New build discounts- how well did you do?

[Menarefrommarsitwouldseem]

Hi all

I currently have my eye on a new build with a fab location for my work.
It's considerably more than the house I live in now so am trying to make it work.

When I went along last year they offered to pay my deposit- £46000!
This plot had been built, but a sale had fell through so they wanted it gone.
They also emailed offering stamp duty paid, carpets, curtains, removals and am entertainment package instead.

However, this wasn't the right time for me and the plot wasn't the one I wanted.

The plot I do want is about ready to be released but not built yet.
I've been watching the other houses on the development and sales seem to have slowed down. Recent releases are still for sale after 2 months.

If I manage to get myself sold, mortgage offer in time for release I want to try and secure a similar discount. Maybe 5% deposit contribution (£23,000), stamp and legals.
Although I was told by an estate agent to go in and ask for 10% of purchase price, stamp, legals and removals.

Has anyone ever been fortunate enough to secure such a discount? Or even be brave enough to put it forward?

I should add this will be their last plot for release on the development
So there will be an element of wanting to shut up shop so to speak.

That sounds excellent - how much was the house? It always amazes me how flexible new build 'deals' can be...

Our house cost £285k. On condition that we moved in before the end of the fiscal year (ie. 4 weeks from when we signed), they dropped the price to £265, paid our stamp duty (which at the time was the full 3% of the total), threw in £8k of wool carpets, and turfed the garden. It equated to around 15% in total off the price which we were delighted with!

IME a lot is dependent on things like

• how many completed homes they have that they're struggling to shift
• time of year (quarter-end etc)
• if they're stuck with a house that fell through at the last minute - often with personal choices of kitchens/tiles that are not to everyone's taste

Good luck - it's always worth trying to haggle, particularly if you're in a strong position (nothing to sell).

This is it, the worst they can say is no.
I can still do it without the incentives but after seeing their amazing offer to me last year I now know they CAN move significantly if needed.

It's up for £460k

If we sell quickly, we will be offering towards their half year point so that could be an advantage.
I think the reason the incentives are so good is the market is very slow. I would love to see what other houses have paid.

The offer they have at the moment without any haggling is: £4k worth of flooring, 4k worth of lighting and curtains and a low reservation fee. I assume they're expecting people to haggle for more.
It's so stressful.

Very similar situation with us - we’ve got 20k off (was 450, we offered 430), got stamp duty paid, free upgraded kitchen, free upgraded flooring thoughout and fitted wardrobes in all bedrooms.

I think we could have held out for more, but we really liked our particular plot.

A similar plot was sold for 440 before Christmas so I’m fairly happy with our lot.

Yahbasic
How much hard-balling did you have to do to get that. Or did they just say yes straight away?
The problem im going to have is acting like I'm not bothered. When in reality I'll be crying in the car if I have to walk away and give it the ' well you know where I am should you change your mind' lol

Maybe in my head being happy with a 5% discount... but asking for 10% to see if they'll meet me at 5%

I didn’t even know this was a thing!!

There’s some new builds near us I’d consider rather than rennovating and extending my own place.

Who do you speak to re deals?

Thanksdriver as long as it's not my plot

The sales negotiator in the office

The house I'm in now
Was on at 300k. I got it for 290, stamp duty paid, legal fees ,flooring and fitted wardrobes in 3 bedrooms..
Again, it was one that had already sold and had fallen through. I think that's where the bargains are...
Just hoping I can cut a deal on one that's not been built yet.

Good luck!! Will be v keen to hear how it goes.

Yep that was the same situation - the plot had fallen through and they called us because they want it sold by June and we’re FTB who are renting.

DH is a natural bad cop and his thinking face looks like he disagrees, so we basically stayed pretty silent and she kept offering more things

I went in very low, think it was about 415 and I reckon I could have got it for 420 if DH hadn’t mentioned the flooring.

We didn't get much (£5k incentives and stamp duty paid) but we had early bird reserved our plot, in the time we were in deciding whether to buy it or not, two other sets of buyers came in wanting to buy so it kind of removed any negotiating power we had! Our house already comes with lots of "extras" as standard (fully tiled bathrooms, upgraded kitchen, upgraded doors, upgraded gardens and full turf etc) so we're ok with only a small incentive package, we would struggle to spend much more.

The house type we wanted was the show house for the development, and was very popular, the houses in that style all sold within a week. Some houses hung around but the development has been popular overall - there's very little negotiating power here. In other bigger developments there are more options but that wasn't where we wanted to be. I'd loved to have got more but after 2 years of house hunting this is our ideal house

Also we went around lunchtime so that we had an “excuse” to go away and come back, as we needed to eat.

I think she got a bit nervous that we wouldn’t come back, so just agreed to everything when we did. It gave us a good time to talk tactics too.

We got £30k reduction (759 not 789), stamp duty paid, part ex on our previous house, 2k towards removals, turf and carpets. But we had to complete super quick to meet their year end which nearly killed us with the stress.

We had no room for negotiation when we bought ours... it was a sought after plot...involved being first in the door when the sales office opened on the day they released it....we were first there at 5.30am! If we didn't have it at full price, someone else would have.

I'm a property lawyer & have bought 100's of new builds for clients.

I'd never buy one. Too small, too cramped, no storage, built on the cheap and scrappy finish. And always overpriced.

Really think hard before you buy.

Thank you for all the advice and it's interesting to see how varied it is.
I would cough up full price if I had to as I do love the plot and the house.
But as she laid her cards on the table previously I feel there could be some room to move on the price
I hope

Champagne
I agree there not to everyone's taste but the one I am in now is a lot bigger than I could have got for an older property of the same price and I have loads of storage.
I had issues with boundaries at the beginning which were sorted quickly and a badly laid kitchen floor which was also sorted quickly but for me it's been a really positive experience.
I think I'm biased though as my first house was an older one and was a total money pit. I replaced the kitchen, then the roof needed doing, did that then the heating and so on.
Did have a big garden though.

Also a property lawyer and id say exactly the same. The heartbreak I've seen my clients go through is awful. The sign offs mean nothing, the developers don't care. Horrendous. Persimmon are the worst.

I can't believe the deal you were offered & are hoping to achieve! I thought we did well on ours. We got most of our stamp duty paid & flooring throughout. In total it equated to about 20k off. I suppose how much they are prepared to do depends on the location of the development & position of the plot & how desperate they are to get rid. I say to get as much as you can. Ask for more than you want. You have nothing to lose!

We got an unreleased plot in a great position in a very desirable development. The prices of same style houses have increased since we bought but ours remains at present, the only one with an exterior of its kind. Our house is large & has spacious rooms, hallways & landings. Definitely not too small or cramped. We moved here to avoid that lol. Our garden is actually bigger than we expected/needed, front & back.