House buying process...help!

Eurorunner

Heres my scenario:

- Have pre-approved mortgage (reasonable rate but havnt shopped around yet to see what the rest can do).
- Have selected property.
- Developer says he doesnt need a booking deposit but that 10% required
on signing contracts and stage payments thereafter.



Ok, given the above i have a number of concerns. It seems that the next step is that
i give him my solicitors details and they forward on the contract to him.


Question 1:
If i go ahead with the contract now, does the ACTUAL lender have to be detailed on the
contract. If so, can this be changed later if I find a better deal? How long does it usually
take for contracts to be sorted out between each parties solicitors normally??


Question 2:
I want to make a couple of small changes to the build. I'm sure some of you have been in this
position. How did you deal with this? Is it best to have it worked into the contract or were
arrangements made afterwards with the builder - as the build progressed??


Would be grateful for any relevant info. - plus any other pitfalls to look out for.

Maximilian

Ok, firstly, As a practising solicitor, I hate Stage Payments. They are inherently anti-consumer and should be avoided by the plague. Most reputable builders don't use them. In any case that is a matter for you. Ensure at least, the builders are registered with Homebond, or its equivalent. 10% deposit is standard.

The identity of your lender does not have to be included in the contract but I would strongly recommend you not sign contracts without loan approval. I see a lot of people going for either IIB or Ulster Bank at the moment but you should shop around.

You would be better off agreeing any changes to the build at the outset.

In any case your own solicitor will be able to deal with any concerns you may have and the above is offered for discussion and information purposes only. Good luck!

Victor

Eurorunner wrote:

Question 2:
I want to make a couple of small changes to the build. I'm sure some of you have been in this position. How did you deal with this? Is it best to have it worked into the contract or were arrangements made afterwards with the builder - as the build progressed??

Ask for quotes up front for any changes. Make sure that your requests are clear and concise. Don't say "I want a garage" - say I want a 3m x 6m garage with XXXX brick finish, YYYYY roof tiles and vanished timber doors"

Eurorunner

Thanks for the info guys. May be cutting down on the intended changes anyways.

spongebob

Maximilian wrote:

Ok, firstly, As a practising solicitor, I hate Stage Payments. They are inherently anti-consumer and should be avoided by the plague. Most reputable builders don't use them. In any case that is a matter for you. Ensure at least, the builders are registered with Homebond, or its equivalent. 10% deposit is standard.

They are the norm in the West but not in Dublin. I agree with you in principle though Maximilian . Even reputable builders in the west use stage payments to keep the ca$h flow up so they are not an indicator of 'dodginess' per se.

My experience of builders is that they are ALL creatures of habit, if they make sh1te of jobs they will continue to so do. Find out what else the same builder has done in the past 2 years and if it is an estate check that it is properly finished (surfaced properly, paths , lights and landscaping) . If not your estate will be the same in 2 or 3 years.

I did the same the last time I bought an estate house and in fairness the guy was gone with everything finished and tickety boo 2 months after we moved in. Generally, a good builder continues to have pride in his work, a crap builder will never change . Every town in Ireland has the 'Good Builder' whose estates normally cost that bit more second hand and sell quicker too . If the estate is all investors then avoid like the plague, Tuam is rotten with Galway City investors nowadays for example .

M

narommy

Muck wrote:

If the estate is all investors then avoid like the plague

This person knows their stuff.
An estate with alot of owner occupiers is always a better proposition. More people have pride in their house and garden. The place looks a lot better in general and this maes it a lot easier to get a good price when selling on.
It is for this reason that it think buying in a new development can be risky.

Maximilian

The thing about stage payments is that with bank finance, they shouldn't be necessary, even for small builders. 90% of my work is acting for Banks. There's exceptions of course but I would approach with caution.

Padraig Mor

Maximilian wrote:

The thing about stage payments is that with bank finance, they shouldn't be necessary, even for small builders. 90% of my work is acting for Banks. There's exceptions of course but I would approach with caution.

Unfortunately, if you live in the wrong place, there's often no choice. I live, and bought a house recently, in Cork, and to not pay by stage payments is practically unheard of.

Regrading the pre-approved mortgage - it's not worth a thing. It's basically a marketing device and you will only know the actual outcome when the application proper goes in. My advice? If you're well within your mortgage limits (i.e. not trying to borrow more than is usually allowed), keep away from mortgage brokers - you don't need em. Sort it out yourself - our tosser (with IFG) just made a hash of things and I wish I'd done it myself!

Eurorunner

Tuam is rotten with Galway City investors nowadays for example .

Yep. Its taking the overload from Galway now alright. Even worse, i entertained the idea of buying in a section 23 area - but quickly regained my senses. All investors in these areas - and any financial advantage is going straight to the builder.