Tips for buying new build off plan?

[stumblymonkeyagain]

We're first time buyers and just about to start the process to purchase a 4 bed family home. It's new build by Miller Homes and off plan.

We've seen the show room (which is the 5 bed with all the optional upgrades)...we're looking to negotiate stamp duty paid but will start by asking for stamp duty paid, legal costs and some optional extras thrown in. As we're currently renting with no chain I think we're in a decent negotiating position.

Any tips for buying off plan?

What did you manage to negotiate?

Any help appreciated as we've never bought before...

I've never done it but I've been told with buying off plan you need to be really clear on the details of the place you are buying. E.G, How many plug sockets are in the living room, and is the garden area going to be all grass or paving etc. Be clear on what is included and what is an extra (someone I know who bought a new build found that there were lots of overpriced surcharges for little extras you might think would come as standard (like doorbells). Also if it's got an en-suite check how well ventilated it is. If there's not going to be a window in there it will need a really good extractor fan fitted or it will get mould (voice of bitter experience here).

I've just made the phone call to start negotiating on a new build. We're not going off plan; the house is already built but not finished and they need to sell these last few so they can move onto the next phase.

I asked for stamp duty and all legal fees (they offered £500 towards) and went in pretty low because they came to us with a low part ex offer on our current house.

We're expecting a no so our plan is to go a bit higher but with stamp duty, legal fees and extras (wardrobes in second bedroom, etc). We've already got carpets, flooring, tiling, etc

I've got no idea about negotiating on new builds - this is a first for us!

Good luck!

Go for flooring, you can move straight in then. Sometimes they chuck that in for free.

You maybe able to negotiate the layout but I've never done that. I do now want to knock the wall down between the kitchen and dining room to make a big family room.

Also turf in the garden if it's not included.

Be persistent with your snagging list and get everything done no matter how small.

Sometimes they offer £1000 towards legal fees.

Check plans for where the lampposts are going- they plonked one right outside my neighbors house.

If you have the luxury of not having to move in straight away get the painting done before you do.

And before you handover;

Check all lights and plug sockets work (take a hairdryer). And check the lights are wired up correctly- we had some odd ones.

Paint your fences early on.

Check doors and windows close properly.

Do a snagging list and chase it up.

There is a lot online at the moment about leasehold and new builds so it might be worth investigation before buying.

Good luck

We bought new build 12 months ago, moved in 8 months ago. We got:

Stamp duty
Legal costs
Estate agents fees for our sale of last place (similar sum to the stamp duty)
Flooring upgrade
Mortgage brokering fees
Reduction in purchase price (5%)

We bought from a very reputable builders so had few concerns around finishing/plugs etc. That said there have been many, many snagging issues and 8 months on still not all sorted. It's quite stressful, customer services hasn't been great considering the standard of house we bought. I suspect for a non-premium property it would have been an load worse.

Good luck!

We bought off plan. Read the small print. Ours said they could vary the room size by 10%. So my kitchen is 10 feet wide rather than 11 (and the bedrooms above it) and my garden is more sloped than we anticipated.

I do love my house and we got a good deal (stamp duty, legal feed, variation of the layout, good spec fittings), but the issues irk me and would put me off buying off plan again.

Don't believe anything the site office says Get it in writing

Get a discount on the house price as well as carpets and all the stuff mentioned already. As pp said any extras etc get in writing and make sure you do any negotiations with site office BEFORE exchange as after that and the agents have got their commission paid you will usually find them much less keen and helpful. Hold your nerve with negotiating - they will often try and scare you into signing up quickly by telling you someone else is interested in 'your' house, don't be fooled!

When I grow up I want to be as good a negotiator as ThingVellir! That's quite an impressive list of savings

Get all agreed specifications written down, from type of doorhandles, plugs to colour of paint on the stairs. They stained my stairs when I'd ordered white so they had to change it after checking the paperwork. If you can see the plot at all at any stage it's worth it as you'll be able to see if it's level etc.
I got stamp duty, solicitors fees, carpets and hard flooring, choice of fireplace and the garden turfed and planted with shrubs. The planting was a bit supermarket car park but has been thinned out a lot over the years but it helps to start off.
I would check that all the plumbing works properly too, contractors blaze through a new development and bathrooms/ kitchens etc can end up being a bit rushed. Make sure they've provided the plumbing for a dishwasher and washing machine, also isolation valves - that's a favourite cost cutter.
The best investment you can make is to hire a professional snagger who will nitpick their way round the house and negotiate with the builder for you too. Saves years of irritating stuff haunting you long after the developer has left the site. Never mind the guarantee, it's easy to get stuff fixed while they are still on site but not once they have left.

