We are making an offer on a house, the owner of whom wants a week of leeway as they are having a new home built.

Their new home site is currently a muddy field, not even footings in. They have been told 10-11 weeks from this weekend..(!)

I want to tell the people that the new house IS going to be later than they are informed, but the estate agent is also supporting the developers view of a 10 week build.

We are in a house that we have 3 months of leeway on the end of the rent – from 10 weeks time until August. This should be a real factor in our offer.

So, who has bought / builds new homes and can tell me how long typically from a few sticks in the ground to opening a door….? And what happens if the developer does not deliver on time?

bump for evening crowd

think he’s dreaming there. My shell has been going up since before xmas time and even now, with scaffolding coming down next week its gonna be another 6 weeks till finalised. 16 week build to completion maybe

In my experience a 10 week build would be impressive although I am sure is technically possible.
For example my house took 15 months to build (although in fairness a lot of the interior stuff was completed by us which probably added time).
Some friends have just moved into a house following an 11 month build.

Both of those examples are ‘traditional’ builds though – i.e. block/brickwork not a huf-haus or suchlike.

Unless the developer has experience in very short construction programmes they’re dreaming!

What type of build is it?

I think 10 weeks to habital is really pushing it. Unless there’s a massive construction team on it of course, however, If you sign to that with the appropriate penalty clauses for failure to complete in time, then there’s no issue.
The phrase you’ll need when the seller won’t sign the contract with the clause in it is “but if you thought it was going to be done in time, you wouldn’t have any issue with this, don’t you think it’s going to be done in time?”
And the estate agents a penis, they can only tell lies, it’s a requisite of the role.

In my experience your sellers will be in for a very nasty shock and will end up stringing you along. Our new build was over 3 months late and our developers could insist on completion with one weeks notice. On exchange of contract there was no completion date stipulated. In your position I would firmly tell the people you are buying from you expect them to be out on the day agreed, if their new build isn’t ready that’s their problem. If they don’t complete as agreed tell them you will looking to recover any costs you incurr as a result of them not leaving on time.

I can’t now remember exactly but for a brick built house on a concrete raft built as part of an estate I’d say nearer six months than ten weeks. The mortgage was then delayed as the house was not finished when the valuer went out a few days before completion.

You need to agree that they will move out regardless of their new homes state on the due date and to ensure your lawyer is aware of the issue and has it covered in the contract. You should be looking to avoid exchange and compleation on the same date.

if it’s a new estate by someone like Wimpey/Persimmon etc then I could believe that it’s theoretically possible but real world it wouldn’t – that 10 week plan would assume no weather holdups and every trade being on site at the right time, all the materials turning up, no errors…

They’ll be staying in B&B for a few months then!

It’ll be later – I waited 6 months later many years ago; but since prices were increasing, I was single and I’d somewhere to live it was ok.

In the end I put the house on the market the day I moved in – bought for £30k, sold for £40k. 🙂

It is developer. Timber frame and block.

We are happy with a delay, upto August. I want to get over to vendor that with us they can stay for another 10 weeks if needed, and save hotel bills and stress. We would put an completion date on, but as a ‘latest’ date.

But another, less shrewd / experienced buyer may just really like the house and wait and wait and wait OR believe the 10 week schedule, invest money in survey / searches etc. and then hang on as they feel they have no choice.

This is Scotland, so no need for survey n searches, as they are in HIP.

And they have exchanged on new house, we would exchange on the house that they are selling, so both would be “locked in”.

Clearly not being built by us!

If you’re in Scotland then put your moving date in the offer. This date is then fixed as soon as missives are concluded which should happen within a week or two of your offer. Then you know exactly what’s happening and if the new house isn’t ready then that’s a problem for your vendor and the developer and nothing to do with you.

I am not in a rush to move.
Some of the value of our offer is not the highest price – it is in the fact that we ARE flexible and CAN wait and WILL HAPPILY WAIT.

Sorry – think I misunderstood what you were asking

Sounds like they are happy in denial, they are happy thinking that they can move in then. Your attempts to be realistic is not what they want to hear, thankfully they are working with a developer who will insist is will be ready on time probably even a week before the completion date and the roof isn’t even on.

Try seeing if your legal people can put a clause in that covers them being late but sounds reassuring that they will move on time.