Please speak to our experienced sales team at the development where you want to purchase a property. They will confirm the property’s price and advise whether it is still available. They will ask you a few questions to ensure you are in a position to reserve a property. 

You can reserve your new home by meeting with one of our Development Sales Managers, completing a reservation agreement and paying a reservation fee, which reserves your new home. 

During this reserved period, your new home will be withdrawn from sale and will not be subject to any price increases. We will then ask you to exchange contracts and pay a deposit on exchange (usually six weeks after reservation). This reservation fee and deposit are then deducted from the price of your home. 

 Meeting deadlines:
If you need any help meeting deadlines, please let us know immediately. Regular communication with your solicitor and estate agent (if applicable) will assist in avoiding unnecessary delays. eastbrooke homes will work with purchasers wherever possible to accommodate delays outside of a purchaser’s control; however, regrettably, we may have to put your home back on the market if you cannot meet your exchange deadline. If this is the case, we can arrange for you to choose future releases first.

You cannot formally reserve a property before it is released for sale. However, you can advise our sales team of your interest in a particular plot by placing an ‘early bird’ reservation to ensure you receive priority notification once the plot is released.

We have an assisted move package available at some of our developments. For more details, please visit the sales centre at your chosen development.

Yes, we do on selected plots. Swap your old house for a new home with our Part Exchange scheme and remove the uncertainty and stress of moving. There is no chain or estate agent fees, and you’ll receive an offer based on independent valuations.

It couldn’t be easier, so speak to one of our experienced sales team members to see if the plot you are interested in is included in our Part Exchange scheme.

The property will usually be reserved for six weeks until the conclusion of the contract exchange is expected to occur.

The Reservation fee amount is dependent on tenure type as well as the point at which you reserve:

A standard reservation fee is £1000, an Early Bird reservation fee is £150, and a Shared Ownership reservation fee is £500.

You are expected to pay a deposit when you exchange contracts on the property (usually six weeks after reservation). The deposit will vary, but will generally be approximately 10% of the property value as standard.

Yes, you may cancel your Reservation Agreement within 14 calendar days of reservation, which is your statutory cooling-off period. During this time, we will refund your reservation fee in full and without deduction.

Suppose you cancel your Reservation Agreement after the 14-day cooling-off period. In that case, we will refund the Reservation Fee less any reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by us in processing and holding the plot under reservation, which we expect to be £250.

If you are interested in a particular plot that has yet to be released for sale, you can complete an ‘early bird’ reservation to ensure you receive priority notification once the plot is released. If you’re interested in future developments without a specific plot in mind, you can register your interest with us to stay up to date with future developments.

You must have a valid passport or photo driving licence to complete anti-money laundering checks before you attend your reservation meeting to allow us to progress your reservation. Your Development Sales Manager will send you a link to complete your checks online before the meeting.

If you do not have a valid passport or photo driving licence, please speak to your Development Sales Manager, who can advise you on alternatives.

You will also need to complete an affordability assessment before completing your reservation. To do this, we will need a copy of your Mortgage Agreement in Principle issued within the last three months. You can speak to one of our recommended mortgage advisors to assist with the affordability assessment; however, you are not obliged to use the service of a mortgage broker.

The earliest date you can reserve a property is when it is first released for sale. Our sales team can keep you informed of plot release dates.

eastbrooke homes insure your new home until exchange of contracts. From then on, you are responsible for the contents insurance and building insurance if you buy a freehold property. eastbrooke homes will arrange the buildings insurance for leasehold properties.

Your mortgage lender will insist on building insurance. They may recommend an insurer, but you should also be able to shop around for the best deals. Please check with your lender regarding the type and amount of coverage required.

Contents insurance can, in many cases, be included within the building insurance policy. However, you can have separate insurance providers for buildings and contents. It is your choice whether to insure your contents or not.

You will have the opportunity to visit your new home once the first fix works are completed and the decorators’ mist coat is applied. A second opportunity will be provided once the building works are complete, and you are invited to attend the pre-completion inspection.

Safety:
Safety precautions should always be followed, as the construction site is active and can be dangerous. Any site visit must be pre-booked and agreed with an eastbrooke homes representative in advance. We reserve the right to demand that you wear 5-point PPE at all times and that a staff member accompany you during your visit. We also reserve the right to refuse your request to enter the building site if there are any safety concerns.

Please observe common-sense safety procedures at all times when visiting:

• 5-point PPE must be worn anywhere on site.
• Due to safety regulations, no children under 16 are allowed on site.Keep older children within view.
• Do not walk backwards, not even one step. Always look in the direction you are moving.
• Watch out for boards, power cables, tools, nails, or other building materials that might cause injury or an accident.
• Only enter a level of a home equipped with stairs and rails.
• Stay a minimum of two metres from all excavations.
• Give large, noisy building machinery or delivery vehicles plenty of room. Assume that the driver can neither see nor hear you.

Visiting your new home during the 14 days before legal completion: 

During the final 10 working days before your legal completion, your new home will be inspected and tested at least three times. You/ your suitably qualified snagging inspector, also have the opportunity to carry out a pre-completion inspection during this period. Please see our Home Buying Process FAQs for more information.

Once the pre-completion inspection has taken place, further access is restricted until legal completion to ensure we have sufficient time and space to complete any identified remedial works and cleaning before you move in.

