Before we start, remember I'm an idiot, so I'm probably going to sound like one.
We've been looking at moving house for a while, but our house isn't even tidy never mind on the market. We do now have a little bit of equity though (although it's only about 13% of the current house and 12% of the new one) as houses in our locality have gone up in price, and our neighbours is on the market for a decent sum.
We just saw an ideal new build house that is within budget in the right location, and the builder is listing the usual help to move schemes like part-ex and so on. There's also the Govt help to buy scheme which seems like a bit of a cheat but it may help get us a mortgage after our equity is eroded by stamp duty, fees and all that shite.
Anyone got any experiences of playing this game on marginal footings?
You'll get part ex, or Help to Buy but not both (I think it's in the rules)
I see it as a deferred, and cheap 20% mortgage so was happy to play along. Your mortgage offer will be based upon the full value / affordability anyway, so it's not like it's based on forward wage increases etc
We do alright on the income level, but not so much disposable income as we still have lots of debt left over from the issues a few years ago... I'm sure they'll laugh us out of the building society based on that but hey ho 🙂
Last time we bought I was self employed and I have a feeling the builders leant on the FSA who was a bit creative with the lender, but that was early 2007...
I assume part-ex doesn't give you a great deal on your house, like with cars?
When we talked with the developer it was the average of three quotes from the Estate Agents they had on panel.
The neighbours that did do that got offered market value, so maybe better than haggling with the public.
No discount on the house or stamp duty paid though if you part ex (which we got with HTB) with these builders
So.. the builders buy the house from you, your own mortgage is settled and you get the difference in the bank - you then have to pay the deposit and fees/stamp etc?
Does your existing house comply with this condition whicH appears in the small print for most part ex deals?
"Part exchange will only be available where the home being traded in is no more than 70% of the selling price of the plot being purchased."
Check the mortgage rates with Help to Buy. If you can afford to save up a 10% deposit, do that. Knocked 2% off the interest straight away.
Slightly off-piste but.... whatever you end up doing, put a retainer on the property in the contract via your conveyancer. There are always snagging lists on new builds and as soon as they have your cash they builders tend not to be interested. I'd keep £5k back for the first 12 months, then it is in their interest to fix the problems they created within that time frame.
Does your existing house comply with this condition whicH appears in the small print for most part ex deals?
No idea.. going to talk to the [s]sharks[/s] salespeople tomorrow.
As someone who does a lot of consultancy work for many of the big house builders, don't buy a Barratt one is my first piece of advice! Also check out what their commitments are regarding road adoption, it's not uncommon to spend the first three years with an unfinished road leading to your house with manhole covers sticking up everywhere. Also take loads of photos when you move in for snagging purposes. Worth checking the depth of topsoil in the garden too.
Not sure it'll ever get to that stage... House is so cheap someone else will surely walk in and chuck a load of cash on the table before we can even get the house tidy for a valuation.
Mol, why are you thinking of change for what seems such little gain? The actual moving fees are going to take a chunk of your equity surely?
Which house builder is it, local or national company? You'll also do very well trying to stick clauses in regarding retention as things are moving very quickly, they'll probably just sweep you aside and move to the next potential buyer if you start playing hardball!
You will struggle to find a suitable spot for a caravan (without your neighbours hating you) on a typical new build.
Mol, why are you thinking of change for what seems such little gain?
Bigger house, in a location we actually want to live (unlike now). For not much extra money. No brainer really.
However I've decided it's not going to happen, because I've realised how stupidly cheap the house is and there'll be someone far better placed than us.
but as said above... your house has to be a max of 70% of the value of new property. Well, for p/x anyway.
Yes, and it's not, so we'd have to sell. So unless there's a queue of people waiting for houses like mine.. there might be tbh.