First Time Home Buyers Guide: Questions to ask when Buying a New Home Off-plan
If you’re considering buying new with your first home, some developers may offer you the chance to purchase off-plan.
Here, we’ve explained a bit more about buying off-plan and detailed these questions for you to use on your buying journey.
What is buying off-plan?
When you ‘buy off-plan,’ you purchase a property before it has been fully built by a developer or before construction has started. You can often also get involved with the style or design of the property, ultimately influencing how the finished build will look.
Is it more accessible than buying an existing property?
The process of buying off-plan is very similar to buying properties that have already been built. The main difference is that there’s nothing physically to see, and you’ll have a longer wait for your new home to be finished.
Questions to ask yourself
If you are looking to buy off-plan, here are some things to ask yourself first:
Do you want to live at the development?
This, of course, applies to buying anywhere for the first time, but it’s still essential. While the promise of a new home in a new development is appealing, you should also be sure it will be in a location that suits your current and future needs. It would be best if you also considered what it will be like living on a development site with construction work still being carried out.
How much can you afford?
Being financially stable applies to buying for the first time in any situation. However, you should be aware of checking how long your mortgage offer will stand with your chosen lender when buying off-plan. You may need to ask for an extended period to cover any construction delays you might encounter.
Learn more about saving for your first home in our other useful guide.
What is the value potential?
If you think you may move again at some point, you may also want to consider the property’s resale value against the price you’ll be paying for it. Other factors like the location and the popularity of the area will also affect whether or not the property will increase in value. So, make sure you do your research before looking to buy.
Will you use any additional schemes?
Similarly to the last question, it would help to consider additional financial support schemes like Help to Buy when buying for the first time, whether off-plan or not. These can help make your purchase more straightforward and more affordable – find out more about the support that’s available here.
Questions to ask the developer
It’s also worth asking a developer these questions when buying off-plan:
What personalisation options are available?
As alluded to earlier, when buying off-plan, you may get opportunities to personalise your new home, specifying your kitchen, bathroom, and flooring choices. Not all developers will offer this, though, so if you’re not sure, you should ask them when making any enquiries. It will also depend on the build stage of your new home as to whether this is still an option.
What are the completion dates?
You should ask your developer about the realistic completion dates for its off-plan properties, so you have some idea of when you might be able to move in. Most developers will supply dates depending on the build stage for example before the roof is on a calendar quarter will be given but if the home is decorated you will be advised the week it is likely to be ready.
Are there any guarantees or warranties?
As the process of buying off-plan can take quite a while, you should ask about any guarantees or warranties the developer is offering and whether these will be affected or extended should your property face delays in construction.
Are any deals available?
Similarly, you should ask about any deals they might be willing to offer you if you reserve your plot. On top of things like personalisation options, developers may also pay your legal fees or even offer discounts from the asking price if you’re buying off-plan for the first time.
Help to buy off-plan with Living.
These questions should help ensure you make the right decision when buying your first home as an off-plan new build.
However, if you want to learn more about buying off-plan or enquire about your options with our developments, feel free to get in touch.