We too, made a mistake of buying a GW home some years ago - the garden was full of rocks and builders rubble - under the lawn - the fact that they offer you "FREE" carpets and kitchen fittings is a load of **** - You are PAYING for it - so avoid GW if you possibly can...

We had problems with bathroom plumbing and leaking garage roof - which necessitated small claims court too !!

They definitely build down to a price

As with any new build house - the size of the bedrooms is hidden by the miniature beds that they use in the showhomes - unless you are a midget - this will be the first thing that you notice......

And DO NOT use Wimpey solicitors - use your own

Britbadboy:

However I have heard that George Wimpey are not the best quality builders etc. So anyone shedding some light on this area will be much appreciated. As it’s our first home we don’t want to be conned

Hope I'm not to late. We bought a GW home a while ago and it's crap and there customer service is crap. Do a google search for "beware of wimpey" for more details.

Problems with new builds are to be expected but you should not have to fight to get problems resolved.

Good Luck

Kevin

Right guys, hope you all are cool? Just moving along the lines of house buying and I have another question!

Any ideas how much does a survey costs? We have been given a price by our mortgage broker and it seems fair but just to double check wanted to know a ball park figure.

Thanks.

conmankiller:

josh_s_87:hi just to add to this, i would reccomend no insist that you take independent solicitors no matter how low GW go. there is a reason why they are now price matching. pay the extra if needed as this could be very valuable when it comes to looking over the contract etc.

go independent.

I agree with the above statement, no matter how cheap the quote...go with your own independent Solicitors who will act in your interests alone...not the Solicitors of the builders, they will be biased towards their client GW because of the large volume of profitable business they handle on their clients behalf. !

Even though they may claim there is no conflict of interest, why chance it only to find out the hard way.?

Thanks for the input guys! Based on your advice I am now looking to go independent even though GW's recommended solicitor agreed to match the price.

Will keep the post updated? Also any other things I need to watch out before signing the 'Missives'?

josh_s_87:hi just to add to this, i would reccomend no insist that you take independent solicitors no matter how low GW go. there is a reason why they are now price matching. pay the extra if needed as this could be very valuable when it comes to looking over the contract etc.

go independent.

I agree with the above statement, no matter how cheap the quote...go with your own independent Solicitors who will act in your interests alone...not the Solicitors of the builders, they will be biased towards their client GW because of the large volume of profitable business they handle on their clients behalf. !

Even though they may claim there is no conflict of interest, why chance it only to find out the hard way.?

sparky76:

Hi Britbadboy,

...You should arrange an independant solicitor to act on your behalf (although this may be a part of the offer) to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with the builders interests...

Good luck with it.

Sparky

As per my previous post, I'd reccomend an independant solicitor. You can find these online, which can be cheaper, and in the end you are more confident there is no conflict of interest with GW. (You can ask them if they are dealing with GW)

There is another thread on the forums discussing conveyancing, and you can add to that on your experiences.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/does-anyone-know-of-a-website-that-compares-solic-35952.aspx

Google conveyancing for some more helpful links.

HTH

Sparky.

It's good that you've been haggling already!

Regarding the price, you can do some further research in the area on what similar size properties have sold for (look at the land registry or www.ourproperty.com) using the post code.

You could see if there are other new developments in the wider area and what they are selling at and visit them to get in some negotiation, just say that you are arranging the mortgage (so they don't commence open wallet surgery for the instant holding deposit).

Once you are sure, and are ready to put your money with your mouth is, go in for the one last negotiation, knowing that you are all set, just need them to go that little bit lower. (knowing just how low you need them to go).

As it is also month end coming up, there may be some sales target pressure for them, so possibly more room to negotiate.

Regarding your mortgage did you go for an independant financial advisor, one from your bank, or did you do a comparison on here?

Have you checked your credit record too?

Sparky.

Thanks Sparky for throwing light on some of the dark areas which would have gone un-noticed if not for your advice.

It does seem GW is really keen to sell the property and have already gone leaps and bounds to reduce the price. Some of the offers have been thrown in too to keep us occupied:

• Deposit match.
• Holiday vouchers (not really keen on them but won’t say no if it comes to it).
• Plasma TV (already trying to back out even though its mentioned on their site)
• Full appliances in the kitchen.

So you can see they are really keen to go ahead with the sale. However one thing that concerns me is the fact they want me to put a booking deposit ASAP. Their sales pitch is "It’s the last remaining flat within the development, and someone else is already keen to buy it if not us". Although this might be genuine it kind of puts pressure on us as we are still in negotiation with our mortgage advisor on the mortgage. Whilst it seems its going to go through I am still not convinced to put the deposit down until and unless everything has materialised on the mortgage front.

About the development it is still ongoing and is phased. They say the move in date will be March 10 and are working towards it. I am not concerned too much about it at the moment as it gives us enough time to tie our loops (get the deposit etc).

Finally I am still keen to haggle a bit more off their quoted price, even though according to them they have severely reduced the price. So I assume I can still go for it. As about getting flown with the excitement of our first even purchase of property is taking over. Hence I am looking around to get some expert advice from people who know this property ‘game’ inside out.

Any help, advice, comments or anything else certainly will go a long way in terms of gratitude from anyone on the forum. Look forward to some more reading in days to come.

Thanks.

Hi Britbadboy,

I'd add that as with most things you need to go into this with your eyes open and with a realistic view of what the house purchase process will bring.

From what I have read of GW. It does employ some sharp selling practices and whilst everything is nice now that you are interested, you need to take care before committing yourself too much.

You need to be sure that the 'good price' you are getting it for is the realistic value, (as is the pre discount price). New builds are said to attract a slight premium when new, but this is lost almost immediately.

It is worth haggling / negotiating hard with the builder as to the price and what you are getting for that price (carpets, furniture, stamp duty paid, mortgage paid for a year etc) as with other offers.

When you buy, you will be expected to put down a deposit (about 1000 or so), and on exchange (anywhere from 2-6 weeks) you will need to provide the 10% deposit.

You should arrange an independant solicitor to act on your behalf (although this may be a part of the offer) to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with the builders interests.

There is generally no guarantee of when the property will be built if you are buying from a plan and looking at a show home, however if it is already done that's one battle avoided. Also if it's already done make sure you have a good survey done, and inspect the property fully yourself (noting any issues) to get these addressed / or discounted from the price. Whilst the NHBC will cover major items, you will also need to do a snagging list when you get the property, before you complete if it is not yet built.

Also with areas of new development, green spaces, parking and roads are sometimes the last things to be completed, so be prepared for that, and also continual buliding if other phases of development is not yet complete.

You are certainly doing the right thing searching the internet and these forums for advice.

You can always ask GW for a timetable of when you can expect to exchange contracts (when you are legally bound to purchase) and when you will exchange (when the property is actually yours).

Good luck with it.

Sparky

This is my opinion only...but it's comparable with when you first pass your driving test, it's usually sensible & advisable to buy a more affordable car that is already built has proven construction & has been tested to ascertain it is fit for it's intended purpose.... ..rather than risking having a unfamiliar, untested expensive specialist car built at the factory, which may not fulfill your expectations.

Only an opinion. !

Hi Guys,

Just need quick advice about George Wimpey developers and quality of their homes. We’ve just seen one of their developments and saying that the property is ‘Perfect’ for us will be an understatement. It’s situated in perfect area, decent size, great locality, top layout etc etc etc.

So all in all its stuff of dreams and at the minute we are getting a cracking deal on the price too!

However I have heard that George Wimpey are not the best quality builders etc. So anyone shedding some light on this area will be much appreciated. As it’s our first home we don’t want to be conned out.

Thanks