Putting a 10% off asking price offer on a new build

[Alexatancu]

Hi everyone,

We found a house we liked however the location is not the most convenient for me and my partner.
We however decided that the house is really nice and have called to ask if any offers have been put on the house. We were told that no offers have been put forward and the house has been on the market since end of November. So as advised by our broker we started at 10% off the asking price planning to increase to 7.5% and 5% as our last offer.

The agent called and seemed very offended by it and acting as if there is no such thing as counter-offering and second and third offers. She said that the offer is rejected and they want an offer closer to asking price to be accepted. But obviously you always start with your first offer being the lowest?

Should I proceed with making the 7.5% offer or the 5% offer now as the last offer? And should I justify my offer? We also found a new build house which is slightly larger, in a better location and priced lower than this one that we are looking it's just that it's not ready to move into like this one so should I tell them the reasons for our offer?

*theyre not

Developers definitely do accept offers under the asking price. Whether yours will in this one of course is a different matter.

If you've got a ceiling price then the only incentive which would really help is them paying the SDLT but does that get anywhere near your figure?

We will have to agree to disagree. If you bought in a rapidly rising market your example is hardly representative. The OP is considering buying in a falling market so it is even more important to consider what she pays carefully.

We're not first time buyers though? I've never mentioned that. I have equity from my home and I'm able to put 25% deposit but the lender isn't giving us enough to put asking price offer so 5% below asking is our best offer. Even if I could afford the full asking price I still wouldn't want to pay it unless the house was perfect in every way

Probably not he hasn't been very helpful in guiding us. I'm not sure weather to offer 5% less than the asking price or offer asking price and ask for a 5% deposit contribution ?

@rainingsnoring are you speaking from experience? Have you owned a newbuild?

To say they always lose value just isn't correct - certain areas and certain builds may not rise in value very quickly but I certainly doubt they always fall into negative equity as soon as they're purchased...

Why are you buying it if the location isn't convenient for you both?

''@TheSnowyOwl · Yesterday 21:05
Many people won’t deal with FTB for this reason.''

That's absolute nonsense as many of these new-builts are aimed specifically at the first time buyer market.

FTB are usually good proposition for many sellers in general because of the obvious advantage of them not being in a chain.

Back to you OP, try contacting the developers directly to discuss offers or whatever additional 'perks' they can offer with the house (as people have said that could be white goods, stamp duty paid,...).

Estate agents have a legal duty to pass on all offers to sellers unless the seller has specifically stated that they don't want to be made aware of offers below a certain level.

There was no need for her to be unpleasant about it and she should have simply explained to you that the sellers would not consider this type of offers if that was their explicit wish.

I would be reluctant to buy a new built I must say, as so many developers cut costs and build homes that are poorly constructed, too small and come with 'estate maintenance charges' but if you have your heart set on this one, don't let yourself be pushed over by the estate agent.

I've had several new builds (admittedly not for 15 years so things have probably changed!) and the price was always non negotiable. However the extras that you could negotiate often exceeded any price reduction. Depending on what stage the house is at, you can negotiate additional plug sockets, light fittings, etc etc. Never went for their carpets as they were crap but upgraded kitchen units and tiles and ended up getting a lot more for our money than a few grand off the asking price. Plus it was all done when we moved in rather than having the disruption afterwards.

''@rainingsnoring Do bear in mind that new builds always lose value immediately and that we are in a falling market before you offer and proceed.''

Nope. That is not always the case.

I bought a new-built flat in an area that was being regenerated in London a few years ago. Sold it in December for asking price, £100,000 more than I paid for it when I bought it. It all depends on location, how you maintain the property and whether you see it as a long term investment or not.

This is what I am referring to:

slothmove.com/do-new-builds-lose-value/
'However, much like a new car, there is the very real prospect that any new build home will lose value the moment it is no longer considered ‘brand new’.
Generally, new builds are initially sold at a premium, etc'

www.yopa.co.uk/homeowners-hub/do-new-build-properties-really-lose-value-after-you-buy-them/

'However, much like a new car will depreciate in value the moment you drive it out of the show room, there is the very real prospect that any new-build property will lose value the moment it is no longer brand-new, one of its key selling points.

For this reason, many mortgage lenders will only agree to loan you a lesser amount (generally less than 90%) of the current value of the property for a new build home in comparison to an existing home of the same value since there is always an expectation that the property will come down in value in the first few years once it is no longer brand new.'

I didn't mean that you can never make money when selling a new build and obviously many people sold at a huge premium in the recent buoyant market or made money in theory. I am making this point because the market is no longer buoyant so the OP will not experience this advantage and the new build will lose its 'new build premium' too.

When we bought our new flat more than a decade ago with one of the major developers, we managed to get a 5% price reduction, our bank also devalued it due to them thinking that we were paying premium for a new flat, which saved us another £12k, as the amount the bank was willing to lend us reduced. It was all negotiated with the sale agent at their sale office/showroom.

I think it was desperate time back then when the recession just started (Lehman brothers time) and the flats were just sitting there and no one was buying them.

The price of the flat did fall a little in the first couple of years but it didn't bother us, as we were living in it and had no plan to sell.

A decade on, we managed to release the equity from the flat to put down as a deposit for our house.

Just brazen it out with your original plan. Tell her you thought about what she said and you are willing to offer 7.5% and then put in a best and final offer of 5%. If she still isn’t getting offers at that stage she might need to reconsider her hard hall tactics. I agree with other posters it is the last thing a builder will want to do but you are advocating for what you want not them.

I said it's not the most convenient, being that it's in a village and we're used to being in the city but it's not a huge problem otherwise we wouldn't consider putting offers

I think the response you got is pretty unprofessional and immature. I'd probably just discount it tbh - life is too short and it sounds like you have better options anyway.

Maybe reply back saying you've reconsidered, and your offer stands as that is what you believe the house to be worth (for xyz non personal reasons) & If they could pass it on to the developer for consideration it would be appreciated.