How to make offer to builder appealing?

B

Bluebean

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hello,

We are in the process of trying to buy our first house. At the moment we are renting in a lovely estate, and would ideally like to purchase in the same estate. There is a house on the market at the moment, guide price of 335k, they have an offer in of 336k at last check. As this is above the stamp duty level, we feel that as first time buyers we would be crazy to pay stamp duty.
The only other possible option is a house that is not fully finished (probably another 2 or 3 months of work for the builder to do before one could move in). We are considering making the builder an offer of say, 310k or 315k for the house as it is, and if he would sell at that price we were thinking of then asking him to finish the work for a set price thereafter.
What I would like to know is (a) if its legal to do the above - i.e. pay 315k now to stay below stamp duty, but still pay the same person more money to finish the job? Thus in reality paying him a total of probably 325 or 330 for a finished house, but in 2 different stages?
(b) How can we make our offer sound appealing to him, given that he now knows that if he just finishes the work himself and then sells that he will probably get 336k or higher? We really, REALLY would like this house, and it would be even better if we could get it at this stage so we could pick our own tiles etc. Is there any effect on the seller once the house goes over 317,500?

any advice greatly appreciated!

thanks.
 
One suggestion is that you could offer to pay him for the extra work weekly in advance. The problem that he will have is taking the risk of having to wait for his money when the work is done.
 
Are you trying to buy a new property? If so, the stamp duty limit of 317,500 doesn't actually apply.

Also, perhaps you could clarify - are these houses being sold as they are completed, or have they already been sold in the first phase?
 
Sunsparks, yes, it is a new property that we would like to buy. The rest of the estate has been built for approx 3 years, but this house was being done more slowly, the builder seems to be just tipping away at it.
Is there definitely no stamp duty for first time buyers on a new house? Even if it is more than 317,500?
thanks.
 
Once the new property is under 1350 sq ft, it is exempt from sd. This applies whether you are a FTB or not.
 
I would suggest that the builder might, however, be looking to sell for over 336k. He will be well aware that any purchaser is saving on SD and will add this on to the average price of 2nd hand houses in the estate.

He might not, but I'd be surprised. You've nothing to lose by approaching him.

good luck anyway!
 
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