I have been lurking about on this forum for a while and using the great information on this website which has guided and advised me on buying a new build home. So a big thanks for all those who have contributed on the website and forum! On the back of that, I thought I would share my own experience.
Myself and my fiancé (now my wife) set our eyes on a Redrow development back in November last year (2013). After checking out the show home of the house we wanted, a "Broadway" - we went and got an 'early bird' reservation. This and the fact we were first-time buyers enabled us to receive a few benefits such as money off our legal fees, free turf (which we later realised came as standard anyway) and free carpet/ vinyl flooring. We were told the build would not be started until about July 2014.
However, in March, suddenly the development was progressing much quicker and they wanted us to start the legal buying process, as the house was just starting to be built. It was nice being able to see our plot rise from the foundations upwards, taking photos of the various build stages throughout.
We went against what a lot say about not using the recommended solicitors - however, we found our solicitors to be very good informing us of things to be looked at specifically in the contract etc... This also helped a lot as it meant we didn't have to do some of the toing and throwing between sales office and solicitors, which we may have had to if we had chose our own.
We did however, choose to go our own direction for a mortgage, refusing to us the recommended brokers. We went to Natwest, they granted us the mortgage and everything was going through. The stumbling block, which held us back for a long time after was the valuation. NatWest's valuation surveyor decided the house was not worth as much as Redrow wanted. This ended going all the way to the top in Natwest's mortgage team, who refused to value the property higher. We decided we REALLY wanted the property and with Redrow refusing to budge on price, we caved in and went to their recommended broker. Eventually, we ended back at square one with another valuation surveyor valuing the home again lower than the Redrow asking price. After a lot of discussion, finally Redrow backed down! I personally think that the valuations had something to do with us going independent first and the address itself being listed as valued....... maybe? The sales office said nobody else had the same problems. If so, they paid more than what their home was worth. So always be wary at the valuation stage and make sure it is independent.
While all this was going on we was planning a wedding, things were hectic! Our solicitors were given our permission to act on our behalf while we went on honeymoon. Phone calls and emails kept us updated, and we exchanged contracts in July.
When we got back we were told legal completion would be in August 2014. We requested to look around the house before exchange and managed to get shown around about 3 weeks beforehand although the interior of the house was incomplete.
I would highly recommend anyone buying a new-build home to do this. It allows you to view what your buying and point out any major flaws, being mindful that it may be incomplete at the time. We pointed out we was supposed to have spot lights in the kitchen and the fitted wardrobes were wrong specification.
The day before legal completion we met the site manager and he showed us around our almost complete home. He was very informative, but there is a lot of information to take in at that time, so I'd recommended taking a notepad to others. However, I was disappointed we weren't actually offered the time to snag, instead when we asked, we were told to compile a list once we get the keys. I thought....... here we go!
Once we completed we were lucky enough not to require an immediate moving in day. But had we..... well, apart from our own responsibilities such as getting blinds/ curtains, telephone/internet, etc... it would have still taken a fair amount of time.
However, our snag list on top that meant we had (and still have) Redrow's builders coming in and out with our spare keys. Currently, we are now waiting for two or three remaining issues to be rectified. I must add I am a carpenter/joiner with a little bit of site experience in snagging, usually receiving a list and having to put things right. I used this website entire snagging list, which was brilliant. Took a few hours, but helped me to identify some not so obvious snags. My list had over 100 issues, a lot did repeat themselves in every room and apart from one kitchen cupboard not being fitted there was nothing major. We were lucky we didn't move in properly for two months, as this is how long it took them to rectify it all! I must give credit to the site manager though, everything was put right and to our expectations. If you can't snag your own house, always get someone to do it- its so worth the cost, you've paid for a finished house so make sure you get what you want!
We then back in October...... signed to say we was happy with all snags completed apart from the 3 remaining ones, which were clearly listed. Redrow promised they would get them sorted. Unfortunately though, we are now in December, and they are still outstanding and Redrow have our spare keys! We are now pestering our site manager, so hopefully by Christmas these will be sorted.
I know my snag list sounds big, but that was in my opinion small, the finish quality was pretty high and for such a big development I think that's good. Redrow's site and sales staff have been great throughout the whole process and I would recommend the Midlands team for others looking to buy from them. I just hope that these last few snags don't let them down now at this stage. I will update this post if any issues occur in the future with the build quality.
Hope this helps others, just as this site helped me. Look through it all it's well worth your time!