Buying a new build - negotiating carpets etc
Discussion
Anyone had experience of negotiating carpets, turf etc with the building company prior to purchase? If so, how did you go about it?
I've spoken with a couple of builders (Persimmon etc) in the last few months and their sales guys both said; "Put down a deposit and we can talk about carpets, tiles etc."
Now, when the deposit is anything from £500 - £1000 and I stand to get just half back if I pull out, why would I pay before I know what I can get?
In your experience is this usual?
I've spoken with a couple of builders (Persimmon etc) in the last few months and their sales guys both said; "Put down a deposit and we can talk about carpets, tiles etc."
Now, when the deposit is anything from £500 - £1000 and I stand to get just half back if I pull out, why would I pay before I know what I can get?
In your experience is this usual?
What do you mean negotiating? Do you mean they wont put carpets or turf down if you dont agree to it beforehand?
Dont give them anything until you know EXACTLY what you are getting. Once you have given a deposit your chance of negotiating or getting the best deal is long gone.
Bunch of w
kers.
Dont give them anything until you know EXACTLY what you are getting. Once you have given a deposit your chance of negotiating or getting the best deal is long gone.
Bunch of w
kers.We've done this a fair few times as have always bought new build - demand and how keen they are to sell always affects it. We've just bought a David Wilson on a popular development, now 2 houses left and ours isn't even started yet! In discussions they said there was somewhere around 2.5% in the house as incentives this far out, closer to ready or even built you will get a much better deal. As a range:
Ours is ready in 5 months, we got most of the stamp duty paid so c£12,000 of £14k which is 2.5%.
A friend showed interest in a new Taylor Wimpey about 10 miles away but with normal timings they wouldnt entertain p-ex unless the house was only worth 50% of the new one, no offers etc. Didnt matter as they couldnt sell anyway. 4 months later they got a call - we'll take p-ex (which was 80% of the new house value, carpets in, options that were fitted for free, removal cost paid) but they had to move in 3 weeks, at their leisure as the house was built. They are in there now and couldnt be happier.
A big difference! I just wanted stamp or carpets tbh.
edit - turf is already done on this development else I'd have gone for that as well.
Ours is ready in 5 months, we got most of the stamp duty paid so c£12,000 of £14k which is 2.5%.
A friend showed interest in a new Taylor Wimpey about 10 miles away but with normal timings they wouldnt entertain p-ex unless the house was only worth 50% of the new one, no offers etc. Didnt matter as they couldnt sell anyway. 4 months later they got a call - we'll take p-ex (which was 80% of the new house value, carpets in, options that were fitted for free, removal cost paid) but they had to move in 3 weeks, at their leisure as the house was built. They are in there now and couldnt be happier.
A big difference! I just wanted stamp or carpets tbh.
edit - turf is already done on this development else I'd have gone for that as well.
We're going through this now with Charles Church. We were offered a kitchen upgrade pack, upgraded bathroom tiles and £10k off list price before putting down the early bird £500 deposit.
We did the real negotiation after this was paid as they would't see me as a serious buyer until I'd committed. I think the kitchen upgrade pack and upgraded tiles are standard fair that they offer most people anyway.
After we signed up, we started making noises about other new build estates and pretended to lose a little interest. We didn't get everything we wanted but have now got a free house alarm worth £550, 6ft fence upgrade for free and they are extending the drive for us for too. The dive is long enough for 4 family cars but also has a wrap around bit which we need so that we don't block each other in. Our XC90 wouldn't quite fit on the wrap around bit so they added the extension. We were nice, polite but not afraid to be a bit cheeky. We also asked for the back lawn and some free carpets but with all the other stuff we got, they said no. Fair enough but "shy bairns get nowt" as my dear old mother used to say.
With the £10k off list and a further "deal of the week reduction" the house ended up being £20k less than they first thought anyway. (Also £10k less than a lad I know who bought the same house around the corner 2 months ago but he's on a smaller plot in a block of 4 houses where we are at the end of a cul-de-sac on a larger plot.) He's not happy!
We did the real negotiation after this was paid as they would't see me as a serious buyer until I'd committed. I think the kitchen upgrade pack and upgraded tiles are standard fair that they offer most people anyway.
After we signed up, we started making noises about other new build estates and pretended to lose a little interest. We didn't get everything we wanted but have now got a free house alarm worth £550, 6ft fence upgrade for free and they are extending the drive for us for too. The dive is long enough for 4 family cars but also has a wrap around bit which we need so that we don't block each other in. Our XC90 wouldn't quite fit on the wrap around bit so they added the extension. We were nice, polite but not afraid to be a bit cheeky. We also asked for the back lawn and some free carpets but with all the other stuff we got, they said no. Fair enough but "shy bairns get nowt" as my dear old mother used to say.
