New home sale in Rathborne, Ashtown, Dublin 15

elainers

Daithon wrote: »

- white goods offer is based on signing an unconditional contract (which wouldn't be advisable at this stage)
- structural guarantee ... says developer will register but if this didn't happen the mortgage may not be able to draw down

What do you mean that white goods is based on signing an unconditional contract?

Also I had thought under regulations/law, they have to provide the structural guarantee to have the house signed off by the council so it's interesting your solicitor raised this?

Daithon

Also I had thought under regulations/law, they have to provide the structural guarantee to have the house signed off by the council so it's interesting your solicitor raised this?[/quote]

It's the 'homebond' guarantee ... that's not a legal requirement to have.

unconditional I assumed to be signing up to the contract without asking for any changes (not sure)

elainers

Daithon wrote: »

unconditional I assumed to be signing up to the contract without asking for any changes (not sure)

Must check that one out with solicitors - if it is true I certainly won't be prioritising some appliances.

Daithon

elainers wrote: »

Must check that one out with solicitors - if it is true I certainly won't be prioritising some appliances.

Just wondering if anyone's had any update from their solicitors on queries and clarifications to the contract?

suci2016

Daithon wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone's had any update from their solicitors on queries and clarifications to the contract?

We spoke to our solicitor on Friday and they’ve heard nothing back as of yet! That’s nearly 3 weeks without reply! I’d say the architects are slow to come back on details on the house types.

They’ve cleared the front left corner of the site last week, probably an area for site office, welfare facilities etc. I’d say site clearance is all that will be done this side of Christmas.

Daithon

suci2016 wrote: »

We spoke to our solicitor on Friday and they’ve heard nothing back as of yet! That’s nearly 3 weeks without reply! .

3 weeks since your solicitor went back to Byrne Wallace??? that's crazy ! my solicitor was expecting that they'd prob get back in a week (and highlighted the importance of a speedy resolution to get the white goods). if they take more than 3 weeks to revert it's hardly fair that the purchaser would loose out on the white goods

suci2016

Daithon wrote: »

3 weeks since your solicitor went back to Byrne Wallace??? that's crazy ! my solicitor was expecting that they'd prob get back in a week (and highlighted the importance of a speedy resolution to get the white goods). if they take more than 3 weeks to revert it's hardly fair that the purchaser would loose out on the white goods

Our solicitor received contracts on the 7th and think they went back with queries on the 8th/9th. So come Wednesday that will be 3 weeks! I’ve made it clear to our solicitor that if there’s delays from their side this should not affect getting the white goods.

Jeny

Went by the site today - No further progress made on clearing the site - just that corner. Still a field with trees

Daithon

Jeny wrote: »

Went by the site today - No further progress made on clearing the site - just that corner. Still a field with trees

I'd be surprised if there was any real work started before the Christmas break, apart from some site set up maybe, it doesn't make sense to mobilise plant and materials for a couple of weeks at this stage which would be left on site over the xmass shut down.

mikehene

For those of you also on "Rathborne View", I have just been told that our contracts were sent yesterday.

The reason for the delay is that there is already a Rathborne View so they have had to change the name to Rathborne Walk.

How this has only been realised at this late stage is embarrasing for them and the council.

Means I will need to return to the bank to amend the approval letter, very unlikely to make the 21 days now but I will fight it as totally their fault.

kingofjay

just passed by rathborne park nothing move on the site. will be waiting longtime for moving in.

suci2016

Our solicitor received replies today, a whole 3 weeks later!

Number of queries not answered/ignored which is disappointing. From a brief conversation with our solicitor today the following are some of the main concerns.

1. 24 month completion timeline. They don’t seem to be willing to concede on this. Can be an issue if they don’t complete for 24 months and if you can’t get mortgage approval then. Unlikely to happen as in this market I assume they’ll want to complete Phase 1 in order to launch Phase 2.

2. Declaration of identity. Essentially the boundary lines of your property. As far as I’m aware we haven’t been furnished with this exact information. Obviously we can’t inspect the boundary lines on site as it’s just an infill site at present so this map is of utmost importance. Again very vague information has been supplied to date.

3. No update on spec. Nothing! This is very worrying. How have the costed the build if they do not have these details. Maybe the architects are slow to release them.

4. They can’t furnish the NAMA discharge letter. As far as I can gather this releases their interest in the land. They can be slow to furnish said letter which can cause a problem for mortgage drawdown or reselling etc.

5. Very short period (5 days) following completion to have the valuation surveyor inspect and send valuation letter to our bank to release funds ( all to be done within 5 days). I don’t think the bank will move that swiftly.

Anyway this is just a brief note from a conversation with our solicitor today. There are a couple of other things but I can update the board again once I get some more clarity. If anyone else has heard back would be interested to hear what their solicitors have picked out.

