Buying a new build...

Goksly

Goksly

Goksly

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Joined
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Nottingham
Ok so been looking at buying a new build home with RedRow. Had a look around - looks nice. The property in question is a show home. Great I thought; don't have to worry about buying all of the odds and sods before moving in.

This is where things go a bit strange. It was my assumption that there would be two payments - one for the property and one for the furniture. Apparently not. It doesn't sit well with me that I'll be paying stamp duty on furniture?! And then there is implications with the mortgage - the house will be down valued to take into account of the furniture.

So has anyone got a house with RedRow, purchased a show home in general (pros and cons) or got any other advice (what can I haggle over? They've already shot me down on any house price reduction on legal grounds as other properties in the area haven't been and the surveyor would flag it?).

Thanks :) first time buyer btw with 20 to 25% deposit.
 
Since when does furniture add value to a house sale?

Nice kitchen sure, but not used furniture of dubious quality (they aren't going to buy the best are they).

I wouldn't pay any extra for it, tell them to take it all out and just get your own stuff.

Also check everything works, not that uncommon for showhomes to have corners cut.
 
I don't mind paying extra for the furniture tbh everything does look nice and to a "decent" standard. Appliances are AEG, TV is a decent sharp one, garden all landscaped (apparently you don't even get grass on a new build?!). But I don't want to pay stamp duty on it!

One problem I've got with the haggling is they're not struggling to shift the properties. The next lot of development has pretty much been sold off plan - so if I tell them to shift the stuff I'm sure the response would be... No!

Next time I view I will look at the makes of mattresses and sofa.
 
Generally on a show home your aren't paying anything for the furniture, it's just included in the sale as the developer doesn't want it. When your surveyor values the property they will do it excluding the furniture.


Usually the price for the showhome is similar to an offplan plot unless there are loads of upgrades.
 
Goksly said:
One problem I've got with the haggling is they're not struggling to shift the properties. The next lot of development has pretty much been sold off plan - so if I tell them to shift the stuff I'm sure the response would be... No!
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That doesn't really seem like a problem to me. If they won't budge and agree to your reasonable request, let some other mug get conned instead. You aren't wrong that it makes zero sense to put the value of all that furniture on the mortgage.

There will be other houses.
 
The sales team would like to extract as much money from you as possible, so keep that in mind when they say why they can't reduce the price etc etc.

Redrow will be keen to complete on this property to meet their year end results.
 
To be fair I think Redrow are one of the better firms, they seem to have nicer looking estates than the other builders.
 
Without a doubt check everything and if you can take a builder with you. I have been in the building trade for most of my working life and have seen what can get missed.
i went to see one studio flat with a girl friend of mine and the first thing I noticed and god knows how it was missed, when you opened the cupbaord door to lower the bed the door hit the ceiling light.
But misaligned kitchen cupboard doors.
Poor sealant round toilet etc.
Poor grouting on tiles.
The list is endless.
So definitely take someone with you who knows what they are looking at rather than just seeing the overall effect.
 
Battery! said:
I'm a new build owner and I would never do it again.

I could go in to details but it's depressing and not a nice read.
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Quality for each builder is vastly different, and then the quality on different development sites of the same developer is largely different. It's impossible to put a blanket over all new builds and say they are bad. When we were looking last year, we looked at at 6 different developers across 10 or so sites and the quality difference for each developer on different sites was very evident. So on contrast, I would do it again but appreciate we may have been 'lucky' with hardly any snags in almost 2 years.
 
Just don't be under the illusion that because it looks nice that's it's been done properly.

A showroom just needs to look good, things can be put in without actually being connected (electrics / pipework).
 
OP how much is the house being sold to you for? And how much are the same homes on the plot that weren't a show home? The showroom when I bought was sold for the same as the rest as the houses! The basis was it's technically 'used' as a showhome but the furniture just evened it out. So tbh if you get it for the normal sale price or less you are on a winner.

I bought a Redrow new build in 2014, really nice estate and agent was lovely! We managed to get 6k knocked off our price because the surveyor downvalued it. As they tried to up the price the year I purchased which backfired! Yes carpets and turf are not 'standard' with most new builds it seems. However we managed to get carpets chucked in which were cheap budget ones... Ugh
 
The difference between the show home and the last sold one is £10k. I think the woman said the showhome has been open for 3 months?
 
Goksly said:
They've already shot me down on any house price reduction on legal grounds as other properties in the area haven't been and the surveyor would flag it?).

Thanks :) first time buyer btw with 20 to 25% deposit.
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They saw you coming a mile off... :)
A bit of research on sold prices for any new build estate will show different sale prices for the same property type, because people will have negotiated different prices and/or gone for different spec interior - heck, because they are different plots full stop. It's just a line to extract more cash from you, that is all they care about. If they've got wind you are a FTB, they will be chancing their arm on everything in the hope that you will be naive enough to believe what they tell you.

There's probably a faint trace of truth in it if they were to attempt to sell for vastly deflated prices, but I find the idea that they cannot do ANY price reduction laughable. If you feel it isn't worth the price being asked, negotiate, but do this from a position of 'facts' rather than 'er, any chance you could, erm, maybe knock a bit off? please...?':
-Make it clear you can only afford it if the price is low enough to come under the 75% LTV for mortgage rate reasons
-State that with it being already finished you aren't able to choose your preferred interior so have been lumbered with the show home spec
-House has seen more visitors clomping round with their shoes on and kids in tow in 3 months than most properties see in 10 years so is starting to look a bit tatty around the edges
-Being FTB you are perfect buyers with no chain and can move in whenever they are finished with the show home

From a developers perspective, FTB must surely be ideal for a showhome because unlike plots sold off plan they don't have the complexity of an impatient chain to deal with if builds get delayed, as the property is already finished (bar valeting and possibly connecting a few things up).
 
I think what happens is they take it straight off your deposit.... So if show home is 210 and others are being sold for 200 and you have a 20 deposit, they'll say you've got a 10 deposit against a 200 property. But that obviously has a big hit on LTV!
 
Yer when I looked at a ex show home they said it wouldn't be valued any higher than a brand new house so you had to make sure your deposit can cover the extra £10k on top of whatever deposit you're putting down.

That and it was "sold as seen" in terms of snagging so no comeback there.

I passed as the show house was a few years old too so lost some of its 10year warranty as well.
 
Don't buy a new build. They are polished turds. Tehy are cheap charged at ridiculous price. Timber/plasterboard built rubbish with a nice brick shell to make you think they are good and some fancy fixings and finishes.
You will hear your neighbours fart, your front windows will shake when you open the back door, coat hangers will fall off the thin board walls when you put even a sheet of toilet paper on them. You will have a small garden and a million windows all overlooking it and more than likely a crap parking space and small roads with 25% council properties all around you!! ]

(generalisation) but it's true. I rented one for 2 yrs and I wouldnt dream of buying one in a million years.
 
Property sale contracts have the following entries (this applies for the standard short form contract and longer custom contracts e.g for new builds):-

Purchase Price
Deposit
Contents Price
Balance

Fairly self-explanatory, but the purchase price should be the property price, the contents price for the furniture and the balance the two added together (minus the deposit if it's sent over on exchange which is unlikely if its already built). You will pay stamp duty on the purchase price.
 
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