- New scheme lets you rent for six month trial
- Rent paid is knocked off the asking price
You can test drive a car, so why not a new house? More developers are taking up the idea to allow potential buyers to live in a place for six months or so to see if they like it enough to buy.
The deal is that they pay rent on the property and at the end of the agreed time if they wan to stay the rent paid is knocked off the purchase price.
They thinking for developers presumably is that after settling in for six months and enjoying a brand new place most people would be tempted to stay,
For buyers it gives you a chance to see if a place really does fit the bill and is worth investing in and you get to know the neighbours.
Gleeson Homes were among the first to offer the deal down at City East in Ancoats and now Ask Life are offering trials at their abito scheme in Greengate, Salford.
Rent one of the innovative pods for £600 a month for six months and if you like the location and the distinctive building you can get the £3,600 you will have paid in rent off the sale price which start now at £135,000 and vary according to the floor.
There are currently 24 apartments left in the scheme at Greengate Salford, all of which Ask Life has now put into the scheme and Sian Pitt, head of sales said: “By renting to start off with, they can have the opportunity to ‘try before they buy’ and see if they can handle the payments and responsibility of owning before they commit to a long term decision.”
And it is not just apartments where you can play house without the commitment.
McDermott Homes is doing a similar rent/buy deal on a number of properties on schemes across the region.
“Buying a new home is a huge commitment and in the current climate it’s hardly surprising that some buyers are erring on the site of caution,” says Kevin Murthwaite, Sales and Marketing Director at McDermott Homes.
The agreement is initially for a six-month period but it may be possible to extend the tenancy if they need more time.
“It’s all about helping buyers to get started during what is undeniably a difficult time.” Continues Kevin.
“We believe that the property market won’t drop at the rate predicted by some of the more dramatic report, and therefore they won’t want to rent for long.”