Hi,

I've just reseverved a plot on a new estate and have placed my current home on the market.

The new propoerty isn't completed unitl December 2008. The price has already been brought down from £285k to £280k but I want to negotiate further on this.

Obviously I want to haggle on carpets, upgrades, stamp duty etc but I want to bring the asking price for the property down further still. The sales person has said there is a lot of interest in that plot (well she would wouldn't she!)

I could really do with some advice on when to haggle further etc. Clearly I don't want to lose the option of buyiong that plot!

Any suggestions would be greatfully recieved!

Thanks,
Ed

Hi...if you have parted with money to reserve the plot you may have lost your bargaining powers. If there is genuine interest and you are able to leave without losing money you could call their bluff but that may end with you not getting the property. The initial response when you ask for further reductions will probably give the game away, if they say " I'll see what I can do" you are probably in the realms of a discount or some incentives, if not you may have to comply with the original conditions to keep the plot.

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Regards

Ian

HI i have also just put a reservation on a new build, myself and my partner both went around the site the first time and saw the house we really liked but were unable to put an offer in until i had some movement on my property, at the time the seller said there was interest in the one we liked and they were just waiting for people to sell their homes before proceeding on this new house.

Anyway after 2 weeks me and my girlfriend were in a position to go back with regards to making them an offer, they initially offered 5% deposit and stamp duty, but after some strong negotations she finally said " what would it take for me to reserve today " so i asked for 12.5% deposit, stamp duty paid, £4000 towards floor coverings and granite worktops in the kitchen, after a bit of huffing and puffing she made a few callls back and said we could have it at that offer, i still wanted to walk away and think about it to make sure i had eveything covered but i got caught up in the moment with my girlfirend and her mum so we agreed and signed.

Now after thinking about it i think i could of got even more out of them, after signing she informed us that a lot of things in the showhouse are optional upgrades which has dampened my mood towards the place as they are very expensive to upgrade and the standard options are not as good as the upgrades.

My advice is tell them what you what and get as much as you can out of them ( when we first went round i could of sworn she said they would pay solicitor fees, but as soon as we signed that offer disappered!!!!! ) so make sure you get everythng written down before you sign and hand over a reservation fee, because your bargaining powers go as soon as you sign.

Hope my story helps you get a better deal.

Martylaa