Is it acceptable to make an offer on a new build?

[Crakes]

Sorry if that sounds terribly naive. Im interested in a property on an estate which isn't yet finished being built. I wouldn't want to lose the house, but on the other hand, they don't seem to be selling that fast.

How do I go about this?! Thank you :).

I did, but it was an independent developer rather than a big company like Wimpey or Barratt. Not that that necessarily makes a difference.

You make an offer in the usual way through the estate agent, afaik.

You can certainly try , IME they are more likely to negotiate on free upgrades / turf etc than on the base price but if they aren’t selling you never know .

Yes you can, you'll probably get a lot of blather about them not negotiating on the basic price. And they may try to trade in freebies instead of dropping the price.

But it doesn't stop you making an offer anyway.

Personally hell would freeze over before I bought another new build, especially one that seems overpriced. The stress of all the problems they bring simply not worth it IMO.

You can always try.

you do have to keep in mind that they might accept your offer, but then charge more for any changes, upgrades, or unforeseen developments along the way. Saving money at one point doesn’t necessarily mean much.

I think you are more likely to be able to negotiate on the spec inside- so upgraded kitchen, flooring, possibly even things like removal costs.

Thanks for the info and input.

@MrsMinted sorry you had such an awful new build experience. I currently live in an Edwardian house and I'm so done with the constant maintenance and non-stop issues that I'm hoping a new build will be much easier to live in!

Some of it will depend on the build stage. If they’re bearing the end of the development, they’ll want to sell the remaining houses as quickly as possible. Similar if it’s towards the end of a phase.

It also depends on what the developers include as standard. We upgraded the oven to one that was similar to one we had before, but good quality Amtico flooring was included, as well as carpets. We should have asked for upgraded carpets, because we’ve replaced some of them. If it’s a developer that doesn’t include white goods, try asking for those, or better quality work tops, tiling or splashback,

We got them to remove the cost of stamp duty on ours. It’s certainly worth trying a negotiation. For all the naysayers about new builds, I agree that some developers are problematic. You have to choose carefully. But now that energy costs are so high, I’m pleased we have a house that’s well insulated and stays warmer than an older property with draughts and even higher heating costs,

Yes. Be careful what you sign though. Its usual for new builds to exchange contracts asap and the contract says “completion on 4 weeks notice from developer.”

I know someone who spent 18 months after exchange waiting for the developer to complete. Completely powerless to walk away or move. That wait cost my friend about £40k in rent. Worth thinking about when you’re thinking about the purchase price… For this reason (and all of the house problems he had after he moved in) I personally would never buy a new build direct from a developer.

It's not unacceptable, but I think you're unlikely to have any joy.

You can often negotiate a better deal once they are complete because the sales office wants shot of the last house or 2

I bought a new build house recently - reserved this time last year during the boom and completed in May. We made an offer and negotiated the price with the sales team so definitely possible! You can also negotiate extras like flooring and kitchen upgrades too. Sometimes they’ll pay your legal fees or stamp duty if they won’t knock anything off the price

My parents got £100k off theirs so yes

Those new build houses are all so overpriced that there’s always room for negotiation. Often they won’t drop the price, but will throw in turf/flooring/multiple upgrades/stamp duty/money towards moving costs etc etc

Also just to add we LOVE our new build. It’s so warm compared to our Victorian terrace and MUCH cheaper to run, so easy to keep clean, the layout is perfect for a modern family. We’ve had a few minor snags but they’ve come out to fix things really quickly. New builds have a really bad rep but do some research on the development your interested in rather than just the house builder