De aankoop van een nieuwbouwwoning heeft veel voordelen en aantrekkingskracht. Niet alleen vermijd je het vervelende drama van een verkoper met een gerelateerde transactie en een lange keten, maar over het algemeen zijn nieuwbouwwoningen energiezuiniger en vereisen ze minder onderhoud zodra je erin trekt. Alle voorzieningen zal be brand new and essential white goods are also included, but may be subject to extra charge. Moreover, developers can offer some attractive incentives such as Stamp Duty contributions, furniture packs and legal fee contributions.
De aankoop van een woning lang voor de oplevering ervan kan vreemd en riskant aanvoelen, maar het is mogelijk dat de woning aanzienlijk in waarde kan stijgen nadat ze is gebouwd, omdat je de woning koopt tegen de huidige marktprijs op het moment van de uitwisseling van contracten en niet tegen de marktwaarde zodra ze is opgeleverd. Dus of je nu koopt als investering of voor eigen bewoning, off-plan kopen is vaak een haalbare en aantrekkelijke optie.
Er zijn veel verschillen met nieuwbouwaankopen ten opzichte van uw “gebruikelijke” overdrachtstransactie. Je moet ervoor zorgen dat de advocaat die je opdracht geeft om namens jou op te treden, goed thuis is in nieuwbouwtransacties en in staat is om de inherente risico's en valkuilen die zich vaak voordoen, te herkennen en je er doorheen te loodsen.
Reserveringskosten en uiterste inwisselingsdatums
Usually before taking a property off the market the developers will require a reservation fee – generally around £2,000 but may vary between developers. This reservation fee will be deducted from the deposit payable to the developer’s solicitors upon exchange of contracts. As there is generally a high demand for off-plan properties the developers will also impose an exchange deadline – usually 21 or 28 days – this will be from the day your solicitor receives the contract pack from the developer’s solicitors. Therefore it is imperative that your solicitor is able to act quickly to ensure that you can meet this deadline and avoid missing the deadline and risk verbeurdverklaring of the reservation fee.
Deposito's en bouwsommen
Exchange of contracts is when the transaction becomes legally binding. At this stage the developers will require 10% of the purchase price to be paid to their solicitors. Certain developers may require further deposits or staged payments to assist with the construction of the development, this will be specified in the contract. Moreover, more often than not the contract will specify that these sums will be held as “agent”. This means that as soon as the developer’s solicitors receive the monies they are able to release them to the developer. As you will be entering into a legally binding transaction so far in advance of completion, a lot of things can happen in that period of time. For instance, the developers may become insolvent and go into liquidation. Therefore, it is important that your solicitor understands the risks and takes steps to protect your position especially in relation to the deposit you have in essence advanced to the developers.
Usually the New Build Garantie Provider will act as a deposit guarantee should the developers fail to complete because they are in liquidation or by reason of fraud. However, the New Build Warranty Provider will only usually guarantee a maximum of 10% of the purchase price or £100,000 (whichever is lower). Therefore when agreeing to pay further deposits or construction sums, which are not protected, you should consider the size and reputation of the developer before agreeing to them.
Opdrachten
Some investors may wish to sell the benefit of the contract to someone else before the property has been completed. This can be an attractive option as you will be able to take away the profit made on the transaction and the original deposit (and any construction sums paid) up to that point. Moreover, you avoid paying Stamp Duty and HM Land Registry Fees. However, if this is your intention it is important that the contract allows you to do so.
As a seller in an assignment, it is important to note that just because the transaction has completed you do not fall out of the picture. Should your buyer fail to complete then the developers can look to you to complete the transaction and you will be responsible for any default interest and notice fees. Practically speaking this may be unlikely as the developer will just retain the deposit paid and remarket the property. As a buyer, it is difficult to obtain mortgage financiën on an assignment and very few lenders offer on these transactions. Therefore, more often than not a buyer will usually be financing the purchase through cash, which of course also restricts the potential market the seller can sell to.
Hypotheken
Het komt vaak voor dat kopers overgaan tot uitwisseling zonder een hypotheekofferte. Dit komt omdat de voltooiingsdatum zo ver van tevoren ligt en hypotheekoffertes meestal voor die tijd aflopen. De meeste kredietverstrekkers hebben aanbiedingen die tot 6 maanden geldig blijven, daarom is het verstandig om dan al te beginnen met aanvragen. Het is het beste om met je financieel adviseur te praten die je verder kan adviseren.
Er is een element van risico in het feit dat je je hebt verbonden aan een juridisch bindende transactie zonder enige garantie dat je de financiering rond hebt bij de voltooiing. Natuurlijk kunnen persoonlijke omstandigheden veranderen en het is belangrijk om met een onafhankelijke financieel adviseur te praten die je een idee kan geven van de beste manier om de aankoop te financieren.
Zodra een ontwikkelaar een kennisgeving van voltooiing stuurt, moet je de aankoop voltooien en ervoor zorgen dat je bij voltooiing een geldig hypotheekaanbod hebt.
Voltooiing op kennisgeving
Dit is de kennisgeving die de advocaat van de ontwikkelaar aan uw advocaten zal sturen om te bevestigen dat de woning klaar is. Meestal staat in het contract dat je ongeveer 10 werkdagen hebt om je financiële zaken te regelen en voor je advocaat om de nodige zoekopdrachten uit te voeren voor de oplevering.
Upon completion you will need to provide the balance of the purchase price less any reservation fee, deposit and further deposits you have paid up to date. Included in these sums are usually any engrossment fees (a fee for the developers solicitors producing the final form lease or transfer), a first contribution towards service charge and a proportion of ground rent attributable to your period of ownership.
Longstop-data
This is a date in the contract built in to protect both the buyer and the developer. On the one hand, the developer cannot guarantee exactly when the property will be completed and at the offset can only give as estimated time scale (anticipated legal completion date) as to when they think the property will be ready. They will be relying on contractors who may not deliver and the weather in this country may also cause delays in construction. Therefore the developers will want to include this date into the contract to protect them against any unforeseen delays. On the other hand, a buyer will not want to be left in limbo, bound to a contract with no deadline in which the developer must complete the build by. If the developers are adhering to the Consumer Code for Home Builders, the longstop date in the contract will usually be 12 months from the anticipated legal completion date. There will be little or no room to negotiate the longstop date in the contract for the reasons listed above, but should the developers not serve the completion notice by this date then you will have the option to cancel the contract and any deposits and further deposits paid will be returned to you.
Should you have any questions about this, or any matter in relation to new build property, please contact Berivan Erdogan at B.Erdogan@rfblegal.co.uk.
(Let op: This article was originally published on our previous website and is provided for general information purposes only. While it reflects the legal position at the time of writing, the law may have changed since publication. For up-to-date advice tailored to your circumstances, please contact our team.)
