FAQs

Once you have decided you want to buy a home with us and you’ve chosen your plot, you will need to reserve the property. This means we’ll take it off the market and hold it for you while all the legalities of buying a home are carried out, such as surveys and land searches. Please be aware that we can only accept buyers who are in a position to proceed with the purchase, for example if you’re chain-free or your home is already sold, subject to contract.

To reserve the property, you will need to complete a Reservation Agreement form and pay a reservation fee. We then reserve your property for 28 days before the exchange of contracts, when you’ll need to pay a 10% deposit fee. As we go on to build your new home, we’ll give you the date we expect everything to be completed and keep you informed throughout the construction process until legal completion can take place.

We’ll reserve your new home for 28 days, in which time the price remains fixed and we won’t enter into any new reservation agreement with anyone else.

We can agree to extend your reservation period if needs be. If you do need longer, please let us know as soon as possible so we can come to an agreement.

As soon as you’ve reserved your home, we’ll talk you through detailed information about all parts of your property and the area, as well as explaining the legal processes you will need to carry out as part of the purchase. We’ll give you an estimated completion date, which we will try to make as accurate as possible and we’ll keep you updated on the build and progress of your new home throughout.

A week before your completion date, we then invite you to your new home for a familiarisation visit. This gives you the opportunity to meet the Sales and Site managers, who will guide you through everything you need to know about your new home and answer any questions you may have. During this visit, you can also check for any cosmetic issues that we can fix before we hand over your keys the following week.

If anything looks likely to push back the final handover date, such as bad weather delaying the build or external setbacks like issues around completing roads, footpaths or services, we’ll let you know as soon as we can. And if you ever have any questions about how your new home is progressing, please just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

If you’re buying off plan, we’ll talk you through key details following reservation. These include the floor plans, elevations, site and landscaping plan, and the electrical layout to give you a clear vision of your future property. We’ll also take you through all the specifications for each room, and you can choose to personalise and upgrade your home from our full specification range, such as your kitchen, flooring and bathroom tiles.

This depends on where we are in the building process when you reserve your property. If we’re early on in the build process then yes, you can choose aspects from our list of specifications, such as kitchen doors and worktops, flooring and bathroom tiles. However, if the property has already had its internal features fitted, then these are what you will have when you move in. As always at Heritage, we choose high-quality internal features from well-renowned local suppliers.

When you’re buying a new home, it takes roughly seven weeks from when we accept your offer to when contracts are exchanged. If anything happens to impact this timeline, such as setbacks on site, we will always keep you informed.

At the exchange of contracts, you will also need to pay a 10% deposit.

We understand the importance of finding a solicitor you can trust, so we’re always happy to recommend a local, trusted law firm who we’ve worked with before. Please just ask.

There are lots of moving parts to the legal process of buying a new home and we’re happy to help if you have any questions. We can talk you through the process from start to finish, including:

• Draft contracts
• Local Authority and Land Registry searches
• Property surveys
• Exchange of contracts and completion.

We can also recommend a suitable lawyer if this is something you feel you need, so if you’re worried about any of your legal obligations, let us know.

You’ll get the keys to your new home on completion day. This is when you’ve paid your stamp duty and solicitor fees, and the funds are released. Once your solicitors have received the completion funds, a member of our team will meet you at your new home and hand over the keys, and the property is now officially yours.

When you move in is up to you – many move straight in on completion day, while some move in at a later date, if that’s more convenient. New homes are not in a chain, which gives you more flexibility.

Yes, we remain on hand to help even after you’ve got the keys. When we meet you on handover day, we give you lots of information that you will need in your homeowner’s handbook, such as instruction manuals for appliances and your warranty details, as well as a description of the systems and services installed in your home. You’ll also have access to our dedicated Aftercare Manager, who will be able to answer any questions and give you any support you might need once you’ve moved in.

At Heritage, we take the quality of our new builds seriously so if you find any issues we will get them sorted as soon as we can. Behind the scenes, we employ the latest software to deal with any queries, allowing us to track and monitor the progress of any issues you raise. We know new homes take a little time to settle, so you’ll have access to our personal support for two years after you move in.

We take pride in building high-quality homes so we hope you never find any serious faults. From the day of completion, your new home comes with a 10-year latent defects structural warranty from specialist provider Build Zone, which covers you for any serious faults in your home’s first decade.

At Heritage, we also provide a comprehensive two-year warranty that covers any damage or defects caused by faulty workmanship or materials, so you can rely on our support for the first two years after completion if you ever need it.

If you want to find out more, just ask any member of our team. We also provide full details of your warranty in your homeowner’s handbook, which we give you when you move in.

Help for our current homeowners

If you’re already one of our homeowners and you need to get in touch, you can report all issues to customercare@heritage-developments.com or call 01603 615024 during our normal working hours.

For any out-of-hours emergencies, please call NPA 24:7 on 0345 6044424, who will be able to help.

There are so many good reasons to buy a new build. We believe the most important of these is the quality. With a Heritage home, you’ll move into a luxury new property that has been built with great care, so it simply won’t have the same maintenance costs as moving into an older property. Everything is new, including your heating systems, plumbing, electrics and fittings and fixtures so you won’t have to worry about appliances breaking or even redecorating. And, in the unlikely event there are any problems, you’re covered by a 10 year warranty so you don’t have to spend any money on fixing it.

New builds are crafted to modern standards, which makes them both safer and more energy efficient. In turn, this helps keep your running costs lower – so not only can this help you save on home maintenance costs but potentially on your overall bills too.

Buying a new build is also a straightforward process, so you can move in with minimal stress. There’s no chain, making the legal process simpler and more streamlined, and you get the added benefit of ongoing support from the Heritage team once you’re in. With the option to personalise your home’s specifications, you also get to put your stamp on your property as it’s being built.

We understand that choosing to buy a new-build is a significant investment, so it’s one we make sure is worth it for our customers through high construction standards, careful property design and thoughtful choice of location – making sure your new house feels instantly like a home.

Yes, we’re registered for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme. We run through all the details on our website here, or you can give us a call to find out more.

We put sustainability at the heart of our home designs to make sure they are eco-friendly and energy efficient – and help keep your running costs lower. The heating systems within your home will give you control over when and where you heat each room. As you would expect, we use draught-sealed double glazing, and we build and insulate all our homes using long-lasting and high-quality materials. We also continue to explore new options in sustainable technology, such as air-source heat pumps, to make sure all our future developments are as environmentally responsible as they can be.