It is great to see your home taking shape and many of our customers love to see their home during construction. We never forget that it is your home and providing it is safe to do so, your sales adviser will be able to arrange this for you at certain periods of the process. Please, never attempt to visit the development site unsupervised. Always make an appointment with your sales advisor and make sure you follow all our health and safety instructions during your visit.

Your home will also undergo thorough quality inspections, both internally and externally, to ensure that it meets our quality standards. It will also be subject to several inspections by the National HouseBuilding Council (NHBC).

We endeavour to give our customers as much information about their new home as possible, we aim to provide an overview of the construction of your new home, which will include the following:

• Terms of and Conditions of sale.
• Details of the home such as land and communal areas, location, site layout, etc.
• Layout plan indicating room sizes, including kitchen and bathrooms.
• Summary specifications for the construction of the property.
• Energy efficiency information.
• Fixtures and fittings to be included in your new home.
• Heating and electrics information.
• Overview of all external works and supplies.
• Miscellaneous items, such as the road-wearing course, drive topping, landscaping, or street lighting.

Upon reservation you will need to provide:

• Your reservation fee.
• Contact details of your solicitor.
• Contact details of your financial advisor or mortgage broker.
• Contact details of your estate agent (if you have a home to sell).
• Photographic proof of your identity such as a passport, driving licence.

Now that you have chosen to buy a new property, our Sales Advisor can assist you with trusted solicitors and New Build Mortgage Specialists to assist you throughout the house buying process, we will always be on hand to help should you need it. Solicitors are an essential part of the home buying process as they oversee the purchase of your new home and take care of all the legal aspects, ensuring everything goes as smoothly as possible. This means that they will sort contracts and fund transfers,  advise on legal matters, conduct local council searches, and complete the  Land Registry.

A  good solicitor will make sure that you receive regular updates and relieve you of some of the house buying stress.

If you don’t already have a  solicitor, our sales advisor can supply you with the details of some local independent firms who work with us regularly. This helps to make your move as straightforward as possible, as our recommended solicitors are familiar with our process.

Mortgages, Help to Buy and Insurance

Should you need one now is the time to formally make your mortgage application. Finding the ideal mortgage for you is vitally important. We can assist you with a New Build Mortgage Specialist should you need it.

You’ll need the following:

• Credit reports
• Documents relating to utility bills
• Council tax
• Insurance policies
• Living costs and outgoings
• Employment (or self-employment)
• Proof of benefits
• Proof of identification (usually a passport or driving licence)
• Up to 6 months of bank statements.

Building insurance is essential and you should arrange the insurance of your new home at the same time as your mortgage, lenders will insist you have it in place when you exchange contracts. As soon
as contracts change hands, you are legally responsible for your new home.

You can now add your personal touches to your new home by choosing from our range of kitchen units, bathroom fittings and more. In addition to our standard features you can also choose from any quality extras you would like to add, depending on the construction stage of your home.

You will need to order any optional extras within the schedules advised and make payment for them at the time of your order. It is important to order any extras in the correct time scale as this may result in a missed opportunity to personalise your home.

We will contact gas, water and electricity suppliers and give them meter readings taken on the day of handover. Prestige Homes will settle any outstanding usage with suppliers and transfer responsibility over to you once this has been done.

Communications

It may be possible to have your current telephone, internet and TV services activated in your new home. Contact your providers for information and timescales.

Once our legal team have confirmed to your solicitor that your new home is ready for legal completion and occupation, you can begin making arrangements for handover.

Before legal completion,  we will supply your solicitor with a  cover note from the  National  House Building Council. This is required for a mortgage lender to issue your mortgage funds.

A final inspection of your new home is undertaken by a member of our team who will check that all appliances and systems are operating. It will then receive its quality assurance which confirms the home is clean and ready for you to move in to. We will also provide you with an Energy Performance Certificate- This certificate will be available if the new home has been built and is ready for completion.

We aim to give you time to plan your move and whenever possible we will give you as much notice as we can of your moving in day. This period allows you time to make your final arrangements to move and confirm exact timings.

The completion date is when the balance of the purchase money is paid to us and legal ownership passes from us to you. If you are moving into your new home on this day, we will arrange a time to meet you with the keys and arrange the handover inspection.

Your solicitor will look after all the legal matters and will confirm to us when the completion funds have been transferred from their bank account to ours. Usually, this is a straightforward process, but on occasions, delays may occur.

Once legalities are complete, you become the legal and proud owner of your new home. Part of our handover on completion day is to present you with the keys to your new home.

Please let your sales advisor know if you plan to move in on handover day, or prefer to simply collect your keys. Once funds have been transferred your sales advisor will let you know when you can collect your keys.

There is a dedicated handover when you first step into your new home. It is about making sure you know how everything works – from the boiler to the lighting controls. And that's where you will meet a sales supervisor -From the little questions to the big guarantees, we are here for you.

We will provide you with details and information about your home:

• Health and Safety information.
• Instruction manuals and details about things such as central heating boiler and other appliances.
• Emergency information and procedures.
• A copy of NHBC’s booklet and information about NHBC Buildmark Cover (or similar) and details of the expiration date of NHBC Buildmark (or similar).

We strive to build homes that last a lifetime and care about the home we sell. Prestige Homes are committed to ensuring that any problems which arise after you have moved in will be taken care of under the terms of the  NHBC  Buildmark  Cover  (or similar).  Once you have moved in,  you will be responsible for wear and tear, decorating and routine maintenance.