First of all I would advise strongly against buying any new home. You have found the forum and presumably the main
website and my
Blog which is a good start.
The good news is Redrow would appear to not be as bad as most of the housebuilders, although they lost a star in the customer "satisfaction" rating last year! That said you still need to be very careful.
Follow the advice on the
Do's and Dont's This Redrow article might interest you too! Regarding build timescales, you will need to be 100% certain when construction is due to be started on your chosen plot. From then, the Consumer Code for Home Builders requires Redrow to keep you informed of progress and give estimated (but not guaranteed date that the home will be ready for occupation.
These dates must be considered as a guide only!
With a decent site manager, reasonable weather and normal construction, it should take between 16 and 24 weeks to build the average 2 storey new home. Townhouses and flats can take longer.
What to do with your existing home?
If Redrow offer it and only if the valuation is right, I would suggest part-exchange.
When you exchange contracts, you will need to pay the 10% deposit.
If you haven't got this money to hand, I don't know how it is done using Help to Buy etc.
I would suggest that the buyer of your existing home exchanges contracts and you use their 10% towards your 10% on the new home. Another option would be a bridging loan, but this may be expensive if Redrow drag their heels building your new home.
No doubt the sales person will advise you how to do it as it must be a common problem.
As for selling your existing home, I would put it on the market as soon as you are certain and have reserved the new one. If you get a buyer, it can be stipulated that completion cannot take place until your new home is ready. Most first time buyers and cash buyers will be happy with that as the price is fixed and in a rising market your old home will be worth more by the time they move in but wont have cost them anything yet! Be warned if the market crashes, they may pull out if they haven't exchanged.