Opinion and guidance

New build home deadlines (and how to meet them)

One of the benefits of buying a new build home is that you have a number of specialists on hand to support you through the process at no extra cost – including mortgage advisors. Their role is to help move the sale forward seamless and, importantly, to deadline. Mortgage Advisor, Oliver Peace explains new build deadlines, why they exist and how you can make sure you meet them.

I don’t and can’t build houses. I’m a mortgage adviser. I can barely even put a picture up.

What I do know however, having helped tens of thousands of families into their lovely new homes, is that when it comes to new build houses – deadlines matter. They matter big time.

Key reservation agreement deadlines

If you’ve not bought a new build home before, you’re probably questions what deadlines? Why do they matter? And to whom? Let me explain…

Almost without exception, when you reserve a new build property you will sign a “Reservation Agreement”, that will ask you to agree to:

1. Exchange contracts by a certain date.
   Usually around 6 weeks from reservation. This means having your deposit ready to go, a freshly minted mortgage offer and all the legal jiggery-pokery signed and sealed.
2. Complete within a certain time frame
   This is usually a target month of completion with some sort of ‘long-stop’ date. It just allows the builder a bit of grace for the wrong kind of snow and so on.

What if I miss a deadline?

If you miss a deadline, the builder reserves the right to cancel your reservation and remarket the plot to another lucky buyer. Boooo! Of course, this is the last thing anyone wants, and in my experience, everything is done by all parties to avoid it. But it does happen.

From a buyer’s perspective, this can be heart-breaking because finding the right property, at the right price, in the right location, when the time is right, is like waiting for the Sun, The Moon and the stars to line up. It could be months, or even years, for the next opportunity.

But, to build lovely houses, in locations that people want to live in, at an affordable price point and make them available now, new build developers have to stick to a tight schedule.

The beauty of deadlines

Another way to look at it is this: Deadlines are great for buyers! Without deadlines, you would be paying significantly more, waiting longer or, more likely, buying a far lesser property.

Of course, deadlines aren’t for everyone and there are plenty of other ways you can buy property, but there will be compromises somewhere. Location? Price? Do-er upper?

Now here’s the rub. Getting a valid mortgage offer from a lender that accommodates the nuances of new build property, that will allow you to exchange in time and complete potentially six to nine months down the line? There’s golf, and then there’s Golf. In other words: it’s harder than it looks. This is where a new build specialist broker shines.

Better still, specialist new build brokers are free-free. This means rather than charge you for advice, receive commission which means they only get paid if they make the dream of buying a new house come true. They have skin in the game! 

This information was contributed to by our friends at James Leighton Financial Services. For advice, you can contact the team on 0115 8709520, 7 days a week, between the hours of 9am and 6pm or email them at [email protected].