Bought off the plans - discount ?

[tommy78]

Hi,

I bought an apartment off the plans in 2007 ( I know , I know ) and have been told by the developer it will be ready in the next few months.

Obviously prices have dropped over the last couple of years (and continue to do so) . Also I have to go and get mortgage approval again as the last one lasted only six months.

I have heard that some people who bought off the plans have got discounts from developers when they were due to move in even though developers are under no obligation to do this.

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to ask for a discount ?

Should I just get my solicitor to write to the developer asking for one ?

I am fully aware that they are under no obligation to give me one but there is no harm in asking!

Thanks!

 

[JoeB]

I don't know how to ask about discounts.

I suppose you need to know whether the apartments have dropped in value, and what penalty applies if you don't go ahead. If the apartments have dropped by 50K and you stand to lose 22K if you walk then losing the 22K makes more sense than overpaying by 50K.

So you should probably ask for a discount of whatever amount is required so that you wouldn't be better off walking away completely...

 

[Senna]

re;above
You cannot walk away, you signed the contract and it is a legally binding agreement.


I'd first go and get approval again, you may not (wont) get as much as 2007. Was your 2007 approval for much more than than purchase price?
I'd then get the valuation done for the bank, see what price they put on it.
In a lot of cases recently people who bought off the plans have been having trouble with new approval and new valuations.
If you do get both sorted ok, i would ask the bank for a letter saying you only have approval for purchase price - 10%. Take it to the developer and say this is all you can get and you dont have any more money.

You can try your best to get a discount, but you agreed to the price in 2007 and the developer is under no obligation to give anything off.

 

[JoeB]

Hmmm... I don't agree... I think you should push for a discount. It doesn't matter really, the bank will be working off the present valuation, not the 2007 one, and so they probably wouldn't loan you what you need.