Buying a new home, especially your first home can be one of the most daunting life experiences. After years of working hard and saving to take the plunge and jump onto the housing ladder, how do you know you are making the right move? How can you ensure you are buying with complete confidence?
After 32 years in the housing industry and 17 years with Barratt Homes, the UK’s largest housebuilder, and now in my role as Barratt Homes East Scotland sales director I’ve helped hundreds of house buyers get on the property ladder or buy their happy-ever-after family home. I would always recommend house hunters consider four factors; location, financing, benefits of new build and make sure you are getting the best deal.
Location, Location, Location
The most obvious one is to make sure you’re happy with the location that you’re planning to move to. I’d recommend walking around and visiting local shops and restaurants to be confident that the area is somewhere you can really picture yourself living.
For families with children, the priority might also be the quality of local schools and the range of child-friendly parks and activities on the doorstep, too. If considering buying a new build then house builders’ websites and the sales advisors at each site will have all of this information to hand, so it’s worth going in to have an initial chat to work out if the location and house types are right, not just for the short term but also the medium and long term.
Budgeting
It’s also wise to arrange meetings with an independent financial advisor (IFA) and solicitor before viewing any prospective home. They’ll confirm the budget required to purchase a home, and let purchasers know the value of the home that they should be looking at, based on their deposit and income.
From a financial perspective it’s important to consider the hidden costs that can come with buying an established home, and how this compares to a new build. Upgrading electrics, the roof, windows and heating can all eat into precious savings, and these costs don’t include ‘nice to have’ items such as a brand new kitchen and bathroom. If budgets are tight, then a new build can be a better option, meaning there will be no upgrade costs when purchasers move in, and the house comes complete with a modern kitchen and bathroom(s).
Benefits of Buying New
Buying new means buyers are almost always purchasing a home at a fixed price – something which is particularly hard to come by in popular areas such as Edinburgh and the surrounding area. It means they have a chance to buy early, which gives them time to personalise their home, and they can choose anything from their kitchen units and worktops, bathroom tiles and extra electrical fixture and fittings.
Plus there’s not going to be any maintenance or upgrades for several years which makes a new build a smart choice for those who don’t have a massive deposit available to pay for lots for repairs once they move in. Buying straight from a housebuilder also means that a new build home will come with a host of warranties to give peace of mind. When you move with Barratt Homes, your new home is protected by a NHBC Buildmark Warranty which gives you a 10 year structural warranty and a 2 year fixtures and fittings warranty as standard
A new build home is also a good way to avoid unnecessary heating costs. Modern methods of construction result in 40% less energy use than established homes, so they provide long term savings on bills too.
Getting the best deal
The most popular incentive is Help to Buy (Scotland), which enables qualifying home buyers to make their move to a new-build home with just a five per cent deposit, supported by an interest free equity loan of up to 15 per cent from the Scottish Government.
Available on new build properties with a maximum value of £200,000, the scheme reduces the amount of deposit required to buy a home and has helped 12,000 households since it launched.
Barratt Homes also has a range of incentives to help those with a property to sell. If you are in this position always ask if Part Exchange is available, which takes the stress out of putting your home on the market and achieving a sale. While our Movemaker scheme allows downsizers to choose and reserve their next home while Barratt Homes pays for their current home to be offered for sale on the open market. The new home is held for a set period while the existing home sells.
House hunters should also keep their eyes peeled for plots which come with free flooring or kitchen upgrades. Incentives such as these can be worth thousands of pounds for those lucky enough to secure one.
For more information on Barratt Homes Developments and current availability visit www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8460.
For further information please contact:
Stacey Bridges at Weber Shandwick on 0131 556 6649 or [email protected]