Purchasing Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Benefits of Buying a New Home?

A brand new home is more than just a fresh start, its less hassle, less headache, easier to maintain and most importantly it is a lifestyle choice. Being the first person to live in your house has many advantages, you can enjoy your kitchen, bathroom, newly laid garden and general feel of a new home safe in the knowledge that it has never been used or tarnished in any way. Our fixtures and fittings are right up to date with the latest trends and colour schemes so when you make your personal choices you can include all of your favourite show home features.

Our High Quality Guarantee - There are also many practical reasons to buy a brand new home. Our homes are protected with a 10 year NHBC buildmark guarantee. Offering you peace of mind in our quality assurance. New Homes are more energy efficient than older properties and now include many eco-friendly features from insulation to energy saving lighting and heating, saving you more on your fuel bills. This will become increasingly relevant in years to come. New homes are built to the relevant building regulations and technical requirements, including high safety standards that older properties just do not offer.

Value for Money

We design our properties to suit modern lifestyles where older properties just cannot compete. With our fantastic offers and high specification homes we pride ourselves on the fact that our houses offer fantastic value for money.

Choosing our interiors package gives you the opportunity to make your new home unique, from flooring to wall tiling, fixtures to fittings you can choose exactly what you need from our show home ranges in the colours and finishes that suit you, plus the package offers great inclusions so adding your own input doesn’t cost the world.

How do I know which home is right for me?

You can narrow your search down by firstly deciding on the nearest development to your chosen location, then by how many bedrooms you require and what kind of house style you like the most. Our website will allow you see the floor plans and layouts of our house types. The next step is to make an appointment to visit the show home at the development you are interested in. Our friendly sales staff will also be happy to show you the available plots that suit your requirements.

Depending on your circumstances you may want to refine your search by looking at developments offering incentive schemes, for example, we offer 5% deposit paid towards your purchase on selected 2 and 3 bedroom homes. Not only is this a great reason to buy as you are automatically guaranteed 5% equity in your home, but it will also reduce the amount of deposit you have to save.

How much can I borrow?

Defining your budget is an important first step, as this will help you to decide which house will meet your financial need. It is recommended that you find out how much you can borrow and ask your mortgage lender for an offer ‘in principal’ before reserving a property. Lots of our customers ask us for help with this that is why we offer a free and independent service where you can speak in total confidence to a financial advisor. Our advisors specialise in new build mortgages and are always up to date on the best mortgage rates and deals market wide. Please ask your sales advisor for more details.

How much Stamp Duty will I pay?

Stamp duty is a form of tax that is charged by the government on any property purchase in the UK. Depending on the value and location of the property the rate of stamp duty payable varies. The standard rates are as follows:

Purchase Price	Stamp Duty Rate (in relation to purchase price)
Up to £125,000	0
£125,000-£250,000	1% (0 for first time buyers)
£250,000-£500,000	3%
Over £500,000	4%

Your solicitor will arrange the payment of your stamp duty during the sale transaction. There are some occasions where stamp duty is not due, depending on the development in question and the property you are interested in, so please ask your sales advisor for more details.

Do you offer a customer loyalty scheme?

Yes we do! We value all of our existing customers and maintain a popular customer referral scheme. If you introduce a friend or family member to purchase a property from one of our developments we will reward you with £500 upon completion.

Steps to Purchasing your new home

What happens after I have reserved a property?

After you have chosen a new home and placed a reservation at the sales office there are some important things you must then do.

Steps to Purchasing your New Home:

After you have chosen a new home and placed a reservation at the sales office there are some important things you must then do.

Step One

Mark Oliver Homes will ask their solicitor to send out the sale documentation to your chosen solicitor (if you do not have a solicitor, we can recommend one for you). If you are using a firm with a large practice it is vital that you ask for the name of the individual solicitor that will be dealing with your sale and a direct contact number.

You should instruct your solicitor either in writing or by telephone to proceed with the sale on your behalf as soon as you have placed your reservation, this will save time later on. If your property is still under construction Mark Oliver Homes will estimate a time for completion.

Step Two

At the point of reserving your property you will already have a mortgage offer ‘in principal’ but may not have gone through the formal mortgage application process. You will be required to submit your mortgage application straight away so that this can be processed at the same time as the legal process. Make sure you have wage slips, your P60, proof of identification and proof of residency to hand as your mortgage lender will ask to see these during the process. It is sensible to advise your employer that they may receive a reference request and ask them if they can deal with this straight away. You may be asked to submit a property survey fee to your lender when you make your application.

Step Three

You will be invited to the sales office to make your personal choices for the property including your choice of kitchen (subject to plot stage), wall tiling, fixtures & fittings and flooring options from our show home ranges.

Step Four

Make sure that your deposit funds are cleared in your bank account ready for when your solicitor asks for them. Your mortgage lender will tell you exactly how much they will require, this is usually between 5-15% of the purchase price. If you have a related property transaction makes sure that this is proceeding at the same pace as the purchase of your new home. If you do encounter any delays with a related transaction please keep your sales advisor regularly updated.

Step Five

Generally Mark Oliver Homes will require an exchange of contracts within 6 weeks of reservation and legal completion within 8 weeks of reservation. If unforeseen delays occur, you might be able to apply for a short extension via your sales advisor if circumstances are acceptable. Exchange of contracts is an important step, this is where solicitors formally agree the transaction and the deposit funds are paid over. Your solicitor will ask you to sign the contract, please make sure you make an appointment to this at your earliest opportunity. This confirms the sale and a firm completion date will be set. At this stage you will be able to plan you moving arrangements. All outstanding enquiries should now have been made by your solicitor.

Step Five

On legal completion of the sale your sales advisor will contact you to arrange the ‘handover’ of keys to your new home, and there will be a short welcome process and home demonstration of appliances, systems and controls to ensure you feel satisfied and comfortable with how things work.

Please note your solicitor will also help you through the purchasing process by providing you with their professional guidance.