Buying a home off plan

What does "buying off plan" mean?

New homes are often reserved and bought by purchasers before their construction is complete, sometimes several months before they are built and finished. This is called "buying off plan."

All of our new homes are made available for sale several months before they are finished. This gives you a chance to pick the home you love and reserve it off plan. Reserving a new home off plan means that you commit to buying a home that is still being constructed. You may, or may not, have an opportunity to view inside it before your commitment to buy it becomes a legal obligation.

A show apartment or show house is sometimes available to view; this may not be exactly the same as the home you would like to buy but it will give you an idea about style, specification and finishes. By visiting the show home, you will have opportunity to meet us face to face and to ask any questions you have. You can also explore the local neighbourhood and carry out your own research into things like public transport connections, schools, etc.

How does it work?

New homes that are available to reserve off plan are listed on our website as “coming soon” and you can add them to your account area by liking them. You can also apply now if you have found your perfect home and want to get started straight away!

We are ready to take reservations off plan as soon as prices are released. We will contact you to let you know this and ask you to complete your application form (if you haven’t already done so) and ask you to pick your favourite home(s). We will probably ask you to do this by a specific date so you don’t miss out on the home that you want to buy. We will let you know as soon as possible if we are able to offer you the home that you want to buy.

What do I need to do?

If you are offered the home you want to buy, you will need to speak to the panel mortgage advisor. They will carry out a financial assessment to see what share you can afford to buy and they will help you get all the documentation we need to confirm your reservation. You will then pay a £500 reservation fee to Moat and at this point, the price you pay for the home is fixed and this will remain so with an expectation that you will exchange contracts within 34 days. The reservation fee (£500) will be deducted from the purchase price on completion. You will then need to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf for all legal matters to do with buying your home.

What do I need to consider when buying a home off plan?

When you reserve a home off plan, we will keep you updated on the progress of your home being built on site and we will give you an estimated season for when it will be ready (i.e spring 2024). If there are likely to be any delays, we will tell you and your solicitor. Construction delays can, and sometimes do, happen which means the date your home will be ready to move into can change and you may have to make alternative plans for your accommodation if, for example, your tenancy agreement is about to end.

Most mortgage offers are valid for six months. If your completion date is further in the future or there are build delays, you may have to extend your mortgage offer. We will let you know if you need to do this so that you're clear about potential costs.

Where we can, we try to get safe access either to the home that you have reserved off plan, or to a similar home on the same development. When this happens (it isn't always possible because of health and safety restrictions) it is usually after you have reserved and much closer to your home being finished. We may expect you to exchange contracts (legally commit to buying the property) without having viewed it (other than via plans and marketing information we provide to you). We cannot delay exchange until you have seen your new home.

We realise that buying a home off plan is a big commitment and we are here to help you every step of the way. Please get in touch with your Sales Executive if you have any questions about buying a home with us.

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