Closing the deal on a brand new house - how long?

Olaz

Hi,

Would appreciate some input please.

We have found a house we want to put an offer on, it's the last new house in the estate. It's a straight forward buy in that the original developer is selling and it's not owned by nama or anything like that. The bank (AIB) have given us pre-approval and, while we are not first time buyers, we are not selling a property before we buy.

Can anyone give me an idea of how long a scenario like this might take to close once it goes sale agreed and what kind of issues we could come up against to delay things further. Tia.

Victor

A few weeks to a few months.

that it is the last house is both a blessing and a curse. It may not have sold for a reason, e.g. structural defect, nuisance neighbour, etc. However, the lenders, local solicitors, surveyors, etc. should be aware of the contract details, circumstances of the estate, etc. from previous transactions.

the_syco

Also, is the estate totally finished?

engineermike

Hi,
If going sale agreed your builder / developer would notify you that the house is ready for a snag list inspection. This normally takes approx. 3 weeks in total from the time you find and arrange someone to inspect the property & snag report is published and issues fixed by the builder.

During week 1 a site visit by your snag inspector & snag list report is sent over to the builder & yourself as 'client'.
If nothing too serious is raised in the snag list (or overly complicated for the builder to remedy - i.e. ordering replacement doors /windows) your builder would come back to you at some point in the second week to say works on the initial snag list have been completed. If required You can then choose to have the property re inspected & final snag list report is provided during the third week.

To cut down on unnecessary delays in the above process, as soon as the builder / developer says the home is ready to have inspection carried out, ask the question " is the Gas supply & electrical supply connected with Meter in place?"
It may not be hooked up as some builders wait until the prospective owner has committed to the purchase & you would then be required to contact the ESB & Bord Gais to request the meter installation & new supply account (in your name etc.).
Your snag list inspection is more comprehensive & better value with both Electrical & Gas supply working at the property.
However it is one possible time delay to be aware of as current lead time from ESB / Bord Gais to install meters is 5 - 7 working days from your first contact with them to set up the account.
Beyond that aspect most delays will happen in the legal process, and keeping on top of your solicitor & the vendor for documentation required in the conveyancing is key to ensuring an early / short period to close the sale.

Unfortunately there are a myriad of things that can occur to delay the finalization of the sale, most common is the lack of some documentation that your solicitor is seeking ,which takes a couple of weeks for the builder / vendor to sort out and in turn get copy sent on to your solicitor.
(Example: - Insurance bond / home bond documentation, Opinions on compliance with Building regulations / planning regulations, BER certificate).

Also just from my experience of sales of the last house or last few houses in an estate. You can find that in the current climate & slow sales - substantially reduced prices, quite a lot of builders strip replacement parts from a couple of houses in a development to fix items on snag lists for other properties as they have been selling. The last house or two then has much longer snag list & specific parts and items have to be ordered in / or replaced altogether because they are no longer sold or available. It can add further time if this is the case.
REgards,
Mike f

Olaz

Thanks for input so far guys.
To answer the question above, the estate is completely finished, but the last few houses are now being sold at a reduced price.
Engineermike, my husband is in commercial construction and produces snag inspection reports as part of his job - hence he intends doing the snag list himself. Would you advise against this for any reason?

Victor

Olaz wrote: »

Engineermike, my husband is in commercial construction and produces snag inspection reports as part of his job - hence he intends doing the snag list himself. Would you advise against this for any reason?

I would. Having someone else do it creates an independence, whereby balance can be struck. This way, the surveyor can be the 'bad guy' and not your husband. If the builder thinks the snag list is fussy, you can blame the surveyor, not your husband. If there is a screw-up you can blame the surveyor, not your husband - and importantly - you can sue the surveyor, not your husband.

There is no harm in him doing his own list and adding any extra items to the surveyor's list.