33

BTW It sounds similar to helpbuyingahouse around the same price! Feel a bit sick!!

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FoxyLoxy123 · 04/06/2016 14:07

Don't forget about all the extras like flooring that you often have to pay for on top of with a new build.

I think they're a lot of hassle with all their snags personally. I don't know anyone who hasn't been really annoyed with theirs and in order to deal with that there's no way I'd want to be up to my eyeballs in debt, I would at least need to feel like I got a bit of a deal out of it.

Original poster
Jojolil · 04/06/2016 15:02

But do you think it's a buyer's market?

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helpbuyingahouse · 04/06/2016 16:25

Please wait, the market is absolutely dead. We are buying a house now (top of our budget too) but very easily negotiated 10%off. Ie I started 20% off and we agreed on 10%. I am paying beginning of 2014 prices (next door, identical, sold for the same price beginning of 2014, same conditions).

Sit tight, as yours is a private developer, he might have to sell because development mortgages are expensive etc. Do you have any idea about his financial situation? If you don't know how to do it, PM me and I will send you as much info as I can find.

If you don't want to say the name, download the title on the land registry, see if he bought the land cash or with financing. Then check the company name on companies house. Look at the financials and also see that in companies house they tell you all the mortgages he has.

See where the developer lives and check if his house is mortgaged (important, of his own house is mortgaged he might be in some financial distress). I am the perfect secret agent :-)

rallytog1 · 04/06/2016 20:30

Not sure where you are if the market near you is dead helpbuying - in Kent and Medway, property is flying off the shelves.

helpbuyingahouse · 04/06/2016 20:51

I am in London, zone 2/3. Nothing is selling and what is selling is going at much lower than asking prices. If you have time to waste, have a look at prices in nw3 (Hampstead) and sw4 (Clapham), I can send you examples of properties which sold for 10-15% less than similar properties. Maybe it is only starting in London and the rest of The UK is not affected (yet).

Ambivalence · 04/06/2016 21:57

Helpbuyingahouse - what you have to say is very interesting, that's what I'm hearing about London and I fear that the rest if the country is going to go where London leads.

I'm buying a house at the top of my budget, but in the West Midlands. What I'm buying is all of the no nos - biggest and best house on a shoddy street, next to railway line, buying from a one man band developer who's done a truly awful job, and it's an ugly 70s box to boot..but there is nothing on the market and nothing that size at that price at all. I'm about to exchange so worrying I'm making a huge mistake not waiting until after referendum but no one here seems to be worried unlike my friends in London ( where I lived until last year), and here they say there won't be a price drop because demand is booming with the expansion of jaguar Land Rover bringing so many people and jobs into the area...

I put in my offer at beginning of March and the seller ( developer) has only chased up progress this week, even though the property is mortgaged...

imjessie · 04/06/2016 22:02

If you love it then stretch yourselves . We bought a new build . It's increased loads since we bought it !

Ambivalence · 04/06/2016 22:22

I don't love the house I'm buying. .far from it, but it's what I can afford on my income and in the school catchment I want...
what I'd love would be something 3 times the price and too expensive to maintain. ..
plus everything goes to sealed bids over asking round here...

Original poster
Jojolil · 04/06/2016 22:47

Wow Helpbuyingahouse you are a secret agent! That is good! I'm going to do all those things tomorrow and if I get stuck I'll pm you thank you!! Haha - we'll see what kind of situation this is!! Ambivalence - it might just be the best time to buy at the moment as no one is making a move until after the referendum..? Maybe?? imjessie did you pay over the odds for a new build? If so - how long before it increased it's value please?
THANK YOU!!! ALL!!

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Sunnyshores · 04/06/2016 23:22

Never pay over the odds for any house, it is very foolish. Maybe there was a time when coincidentally it worked, it is not now!
So what if the developer has already brought items, he can use them for the next development.

NewBallsPlease00 · 05/06/2016 00:12

Market here is not dead- at right prices houses flying- a new build estate for hundreds has already sold through. Another opposite is well sold off plan. They keep building and people keep buying. Then down road are those houses from 20 years ago- less shiney but still good- but iver tears some have been in bad negative equity because of the new premiums.
In terms of one iffs- no prices not budging, not enough to fill demand so they know they'll get house sold at their price soon evough
A house is only worth what it is to you, and then what you can afford
Don't stretch yourself now

luellabelle · 05/06/2016 00:15

Where I am houses are still flying, and at way past asking price

TurquoiseDress · 05/06/2016 08:39

Where we are in SE London, I've noticed that properties seem to be hanging on the market for much longer before they are 'under offer' or 'sold STC'.

Also, a lot, if not the majority have had the price reduced.

This seems to be the case over in Beckenham where we are dreaming about moving. Despite all this, we might need to keep on dreaming!

Equimum · 05/06/2016 08:46

Of original topic, but very interesting to hear about stagnation in SE London. We're in a previously undesirable, small SE town, with commuter links to Libdon. Houses here are barely getting to market before disappearing. Our neighbour's house was listed on Minday and viewed 8 turns yesterday, resulting in 3 offers over asking price. For us, this would be nearly a 50% increase in price since we bought two years ago. Maybe now is the time to shift (?).

HarrietsHouse · 05/06/2016 08:58

Rallytog - I'm in Kent and I've heard two EA in the last few weeks say the market is dead. It is where I am, houses have been on for months, nothing new on the market for weeks. Obviously the strength of the market is very area specific!

AppleAndBlackberry · 05/06/2016 09:03

In our area properties seem to be going for the asking price or higher at the moment. We viewed a house in a real state this week, told the agent we were considering a low offer and he said that they were already at final bids with 2 other buyers and were expecting to get the asking price or very close. He may have been lying but we didn't make an offer and there was no encouragement to do so, so I think he was probably telling the truth. Plus we accepted an asking price offer on our own property a couple of weeks ago. If you want the property and you can afford it why not just pay the asking price?