With the expectation of many more new homes to be built over the next few years, potential pitfalls await any unprepared buyers of properties yet to be built.
Home buyers opting to purchase newly built properties face pitfalls, with further complications when buying a property, ‘off plan’, before it is even built.
The legalities of buying a property before it is built differs from buying a second hand property and there are different factors to consider such as:
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When the property will be completed – what will happen if it is not finished when the builder said it would be?
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What will happen if the builder gets into financial difficulty before it is finished?
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Will the new roads and drains be built properly?
The warning comes as recent research by Which? shows that more than half of those homeowners surveyed who had bought a newly built property in the last five years experienced problems, including delays and unexpected additional costs.
Head of Conveyancing at Boys & Maughan, Peter Rodd said: “Buying a property before it is built, or off plan as it is known, requires a lot of preparation in advance with your solicitor. Not only do different rules apply to off plan, but it is necessary to cater for the possibility of delays in the building of the house."
“At Boys & Maughan we are familiar with the tighter deadlines, pre-exchange contract issues, including factoring in delays in building the home, as well as the special procedures involved in obtaining a mortgage for property purchased off plan and the systems for making payments in instalments.”
A raft of legal issues need to be checked, such as planning permission, rights of drainage and water supply, as well as rights to use all pipes and cables to the property. Your solicitor will also ensure that building regulations have been adhered to, a special insurance for new builds is obtained and issues relating to roads, on the estate where the property is being built, comply with the Highways Act.
Peter adds: “Buying a new build comes with many benefits – no chain, a brand new home and often appealing finance packages on buying. However, the downside is that there is more to it than signing on the dotted line. Getting help from a CQS accredited solicitor such as Boys & Maughan should be your first port of call when buying off plan.” 