@bananafanana1 That's such a good point about lampposts...I would not have thought of that at all!

Thanks all...some really good points here which I will add to my list for discussions.

I'm starting negotiations on Thursday so will pop back and let you know how I get on...

Ask for more plug sockets than you think! We had an extra 12 double sockets in total and I still wish we'd had some more! Possibly the most useful though was the one we had fitted in the understairs cupboard - we now have a cordless vac and it 'lives' in that cupboard on charge.

Things often 'not included' are toilet roll holders, outside lights, outside taps and power supply.

We also got more drawers in the kitchen (swapped a cupboard for them). And a wall cupboard in the utility.

Be really fussy with your snagging - they can be a pain at doing things but even little niggles need sorting (slightly wonky sockets etc.)

Oh, and in the show house (same design as our house) the light switch in bedroom 2 was a good foot closer to the door than in our house - it meant we couldn't fit ds's wardrobe on that wall so had to rethink his room layout.

Get in writing when they are going to finish the tarmac on the road, particularly if they are going to be building for a while after you move in. We are still waiting for road and pavements to be completed 2 years in!!

Also check management fees and what services / roads have been or will be adopted by the local authority.

Oh, remembered another thing.

We had to buy our wheelie buns from the council!! £100 that cost us!

And BUY THE FREEHOLD! Buy it now. We did - best thing I ever suggested.

Something for after you've negotiated but make sure to ask your Conveyancer about if/when the road is being adopted by the local Council. It can be a very expensive mess if not organised properly.

Thanks all...

Negotiation done today and have got stamp duty, legal costs, integrated appliances (washer/dryer, dishwasher, fridge/freezer), flooring throughout and back garden turfed = £24k as the stamp duty alone is £16,250.

We're buying freehold and it's a detached property so I don't think there are any management fees (isn't that for flats?).

No lamppost outside of bedroom

We're going through the full spec in an hour so will look at sockets then...great idea about one in the cupboard for a cordless vac!

And thanks @PragmaticWench and @Crikeyblimey for the tips about the road. It's not something I would have thought of but will definitely be bringing it up!

You often pay management fees on new build estates, especially if there are any leasehold properties there as well, to cover things like maintenance of common grounds, lighting and unadopted roads / services etc.

If there are areas that are not adopted by the local authority and there is no management system (either a company or a residents group) in place then it can cause problems later on.

We currently have a freehold property but pay management fees for upkeep of extensive grounds, roads, pathways etc, and have an excellent residents association which keeps a close eye on the management company. We moved from a 30 year old house that was part of an estate that had extensive unadopted areas but no management provision for them - which came to a head just as we were selling and ended up costing us a small fortune to deal with. Not great at all.

Thanks @RandomlyGenerated

Something I will definitely discuss with them on our call at 12.30!

We are one of only eighteen houses, a management company was formed as PP said, to cover maintenance mostly grass cutting and the pruning. If this is relevant for your house, I would stongly encourage you to make the management company owned by the freeholders. We can choose to employ accountants, gardeners etc but, since everyone pays an equal share of the running costs, we are all keen to find a good balance between good services and low costs.

If the management company is owned by someone else, there is always a risk that they have other reasons for increasing costs.

Will bear that in mind as there will be a management company (fees are £350 per year) but take the point about increases...

Not sure whether this would still happen now but worth a go I guess - when we bought our first new build we got a reduction on our council tax band via appeal since when we moved in there were no street lights and the roads weren't properly finished, everyone on the estate did it and I assume the rate/band was supposed to increase once the estate was properly finished but it never did. It was a very simple process to appeal, and worth looking into if the whole development is unfinished when you move in.

We bought a new build from the same company about 10 years ago.
Make sure you:
Document everything from the show home that you expect to see in your new build. We found that they tried to replace top of the range items with lower end alternatives: e.g. the show home had top of the range Neff oven/hob etc and they wanted to give us the most basic model. They may also change some of the spec if it's not fully documented. Do anticipate for the completion date to be delayed. Make sure you don't sign the handover document before you have completed your snagging list - ours was very long!

Also everything officer and crikey said.

Make sure you get electricity in the garage too!