Cheers

Daithon

suci2016 wrote: »

Our solicitor received replies today, a whole 3 weeks later!

......

Anyway this is just a brief note from a conversation with our solicitor today. There are a couple of other things but I can update the board again once I get some more clarity. If anyone else has heard back would be interested to hear what their solicitors have picked outv.

Cheers

Many thanks for the update ! I received my contract only a fortnight ago, and my solicitors queries are with them a week now.

When I get an update will let you know.

Will be interesting to see what else comes out of your solicitors letter.

elainers

I received a reply today which was 10 days after first queries so thankfully fast. The loan offer clause was accepted which is good.

Didn't raise the completion time as it's standard across all of their builds. My solicitor did not raise Nama discharge letter or the declaration of identity so have asked them a question as of tonight - hopefully it's covered already.

The oddest answer was they referred me to Savills for the drawings with dimensions which I asked to go in the contract. Based on this, I'm guessing that they'll try refer me to the brochure only but not put it in the contract.

nmeg

I have received the contract and its with my solicitor with some queries. But one thing not mentioned at all was parking. I know we get one allocated space (i am in the mid-terrace houses) but will there be additional parking for additional cars (we have 1 but will be needing another soon).

Daithon

nmeg wrote: »

I have received the contract and its with my solicitor with some queries. But one thing not mentioned at all was parking. I know we get one allocated space (i am in the mid-terrace houses) but will there be additional parking for additional cars (we have 1 but will be needing another soon).

you should have a plan in the contract that shows which parking spot is assigned to your house. my understanding is that the assigned parking spot is dependant on your management fee having been paid ... so whilst it's assigned it's not technically yours if that makes sense.

elainers

nmeg wrote: »

I have received the contract and its with my solicitor with some queries. But one thing not mentioned at all was parking. I know we get one allocated space (i am in the mid-terrace houses) but will there be additional parking for additional cars (we have 1 but will be needing another soon).

If you're in a mid terrace with a garage, the garage is your space? I'm pretty sure there's only one space for three bed houses. Savills had said there's visitor parking but weren't clear on how much or where.

Daithon

Drove passed the site today and seen that the contractors site cabins have been placed on the site, top corner under the Rathborne Park sign

Daithon

Nothing back from Castlethorn solicitor as of today.
Anyone else progressed their contract in anyway since ??
Has anyone been speaking to the estate agent in Savills either to see of they have any insight ? Last conversation I had there was that an information evening might be suggested ... that would be a good step considering the lack of spec and dimensioned plans in the contract

elainers

Daithon wrote: »

Nothing back from Castlethorn solicitor as of today.
Anyone else progressed their contract in anyway since ??
Has anyone been speaking to the estate agent in Savills either to see of they have any insight ? Last conversation I had there was that an information evening might be suggested ... that would be a good step considering the lack of spec and dimensioned plans in the contract

Nothing yet bar Savills have confirmed they can't provide drawings with dimensions/construction drawings (as anticipated) so that has to come from the opposite solicitor.

Daithon

elainers wrote: »

Nothing yet bar Savills have confirmed they can't provide drawings with dimensions/construction drawings (as anticipated) so that has to come from the opposite solicitor.

For the plans to be worth anything they'd need to be part of the contract so understand Savills not providing them (although doubt the have them either). Surely everyone's solicitor has gone back with this as the main issue so can't understand why it's not being actioned by now.

rdoyle16

Daithon wrote: »

elainers wrote: »

Nothing yet bar Savills have confirmed they can't provide drawings with dimensions/construction drawings (as anticipated) so that has to come from the opposite solicitor.

For the plans to be worth anything they'd need to be part of the contract so understand Savills not providing them (although doubt the have them either). Surely everyone's solicitor has gone back with this as the main issue so can't understand why it's not being actioned by now.

Builders won’t provide dimensioned drawings and those furnished are always “for identification purposes only”. This is because a builder doesn’t want to be sued by a purchaser or have a purchaser looking to rescind a contract if the property isn’t built exactly to scale. Having said that, the builder’s Architect will have to furnish a Certificate on Compliance on closing to certify that the property has been built in “substantial compliance” with the relevant planning permission and as part of which scaled drawings would have been submitted to the Council.

suci2016

Our solicitors concern is with the loan approval clause. Our solicitor looked for the Law society recommended on with slight modification to allow for loan reissue but they came back with a more restrictive alternative.

The tight timelines they are looking for under the clause they are proposing would appear not to be feasible? This potentially allows them the scope (for example we you do not meet the deadlines for the surveyor and the bank approval of the survey) to use this as an excuse to put the property back on the market if they believe they could get a better price. As I understand it the turn around is 5 days which seems quite tight for the banks surveyor to inspect, report and for the bank to then approve the loan.