With the £10k off list and a further "deal of the week reduction" the house ended up being £20k less than they first thought anyway. (Also £10k less than a lad I know who bought the same house around the corner 2 months ago but he's on a smaller plot in a block of 4 houses where we are at the end of a cul-de-sac on a larger plot.) He's not happy!
Thanks
Truth is i'm not asking or looking for anything specific as I don't really know what they will offer, just a little concerned about their "we want a deposit before we talk about what you can have."
We are considered first time buyers with no property to sell, but it's a limited plot and only just starting. I don't believe they will be hard to sell for the developer.
Truth is i'm not asking or looking for anything specific as I don't really know what they will offer, just a little concerned about their "we want a deposit before we talk about what you can have."
We are considered first time buyers with no property to sell, but it's a limited plot and only just starting. I don't believe they will be hard to sell for the developer.
For the love of god DO NOT buy a Persimmon house!
Utter utter crap and you will have major problem.
I would only buy from a 5 star housebuilder or very least 4 star if the location was right.
http://www.hbf.co.uk/policy-activities/customer-sa...
There's a reason why Persimmon only got 3.
Utter utter crap and you will have major problem.
I would only buy from a 5 star housebuilder or very least 4 star if the location was right.
http://www.hbf.co.uk/policy-activities/customer-sa...
There's a reason why Persimmon only got 3.
Can't agree with the above two at all.
I currently live in a Persimmon house, bought as a new build 12 years ago.
Absolute top quality in every respect, the only issue has been the fireplace lintel that they alerted all owners MAY not have been correctly fitted, it was but still they checked and by way of apology gave a bottle of Champagne and that was 4 years after I bought the place.
I'm sure there are poorly built Oersimmon houses but to dismiss them would be a mistake. I've no affiliation.
I currently live in a Persimmon house, bought as a new build 12 years ago.
Absolute top quality in every respect, the only issue has been the fireplace lintel that they alerted all owners MAY not have been correctly fitted, it was but still they checked and by way of apology gave a bottle of Champagne and that was 4 years after I bought the place.
I'm sure there are poorly built Oersimmon houses but to dismiss them would be a mistake. I've no affiliation.
The Persimmon of 12 years ago are very different to the Persimmon of today-trust me. I am regularly interviewing Site & Project Managers of theirs and the stories they come out with do not paint the picture of a company whose emphasis is on quality, value for money & customer satisfaction.
A friend of mine is a Contracts Manager for them and bought a house off one of their biggest rivals saying he would never live in one of their houses.
A friend of mine is a Contracts Manager for them and bought a house off one of their biggest rivals saying he would never live in one of their houses.
As others have said above get the deal agreed in principal then make the reservation. I've just done this myself a couple of days ago, went straight in and asked for full flooring, full stamp duty and landscaping. After a bit of to and fro ended up with 4k off price, 6k towards stamp duty, 3k of ceramic flooring to kitchen and bathrooms plus about 3k of landscaping - all detailed out on the reservation form, then the deposit (£500 in my case) was handed over.
In my case I was in a strong position as I'd already sold and had a buyer desperate for a 6 week completion due to schooling plus the house we've bought will be ready in a couple of weeks so the builder was keen to get it shifted.
In regards to the deposit I've paid, my builders policy is that it's non refundable after six weeks, if the sale falls through within six weeks then I get it back minus £150 admin charge.
In my case I was in a strong position as I'd already sold and had a buyer desperate for a 6 week completion due to schooling plus the house we've bought will be ready in a couple of weeks so the builder was keen to get it shifted.
In regards to the deposit I've paid, my builders policy is that it's non refundable after six weeks, if the sale falls through within six weeks then I get it back minus £150 admin charge.
Edited by CSLchappie on Saturday 18th July 21:59
I've bought a few new builds now, in my experience the big builders always factor in a deal margin for buyers who want to negotiate, 4-6 percent seems to be the ballpark figure you can shoot for. What I've seen in Cambridge over the past couple of years is a fairly cynical but understandable approach by the builders, they'll choke the supply then hike the price with every new release, for example the standard three bed semi by Taylor wimpey was 219,995 in q2 2013, the exact same house on the same development now starts at 309,995...
For the 4k off my new house I was able to get the builder to honour the price that the property had been previously listed at several weeks ago (everything on the site had been bumped by 3-4%)
For the 4k off my new house I was able to get the builder to honour the price that the property had been previously listed at several weeks ago (everything on the site had been bumped by 3-4%)
jason61c said:
What I don't understand, with all these 'discounts', is it not just because the house isn't worth the price its listed at?
We bought a new build Persimmon house 15 years ago and in my opinion everything about it was top quality.Nothing has ever broken or gone wrong and looks like it is only a few years old inside and out.Had a loft conversion 7 years ago as we had our 4th child so wanted a 5 bed house and has a good size detached double garage 25 feet square.
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