Should you visit your new home during this period, we ask you to note the following:

• Please only enter your home with the prior permission of the sales representative.
• Trades may still work in your home, and surfaces may need drying or finishing.
• Please do not place items that might be marked on surfaces.
• Please keep children, other family members and pets under your control. New surfaces and finishes can be easily marked.
• You may see cards and stickers on the walls, doors, windows, and fitted furniture. These form part of our extensive quality control process; please do not remove them.

Smoking, eating or drinking in the home is not permitted.

The Home User Guide will provide detailed information about the construction of the property and the materials used. You can request the Home User Guide from your Sales Advisor, and a copy will also be made available to you with the handover documents received on completion.

You can use our helpful mortgage calculator, or we can connect you with a mortgage advisor to discuss the costs of buying a home and how much you could potentially borrow.

These areas within a development do not form part of a plot to be assigned to an individual proprietor. They can include play areas, landscaped areas, roads, and footpaths not intended for adoption by any relevant local authorities.

Flatted areas on development may include parking areas, street lighting, and communal stairways, which are not intended for adoption by the local authority.

eastbrooke homes would typically appoint a Managing Agent for the upkeep of these.

This will establish if any planning decisions or other proposals will likely affect your new home. Your solicitor will request the search documents directly on your behalf.

Before making a mortgage offer, your chosen lender usually has the property valued for mortgage purposes. A small fee will generally be payable.

Please note that the value the lender assigns to the property is a valuation for loan purposes and may not reflect the open market value of the house. If you order many optional extras for your new home, the full value of these may not be reflected in the value the lender assigns to the property.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable on all homes over a specific purchase price in England. The amount you must pay will be based on your home’s selling price.

Currently, the scale charges are as follows:

• Nothing on the first £125,000 of the property price
• 2% on the next £125,000
• 5% on the next £675,000
• 10% on the next £575,000
• 12% on the rest (above £1.5 million)

In addition to the standard rates for additional properties, a further 5% of the property purchase price is payable.

You can use the government’s Stamp Duty calculator to determine how much you’ll pay.

If you are a first-time buyer in England, you won’t pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000.  However, properties over $500,000 are subject to the same rates as those who have bought a home before.

A first-time buyer has never owned a freehold or leasehold interest in a dwelling before and is purchasing their only or primary residence. Residential property anywhere in the world is counted when determining whether someone is a first-time buyer.  Where there are joint purchasers, all purchasers must be first-time buyers.

For more information, visit the government website.

Leasehold:
Land held under a lease for a specified number of years, on which a service charge is payable.

Freehold:
The total ownership of the property and the land on which it stands.

Your solicitor will arrange for you to sign a binding purchase contract. At this time, your agreed deposit will need to be paid. eastbrooke homes will also sign and send their solicitors a copy of the agreement.

Once these contracts are exchanged, the transaction becomes legally binding.

If you are selling your present home, the timing of the contract exchange is finely worked out. It is up to your solicitor to ensure that both sets of contracts – the sale of your existing home and the purchase of your new one – are exchanged simultaneously and that a suitable moving day is arranged so that you are never ‘homeless’.

Sometimes, it is not possible to coordinate the sale of your existing property and the completion of your new eastbrooke home on the same day. If this is the case, you may have to consider staying with friends or family or living in rented accommodation until your new home is ready.

Sometimes referred to as ‘part-buy-part-rent’, Shared Ownership involves paying for a percentage share of the market value of a home, usually with a mortgage, and agreeing to pay rent on the remaining share.

You buy a percentage of the home’s full market value from 10% initially, but typically between 25% and 40%. You will then pay a reduced rent on the remaining shares in the property. You can read more about the process on our dedicated Shared Ownership page.

You are eligible to buy a Shared Ownership property if the following apply to you:

• You’re at least 18 years old
• Your household income is less than £80,000
• You don’t already own a home when buying a Shared Ownership property

You can rent out a room in your home, but you must live there at the same time.

You cannot sublet your home unless you own a 100% share or have the landlord’s permission. Please note that your landlord will only permit this in exceptional circumstances. You must also have your lender’s permission if you have a mortgage.

All Shared Ownership properties are leasehold, including houses. This is because you only pay for the market value up front, and your landlord has an interest in the remaining share. In some cases, when you own 100% of the property, the home may be transferred to freehold or some of the leasehold terms will be dropped from the lease agreement. eastbrooke homes will provide information as to what will happen when you own 100% of the property before you complete the property purchase.

On the day you complete your purchase (the day you legally become the owner), you’ll be required to pay certain charges covering the remainder of the month and possibly the following month. These may include:

• Rent
• Service charge (where applicable)
• Estate charge (where applicable)
• Buildings Insurance
• Reserve Fund (also known as ‘sinking fund’) payment (where applicable)
• Management Fee (where applicable)

Be sure to factor these into your budget when planning for completion. You’ll receive a detailed completion statement outlining the exact amounts, which your legal adviser will review with you.

Buying more shares in your home is known as ‘staircasing’. If you will be using a mortgage lender to purchase further shares, they will require you to instruct a suitably qualified legal advisor to do this. To be clear on your options, it is advisable to seek independent legal and financial advice when buying more shares, no matter your situation.

If you buy more shares in your home, your rent will decrease. For the first 15 years you own the home, you have the option to buy a 1% share each year. The price of the 1% share is based on the original full market value adjusted each year in line with the House Price Index (HPI).

You can buy shares of 5% or more at any time. To do this, you will need to appoint a RICS-registered surveyor to complete an up-to-date valuation of your home. Your landlord may change an administration fee when you purchase 5% or more shares which will be outlined in your contract.