Your Home Finance
The new-build rate is rarely what decides your deal.
Incentive disclosure, the valuation and how long your mortgage offer stays valid against the build programme decide new-build cases — long before the interest rate does.
30+ years
new-build advice
Incentives
disclosed properly
Offer validity
managed
Whole of market
access
Situation grid
How far along is the development?
How your case is assessed
How lenders assess a new-build purchase
New-build lending has its own rulebook. The property doesn't exist yet, the price includes a developer's premium, and the incentives on offer directly reduce what a lender will advance.
Incentives reduce the lending figure
Deposit contributions, paid stamp duty, free upgrades and part-exchange arrangements must be disclosed on the UK Finance Disclosure of Incentives form. Most lenders cap total incentives at around 5% of the purchase price and deduct anything above that from the valuation figure they'll lend against.
Valuation against comparables
Valuers compare against second-hand stock and earlier plots on the same site. Where the asking price includes a premium the market won't yet support, a down-valuation increases the deposit you need — regardless of what the developer's price list says.
Mortgage offer validity versus build programme
Offers typically last three to six months; houses can slip and apartments frequently take longer. Some lenders extend to nine months or more for new build, and knowing which do is what prevents a full re-application at your own cost.
Property type, tenure and warranty
Flats often face tighter loan-to-value limits than houses. Lenders will want an acceptable warranty such as NHBC, and on leasehold they scrutinise ground rent terms, service charges and the lease length before offering.
You can't judge a new-build case from the developer's brochure — we check incentives, scheme appetite and offer validity before any hard search.
Specialist insight
Not every new-build purchase carries the same risk
Off-plan apartment · long build programme · incentives above the cap
Higher challenge
Tighter loan-to-value on flats · offer likely to expire before completion · incentives deducted from the lending figure and a real chance of re-application.
House nearing completion · modest incentives · established developer
More lender choice
Broader panel and new-build specific products · valuation supported by earlier plots on site · offer comfortably outlasting the build programme.
Independent reviews
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Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in new-build and off-plan mortgage lending
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“The developer's deadline is a sales tool. The valuation and the incentive disclosure are what actually decide whether the mortgage completes — and those don't move because someone reserved a plot.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Not theory — the patterns that keep catching new-build buyers between reservation and completion.
Treating incentives as free money
A 5% deposit contribution sounds like a gift. Beyond the lender's cap it's simply deducted from the figure they'll lend against, which means finding the difference in cash. Buyers discover this after exchange far too often.
Using the developer's recommended broker without comparison
Sometimes they're genuinely good and know the scheme well. But their relationship is with the developer's completion timetable, and the incentive to place you quickly isn't always the same as placing you correctly.
Ignoring how long the mortgage offer lasts
An offer that expires two months before the building is finished means re-applying — with fresh credit checks, fresh affordability at current rates and another valuation. Choosing a lender on offer validity matters as much as on rate.
Exchanging in 28 days without checking the valuation
Developers push for rapid exchange to secure the plot. Committing contractually before the valuation is back is how buyers end up legally bound to a price the lender won't support.
Real client scenarios
Real new-build journeys
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Incentives above the cap — caught before exchange
- 7% incentives offered
- 5% lender cap
- Deposit gap found early
- Renegotiated
Situation
First-time buyers reserving a new-build house with a package of deposit contribution, paid stamp duty and flooring upgrades.
Challenge
The combined incentives exceeded the lender's 5% limit, so the excess would have been deducted from the lending figure — leaving a five-figure shortfall at exchange they hadn't budgeted for.
What changed
We priced the disclosure form before exchange, moved to a lender with a more generous incentive treatment, and had the package restructured so more value sat in the purchase price reduction.
Outcome
Exchanged inside the developer's deadline with the deposit intact and no last-minute cash call.
Why it worked
The disclosure form was read at the start rather than at underwriting. Everything after that was arithmetic.
Off-plan apartment — offer built to outlast the build
- Off-plan flat
- 11-month build
- Long-validity lender
- No re-application
Situation
A buyer purchasing an apartment off-plan with an indicative completion nearly a year away.
Challenge
Their initial lender's offer lasted six months. Expiry before practical completion would have meant re-applying at whatever rates and affordability rules applied by then.
What changed
We placed the case with a lender offering extended new-build offer validity, and diarised a review point ahead of expiry with a fallback lender already identified.
Outcome
Completed on the original offer without re-applying, re-valuing or paying a second set of fees.
Why it worked
The mortgage was chosen against the build programme rather than against a best rate that would have expired before the keys existed.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no hard search at this stage.
- 1
We understand the plot, the developer, the incentives offered and the expected build completion date (no hard search)
- 2
Jay checks lender appetite for the scheme, the incentive limits and how long each offer stays valid
- 3
We plan the application around the build programme — not the reservation deadline
- 4
If proceeding: Agreement in Principle → application → valuation → offer, with extensions or re-offers managed
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We check incentive limits and offer validity before you exchange, not after
- We won't rush an application to satisfy a developer's reservation clock
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- The development, the plot, the developer and the purchase price on the price list
- Every incentive being offered — deposit contribution, stamp duty, upgrades, part exchange
- The expected completion date, and whether it's a house or an apartment
- Your deposit, and whether the reservation has already been paid
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to reserve today.
We may advise waiting where the build programme is long enough that no current offer would survive it, where the incentives on the table would create a deposit shortfall, or where a later plot release on the same site is likely to value more reliably.
A developer's reservation deadline is not a reason to commit to the wrong mortgage. If waiting or renegotiating the package would protect your deposit, we'll say so before another footprint goes on your file. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about new-build mortgages
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't let a developer's timeline decide your mortgage. We work to the build programme and the lender's rules.
Check your new-build mortgage before you reserve
Tell us the plot, the developer, the incentives and the expected completion — we'll assess how lenders will treat it.
We don't submit a new-build application until incentive disclosure, scheme appetite and mortgage offer validity have all been checked against the build programme.
Exchange deadlines are usually 28 days. Knowing where the valuation and the incentives stand before you reserve is what keeps that deadline safe.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Get Clear, Honest Mortgage Advice — Before You Apply
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Struggled to get approved elsewhere? We specialise in complex cases including CCJs, self-employed income, and declined applications. Over 90% of our clients had concerns about their situation before speaking to us.
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Related guides
New build — related decisions
If your decision hinges on one of these questions, these chapters go deeper.
Mortgage valuations
What surveyors actually assess, and your options after a down-valuation.
Open guide →
First-time buyer
If this is your first purchase and the deposit is doing all the work.
Open guide →
Flats and apartments
Lease length, service charges and the lending limits on apartments.
Open guide →
Shared ownership mortgages
Buying a share of a new build rather than the whole property.
Open guide →