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New builds come with many benefits: They have no buyers chain, they’re usually energy-efficient, they often come with a new build warranty and they’re a completely blank canvas, ready for you to make your mark on.
But buying a new build can take a long time to complete because there are often lots of risks, legal issues, documents, regulations and agreements to check, work through and resolve.
If you’re thinking of buying a new build, our team of experienced Conveyancing Solicitors can help you through the entire process, making it as quick, easy and stress-free as possible.
Buying a new build is a notoriously long and complicated process that can take anywhere from a few months to a year.
This is because there are a number of risks and a multitude of legal factors to consider when purchasing a new build.
As new builds are often bought before they’ve been built, it takes an experienced team of conveyancing solicitors to make sure that:
Before you agree to buy your new build, there are a few things you should consider:
Because most mortgage offers only last for six months, long-term delays with the purchase of your new build are likely to impact your mortgage agreement. So, make sure your property developer can give you a firm idea of when completion is likely to happen, and what plans they have in place to meet that deadline.
In case the completion of your new build property takes longer than expected, it’s always best to discuss your circumstances with your mortgage lender at the beginning of the process, so they’re aware they may need to extend the mortgage offer. It also might be an idea to use a mortgage lender that specifically deals with new builds.
To secure your new build property, you might need to pay a reservation fee. Reservation fees are usually between £500 and £2,000 but this will be taken off the final purchase price if you exchange contracts within the agreed period of time. If you fail to exchange contracts on time or you pull out of the sale, you’ll lose this money. This is why it’s important to get your mortgage agreement sorted and get a good Conveyancing Solicitor to keep the exchange process on track.
You’ve been given your target completion date; you’ve had your mortgage agreed and you’ve paid your reservation fee to secure the property. Now it’s time to begin the new build buying process.
First, instruct a Conveyancing Solicitor that has proven experience with the new build purchase process. They’ll get a copy of the draft contract from the developer’s solicitors, make sure it’s written in your favour, and raise any issues that they find.
They’ll then perform a series of checks, like the ones below, to make sure that you’re getting what you’ve paid for, like
Once your solicitor has reviewed the contract, completed the property checks and is happy that all issues have been resolved, they will then exchange contracts with the developer’s solicitor. This is when you’ll probably have to pay a deposit for the property, which is usually around 10% of the full purchase price.
Once the developer has finished the building work and the property has been signed off by Building Control, completion of your new build sale will usually take around 10 working days to finalise.
As there is so much legal jargon and documentation to understand, it’s a good idea to instruct a specialist Conveyancing Solicitor to help you buy your new build.
Experienced Conveyancing Solicitors, like the ones at Simpson Millar, will make sure there are no hidden clauses, restrictive covenants or costs that could lead to expensive legal disputes or leave you without a home.
We’ll take care of the entire new build purchase process for you, including:
Communication is key with purchasing a new build. We’ll always be here to answer any questions you might have, and we’ll always use plain English rather than ‘lawyer-speak’. This means you’ll understand exactly what’s going on at every stage of your new build purchase.
Simpson Millar5 starsConveyancing - Jamuna Rajah
My conveyancing solicitor was Jamuna Rajah. She worked so hard to meet our very tight completion deadline. She had no assistant at the time and a lot of other cases to manage. Her level of expertise a...
Carol Pires
Simpson Millar5 starsHelen Martin has been an absolute…
Helen Martin has been an absolute superstar throughout my house purchase. She's continued to go over and above to help, and communication has been excellent. I would definitely recommend!
Jonny
Simpson Millar5 starsWe used Simpson Millar for conveyancing…
We used Simpson Millar for conveyancing and they outperformed all previous solicitors that we have used in the past. Communications were swift, precise and they made very good use of software to make...
MB
Simpson Millar5 starsFriendly team who were supportive…
Friendly team who were supportive throughout. Rhianne was very helpful and ensured everything went as smoothly and quickly as possible. Have used them before too and positive experience, would use aga...
Guest
Simpson Millar4 starsGreat service
Great service, worked hard to get our moving date in place, supporting and had two working on the case in case if absence. My only worry was to Be wary of fraudsters using a similar email! Great ser...
DUTTON
Simpson Millar4 starsFee earner was excellent and efficient
Fee earner was excellent and efficient. Assistant fee earner not so efficient in her absence. Overall good experience and would highly rate Helen.
of Pamela Jarvis
Simpson Millar5 stars★★★★★for Rosie M
★★★★★for Rosie M, the conveyancing solicitor who helped me to jumped over those difficult hurdles and was there to reassured me that everything will be ok in the end.
Ann Page
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