While we’d still get the deposit back we could be potentially back to square one! It is a risk, not sure if anyone else’s solicitors have flagged this?

toberlion

Hi Suci, Can you tell me what section of the contract refers to the
loan clause?

I'm assuming its 4(a)?

Daithon

suci2016 wrote: »

While we’d still get the deposit back we could be potentially back to square one! It is a risk, not sure if anyone else’s solicitors have flagged this?

I was just looking at the contract and it notes the closing date to be 14 days after the completion date (and the completion date is to be noticed or agreed in advance)

where is the 5 day deadline your solicitor raised an issue with? what clause ?

elainers

Daithon wrote: »

I was just looking at the contract and it notes the closing date to be 14 days after the completion date (and the completion date is to be noticed or agreed in advance)

where is the 5 day deadline your solicitor raised an issue with? what clause ?

It's what's in the loan offer clause that they came back with - that clause says if you don't get a bank loan that you can walk away with your deposit and not be pursued for the cost of the property. Not in the first draft of the contract but it's a good thing to add in if you haven't requested it to date and recommended by the Law Society. I suspect the 5 day enforceability will come down to where it's placed in the contract and whether it takes precedence over the 14 day closing clause. 

rdoyle16 wrote: »

Builders won’t provide dimensioned drawings and those furnished are always “for identification purposes only”. This is because a builder doesn’t want to be sued by a purchaser or have a purchaser looking to rescind a contract if the property isn’t built exactly to scale. Having said that, the builder’s Architect will have to furnish a Certificate on Compliance on closing to certify that the property has been built in “substantial compliance” with the relevant planning permission and as part of which scaled drawings would have been submitted to the Council.

. 
Honestly, I don't care what builders will or won't do. I'm very happy to have plans subject to tolerance levels but I will want a copy of what I'm buying in the contract given nothing is built yet. A vague drawing not providing some description of what I'm buying or its size is just not acceptable for such a big purchase. If they have to legally build it according to the plans, it shouldn't be an issue to put in the house plan from the planning permission with a note that it's subject to tolerance levels.

PhoenixParker

elainers wrote: »

It's what's in the loan offer clause that they came back with - that clause says if you don't get a bank loan that you can walk away with your deposit and not be pursued for the cost of the property. Not in the first draft of the contract but it's a good thing to add in if you haven't requested it to date and recommended by the Law Society


. 
Honestly, I don't care what builders will or won't do. I'm very happy to have plans subject to tolerance levels but I will want a copy of what I'm buying in the contract given nothing is built yet. A vague drawing not providing some description of what I'm buying or its size is just not acceptable for such a big purchase. If they have to legally build it according to the plans, it shouldn't be an issue to put in the house plan from the planning permission with a note that it's subject to tolerance levels.

Try for something along the lines of "built in compliance with planning permission ####/##"

elainers

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Try for something along the lines of "built in compliance with planning permission ####/##"

They can request amendments to planning permission after the fact - I want what's on there at the moment as that's what I'm agreeing to buy. Shouldn't be that hard.

rdoyle16

elainers wrote: »

It's what's in the loan offer clause that they came back with - that clause says if you don't get a bank loan that you can walk away with your deposit and not be pursued for the cost of the property. Not in the first draft of the contract but it's a good thing to add in if you haven't requested it to date and recommended by the Law Society. I suspect the 5 day enforceability will come down to where it's placed in the contract and whether it takes precedence over the 14 day closing clause. 


. 
Honestly, I don't care what builders will or won't do. I'm very happy to have plans subject to tolerance levels but I will want a copy of what I'm buying in the contract given nothing is built yet. A vague drawing not providing some description of what I'm buying or its size is just not acceptable for such a big purchase. If they have to legally build it according to the plans, it shouldn't be an issue to put in the house plan from the planning permission with a note that it's subject to tolerance levels.

Elainers, I'm only trying to offer my two cents here! By all means try, but don't be too disheartened if they reject your request for the reasons I outlined previously. At the end of the day (unfortunately) the contractor holds the balance of power when trying to limit their exposure to risks in these contracts and as such the buyer usually ends up owning more of the risk. The fact being that if you are not willing to sign up to their conditions (save minor amendments) they will find someone who will. Your solicitor should be able to advise you if they think it is worth pursuing and if they have managed to get large contractors to include dimensioned drawings in previous contracts.

mikehene

I'm just returning from visiting my solicitor and i raised all of the issues people have mentioned on this thread. He informed me that all new builds contracts are standard and that none include dimensions etc and that not to expect them to change anything.

I thought i'd check on this point so I raised the question on the Royal Canal Park thread on boards, asking whether dimensions were included and they confirmed they weren't. They got the plans from the site administrator or on the councils planning permission. At the end of the build a surveyor will come out and sign a certificate to state that the builders aligned to the planning permission submitted to the council.