Buying a Bovis new build

[Regiment]

I'm going to be buying my first place and finally moving out from my mums place...after 31 years...and just wondering if there is anything i need to know and also if there is any haggling with the price, with it being a brand new build?

The place i'm looking at buying is a 2 bedroom penthouse apartment for £112,995, so only me on that floor, and also will hopefully be completed by the end of March next year (it's currently a building site with just the walls of the ground floor built). I've seen apartments very similar to this on other sites and they do look very nice, i've also seen the rough plans in the brochure and i'll be hopefully seeing the blueprints this Saturday.

I've spoken to a mortgage advisor, they haven't done a credit check as yet but i'm not expecting any issues at all with that as when i checked last year, it was around 970, but they said i'd be looking at a 75% mortgage at 3.94% with 20% covered by help to buy and then a 5% deposit. This is on a salary of £23,800.
5% deposit - £5650
20% Help to Buy - £22,599
75% Mortgage - £84,745 - This is over 35 years and estimated at £375 a month.

My total savings at the moment is £10,000 and i can put away another £1000 a month until the end of March anyway, so will have £16,000. £5000 of the £10000 savings is in a savings account that i didn't want to touch and the £6000 that i'd be able to put away over the next 6 months, i was going to use that for things like furniture and any undue fees. I'm taking very, very little from my current place i.e. clothes and TV and a computer table, nothing else.

I've also gone through what my potential monthly out goings will be and have between £400-£450 spare each month so happy with that.

[megaphone]

With any of these new build flats check want the costs re ground rent and service charges, who will manage them etc. Some can be extortionate.

[camelot1971]

This is just pure opinion, but I think you might struggle to get a mortgage in the current climate. If you "stress test" the interest rate by increasing it 5%, how much would that leave you each month? 35 year term seems crazy to me too but I can understand why you would go for that to keep the cost per month down.

I bought a new build back in late 90's and managed to get free carpets, appliances etc - I would imagine a similar deal would be on offer but if demand is high in the area they might not feel inclined to offer anything at all.

Have you looked at used properties at all? Or is that out of the question with help to buy? (I must admit I don't know much about the scheme).

Anyway, good luck! Always exciting buying a new home!

[Regiment]

megaphone said:

With any of these new build flats check want the costs re ground rent and service charges, who will manage them etc. Some can be extortionate.

Estate Costs, which includes building insurance, is £65.83 a month.

The monthly outgoings i have noted are:

Mortgage £400*
Estate Costs £65.83
Contents Insurance £15*
Council Tax £77.05

• Estimated

camelot1971 said:

This is just pure opinion, but I think you might struggle to get a mortgage in the current climate. If you "stress test" the interest rate by increasing it 5%, how much would that leave you each month? 35 year term seems crazy to me too but I can understand why you would go for that to keep the cost per month down.

I bought a new build back in late 90's and managed to get free carpets, appliances etc - I would imagine a similar deal would be on offer but if demand is high in the area they might not feel inclined to offer anything at all.

Have you looked at used properties at all? Or is that out of the question with help to buy? (I must admit I don't know much about the scheme).

Anyway, good luck! Always exciting buying a new home!

The kitchen is all fitted so get oven, fridge/freezer and washer/dryer. I believe that carpets are included but will confirm that this Saturday.

With the mortgage, if i understand it correct, as i'm going Help To Buy, it means there's only so many Mortgage providers i can use? Just had a quick look on Confused.com and HSBC, who i bank with, do a 2.89% for 5 Year at £353 and that is over 30 years? That's with LTV of 80%? (HSBC Base + 2.39% Term)

Edited by Regiment on Monday 4th August 13:19

[princeperch]

where abouts is this flat and what would it rent for if your circs changed and you had to move out and couldnt sell (lets set to one side for now whether your lease/mortgage arrangements would let you do so)

[Regiment]

princeperch said:

where abouts is this flat and what would it rent for if your circs changed and you had to move out and couldnt sell (lets set to one side for now whether your lease/mortgage arrangements would let you do so)

Probably around £450-£550, going on similar apartments near by.

[mcflurry]

Will the mortgage company allow a 35 years mortgage if you're 31 (32 by completion) ?
I thought most had to settled by retirement age?

(IANAMA)

[Chris Type R]

mcflurry said:

Will the mortgage company allow a 35 years mortgage if you're 31 (32 by completion) ?
I thought most had to settled by retirement age?

(IANAMA)

I think retirement age will be 68 -
http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/state-pe...

[blank]

In my experience of buying a new build in February last year and moving in in November...

I got a discount and extras thrown in. Think this was mainly due to it being near the end of the financial year though.

Be careful on mortgage offers. They'll usually push to exchange quickly, for which you need a mortgage offer. The mortgage offer will expire after 6 months so may well expire before completion. This happened to me and I very nearly missed my completion date due to having to re apply.

Build will almost certainly be delayed but if you're living at home until you move it might not be an issue.

