Buying a new house "off plans"

Ciara22

Hi guys,

We are in the process of buying a new development and its the first time either of us has done anything like this at all. Needless to say, we have no idea of the process and have no clue what we are doing!

Ive gotten as far as meeting the builder to get kitchen, fireplace, paint etc and thats fine, but I need the plans of the house so I know the areas for tiles and wooden floors. The estate agent says she doesnt have plans, so who would have them?

Also, the builder told me there is no tile allowance at all, which seems strange as surely they must provide tiles for a shower cubicle at least?

And we have no idea how much to budget for furniture for a 3 bed house.......disaster! Any advice anyone??? Please Help.

dools

Hi Ciara22,

Congratulations on your purchase - so exciting. We bought off the plans twice and both times, we just had the brochure to go on with approximate room sizes. If the builder does'nt have copies of the plans, his Architecht certainly will. Not sure how willing they (the architects) would be to deal with the builder's buyers though.

In our contract for an apartment, it stated that the builder would have the right to change the layout if deemed appropriate, but we would be informed. The apartment we bought had a separate kitchen on the plans, but when we got in to do the snag, it was all one big living/dining/kitchen area - we were never informed of the change though. We put it up for sale the day after we got the keys as the layout was not for us at all. Therefore, the builder might not want the buyer to get the actual drawings in case they have to be changed. Be warned

It is not unusual to not get a tile allowance. On a house we bought off plans a couple of years ago, there was no tile allowance. Also be aware that there may be shower cubicle in your house, but it may not have a shower nor a shower door included. This is becoming increasingly common. A friend recently bought a house and the painting of the interior was not part of the deal. Check with the builder what EXACTLY is included in the purchase.

As for the furniture, could'nt hazard a guess - depends on taste and level of quality you want. Is there any way you could buy furniture in the sales now and have it stored somewhere?

Best of luck

D

garyh3

Hi Ciara22

Ok will post my Actual costs for our new house. 2 years ago. This is a 5 bed but you should be able to get an idea of the costs.

We had a tiling, painting budget and the kitchen cabinets were included (not the cooker dishwasher etc) + inc shower trays and the white goods.

But it was you standard unfinished house (which the buliders seem to get away with)

Please group, no funnys or youve been ripped off commnets, Im doing this to help out Ciara22.... to give then an idea of costs.

Hope this helps

Garyh3

Ciara22

Thanks guys, its handy to have a guide. I think the shop assistants think im strange now, walking around with a pen and notebook (and a camera).:o