New build delays

[elliottc]

Has anyone purchased a new build property before and if so, were there any delays? I had my offer on a house accepted back in November and those vendors are buying a new build. February/March was originally mentioned for their new build being ready. My solicitors have been chasing theirs to try and find out an estimated date for the new build house to be ready and they have come back and said they currently don't know but have said it will need to be a long stop completion date.

I'm wondering if this is because there have been delays? I would rather know as my buyer has a mortgage offer which could potentially run out if it's too far in the future. Does anyone have any experience of this?

With a new build it is a "how long is a piece of string"? question. Anyone buying a new build should be prepared to go into rented. Our house was 2-3 months late in the end, but some other houses were 8-9 months delayed. A lot depends on the builder & the time of year.

We'd hoped to avoid going into rented but couldn't risk losing our buyers by making them wait any longer. We insisted on a month between exchange & complete & moved into a short term let for 2 months. It was very expensive, but cheaper than a 6 month let.

The fact that they don't know when the new build will be ready is very worrying. Have the sellers offered to move into rented at all? You may need to give a deadline before cutting your losses.

They should have an anticipated window of at least 3 months, less depending what stage their at!

Depends on what stage the new build is at when you reserve.
We reserved on a new build last year and at the time of reservation it wasn't even a hole in the ground. From start to finish (we moved in last week) it was 9-months although at the beginning the period being quoted was just shy of 12-months.
Yes, it is necessary to sell-up and move into temporary accommodation as unless your developer does PX they want to see you have all funds available (Inc mortgage offer if applicable) and won't allow a chain.

The people I'm buying from have said they are not prepared to move in to rented if need be which is why I'm worrying about my buyers mortgage offer expiring!

Some can be extended, we for example can extend by 45 days if we need to

Might be worth finding out the actual date it expires and if there is the option to extend?

Our buyers extended ours to help us out slightly so don't see why it's an unreasonable question for your solicitors to ask?

We bought a new build (during covid so lots of delays) and even I think it is unacceptable of your vendor to think that you'll agree to a long stop date. They will want you to exchange asap and complete with just 2 weeks notice. Your solicitor should advise you against this and push for a fixed completion date.
We moved out and in with family before our new build was complete. They will lose the house if you pull out so they are at risk as well. I would definitely not agree to any long stop date. There was a thread a couple of months ago where someone was in your position and they did eventually move in after compromising but their vendor did eventually have to commit to a date.

We've just moved into our new build last week, we had massive issues with chains so actually exchanged after house was ready, but house was ready 5 weeks after we were originally told (last summer). Think the houses across the road were supposed to be finished by around now/early last month but just watched windows gone yesterday so suspect they're behind about a month as well

Pre covid our new build due in August/September completed at the end of the next January. The houses round the corner due in September/October completed the next May.

Do not agree to a long stop date. We managed the delays as we were living in a rolling contact rental, but your vendors will need to move in with family or rent. Your mortgage offer could expire and suddenly get a lot more expensive, theirs could expire and suddenly they can't get a new one for some reason, the build could be delayed massively... It's not your stress to carry.

We were supposed to be buying one, reserved it and then before exchange pulled out of the sale and purchased a 99% finished new build. The original one should have been built by August and someone finally moved in the following August, a full 12 months late. The whole estate was delayed as much, and in some cases even longer than 12months

Can I ask why people do not recommend a long stop completion date? I believe the developers initially gave the end of March for the house to be ready although they haven't confirmed this. If the long stop date was say, end of April, would there be an issue with this? Sorry, I've not dealt with this before.

Your solicitor won’t recommend the long stop completion as it likely won’t be a date like April. When we exchanged on ours (once we sold our house) we were given a date but the long stop date is likely to be months after than date so they can have delays etc.
We were told January to complete but our kin stop date was July meaning they could delay all the likes and we couldn’t pull out till after July. I imagine they’ll give you a long stop date for later this year which is unfair on you and the chain below you.