[Steve Evil]

I'd try to go for the 10% deposit if you can and avoid the help to buy altogether. It looks great now, but when you start having to pay that loan off as well as coping with a rise in your mortgage rate it might not seem such a great idea. Unless of course you're confident that your wages are likely to go up in the next couple of years and you'll be able to start catering for these additional outgoings.

[toon10]

As mentioned, it depends on when you buy. My mate moved into a new build last year which was up for £230k. He paid £205k and got a free stainless steal kitchen upgrade pack included. I think he said something about the end of the finacial year or something similar playing a factor in getting more off. With a cheaper build there may be less room to haggle but it's worth a try. It also probably depends on the area. He moved into a fantastic house but in a not so sought after area. It's not bad but not where people want to be. The same house 5 miles away near the beach starts from £15k more and only gets a single garage where he has a double.

[badgers_back]

When they are sold new they seller will want a premium for certain features ground floor top floor corner etc etc

In a few years time when people sell the market (buyers) will say its the same price as the same size one in the block that went for X

E.G the prices will stabilise around the same number...

Good luck.

[badgers_back]

When they are sold new they seller will want a premium for certain features ground floor top floor corner etc etc

In a few years time when people sell the market (buyers) will say its the same price as the same size one in the block that went for X

E.G the prices will stabilise around the same number...

Good luck.

[Regiment]

Reading up more about Help To Buy, it's doubtful that'll i'll go for it. I'd rather do a 90% mortgage with 10% deposit and then i've got not nasty surprises after 5 years with an equity loan that keeps going up as i'm trying to pay it off.

Going to see if i can haggle them down to 107,500...anything above 109,000, without Help To Buy, and i'd be stretching myself to thin in terms of affording a deposit.

[Stevemr]

Hi Regiment,

Very few lenders will lend at 90% on a new build flat.

Help to buy gets you easier credit scoring as scored as 75% LTV product, and much better interest rates.

You do not repay help to buy loan like a normal mortgage or loan, you only pay interest on it at 1.75% per annum after year 5, this interest rate rises a very small amount each year.

You pay it off by remortgaging at some stage in the future, saving up, or when you sell the property. Reason being its 20% of the value of the property at time you pay it off. You can pay it off in full or in 2 chunks.

Best way is to overpay as much as possible on existing mortgage, to build your equity as quick as possible.

[MajorProblem]

I would rather live on the street than on another new build estate.

Currently in a bovis home, worst decision of my life. It's not the builder, it's the way they have to build the sites. Horrific.

Buy an older cheaper property and make it your own. Don't be seduced by all the new shiny bullst you'll regret it later and you'll be stuck with it.

OP I'm also in lincolnshire - my four bed three bathroom detached Bovis home is worth £140k.

[Regiment]

What's your main issue with the estates MajorProblem, they do look a bit bland and the streets are a bit narrow and with the 2 bedroom apartments and 3 bedroom houses, I expect on street parking to make the roads even narrower.

[MajorProblem]

Expect to have mega parking problems, we have people here with 1 bed flats and 4 cars, people will park trailers and caravans anywhere too.

Everything is so close together you'll soon know everything that goes on in the street.

Houses that can't be sold, especially the cheaper ones will get rented to anyone as long as they pay - DSS / cannabis farmers etc.

New builds are easier to buy with scuzzers trading in their old houses, so expect to live with people that don't give a flying fk about anything that you have to share or anything you may have that's nicer than theirs.

Houses shed value, expect to lose about 20% of what you pay when you want to sell.

Kids will run riot in the street outside their houses because they can't go out of their parents sight as there's a peado around every corner mentality kicks in.

Wheelie bins will get dumped everywhere.

And so on...

You might not see it first off but I'll guarantee once everything is sold and a few houses have changed hands / been reposesesed you'll start to realise.

Me and the mrs have been on beans on toast for what seems like forever as we try and buy our way out of this mess we will never do it again ever. I'd rather put up with a house that will take me years to finish as long as I can sit out in my garden in the summer without some fking dole scum hanging out their window (second floor flat) pissing the dogs off and constantly watching what we are doing.

It's st.

[Regiment]

They've offered all the carpets and flooring to be thrown in, they've knocked £2000 off the price and they're paying £5550 towards the deposit so it's very tempting.

I asked yesterday about what happens if something comes up for whatever reason and I pull out after reserving the plot. They've said that if i pull out within 48 hours of paying the £500 reservation fee, I get it all back, if I pull out after 48 hours and before the contract is signed, I'll get £250 back, if I try to pull out after the contracts are signed, which will generally be 28 days after I pay the reservation, even though the place won't be ready until at least March, then I'm legally liable and might need to still pay 10% of the buying price. Is this correct?

[MajorProblem]

So you're desperate to buy and they're desperate to sell...

Is it the Grantham develpment? The one at the side of the East Coast Mainline?