New-build life starts the day you get the keys.
Snags appear in week one. Warranty deadlines tick in silence. Service charges arrive with little explanation. Developers go quiet when the sale completes. After Keys is the part of the journey nobody else handles — and it's the part where being supported actually matters most.
The first month, done properly.
The four-week window after handover sets the tone for everything that follows. We get the foundations in place so nothing slips.
Handover pack walk-through
Forty-page documents in plain English. We take you through your warranties, manuals, meter readings and contact list — usually within 48 hours of completion.
Independent snagging inspection
We book a vetted professional snagger to inspect your home (typically days 5–14). They produce a written, photographed report. We hand-deliver it to the developer's customer-care team and chase responses.
Partner cost · panel rate negotiatedCouncil tax banding check
New builds are routinely mis-banded. We review your VOA banding against comparables on the same plot and challenge it if it's wrong — most successful challenges save £150–£400 a year in perpetuity.
Utility, broadband & council setup
A practical checklist — energy, water, broadband, council registration, electoral roll, GP — with our partner discounts on broadband and energy switches where they're cheaper than your default supplier.
Move-in concierge
Furniture, blinds, smart home, white goods. Negotiated discounts with John Lewis, B&Q and our smart-home installers. We don't push — we just open the doors when you ask.
Year-2 deadline calendar
The day you complete, we calendar three dates: month-3 follow-up snag review, month-22 independent build review, and your end-of-fix mortgage date. You'll hear from us before each one.
The two years you can't afford to ignore.
The developer is responsible for everything until day 730. After that, it gets harder. We use that window properly.
Snag list management
You report a snag, we email the developer's customer-care lead with you copied in. We chase weekly until it's resolved or escalated. No more "we'll get back to you" disappearing into nothing.
Developer escalation
If the snag goes ignored, we escalate — Customer Care Lead → Head of Customer Care → Customer Director — with documented timeline. We've used this path with all five major UK developers; we know who picks up.
Month-22 independent build review
A surveyor we trust visits your home eight weeks before the developer's 2-year liability ends. Anything they find that isn't right gets logged and submitted before the deadline — every snag found inside that window remains unambiguously the developer's problem.
Critical milestone · most buyers miss itNHBC / Buildmark / LABC claim setup
If a defect crosses into warranty territory, we draft the claim with you — the technical wording, the supporting photos, the surveyor's report. Year-2-onward warranty claims have strict criteria and we know how to write them properly.
Service charge audit
Estate management fees feel wrong? We review the budget against benchmark estates of similar size and tenure, flag anything that looks inflated, and help you formally request the breakdown you're legally entitled to.
Consumer Code escalation
If the developer goes silent on a legitimate complaint, the Consumer Code for Home Builders provides a formal dispute path — and it's binding. We help you prepare the submission and track the response.
Your home, your numbers, your warranty.
The first big decision after the snagging window: your remortgage. After that, we keep an eye on the structural warranty cover until year ten.
End-of-fix mortgage review
We re-run the whole-of-market search at month 22 — same FCA-regulated brokers, same panel of 70+ lenders. We benchmark your existing lender's product transfer rate against everything else, and you keep whichever is best. Free of broker fee for Buy Assist clients.
Highest-impact moment · don't sleepwalk into the SVRNHBC structural defect navigation
Years 3–10 of your warranty cover major structural defects. If something serious appears (subsidence, water ingress, faulty load-bearing work), we manage the technical claim with NHBC on your behalf — including the independent surveyor.
Annual home review call
Once a year, your assigned adviser calls. Anything to flag? Anything coming up? Mortgage rate moves, warranty deadlines, market context. Twenty minutes, in your diary, every year you own the home.
Energy efficiency upgrades
Solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging, secondary glazing, insulation top-ups. We connect you to MCS-accredited installers, brief them on your home, and you get our negotiated rates and oversight.
Estate management oversight
If your estate is managed by a third party and standards slip — communal maintenance, lighting, lifts, cleaning — we help you document the issues and, where appropriate, escalate to The Property Institute (TPI) or initiate a Right to Manage application.
Re-coverage health check
Buildings insurance coverage drifts as your home appreciates. We benchmark your current cover against current rebuild values and flag anything you should refresh — either with our existing insurance panel or your current insurer.
Whatever comes next, we're still your team.
Promotion, marriage, kids, retirement — life moves on. When the moment comes for your next move, your Buy Assist relationship is ready to pick up where you left off.
Second purchase Buy Assist
Same plan, same adviser, same panel of solicitors and brokers. As an existing client we already know your situation and can move faster — and Buy Assist is no charge.
Buy-to-let conversion
Letting your first home? We structure the move correctly — consent-to-let with your current lender, or a clean remortgage onto a buy-to-let product, with the tax implications spelled out before you commit.
Lease extension advice
For leasehold flat owners: when your lease drops below 90 years, value starts to fall. We engage our SRA-regulated panel, run the formal Section 42 Notice, and negotiate the premium with the freeholder.
Sale guidance
We don't sell homes ourselves — but we recommend the right local estate agent for your property type, prepare your home for market with our staging partners, and stay involved through to exchange.
Equity release / further advance / let-to-buy
Need to free up equity for renovation, education, or a second home? Our brokers run the full set of options — further advance, second-charge, equity release, let-to-buy — and present the maths plainly.
Portfolio building
If your first home becomes your first investment, we structure the broader portfolio — tax-efficient ownership (personal vs limited company), target yields, lender appetites, exit strategy.
The escalation path, written down.
Most disputes resolve at the first stage. The ones that don't have formal routes — and we know each one. This is the map we follow on your behalf.
- Customer Care Lead (your assigned plot contact)
- Head of Customer Care (regional, named)
- Customer Director (national)
- Consumer Code for Home Builders — formal complaint, binding outcome
- New Homes Ombudsman Service — independent review
- Written follow-up with photos and dates (we draft this)
- NHBC mediation — for warranty-eligible issues
- NHBC Resolution Service — independent decision, binding
- Independent surveyor — for evidence if escalating further
- Document with photos and timeline
- NHBC technical claim with surveyor's report
- NHBC remediation order — binding on developer
- Property Ombudsman — for systemic failures
- Section 21 / 22 request for breakdown of charges
- Formal challenge in writing to the managing agent
- First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) — for unreasonable charges
- Right to Manage application — leasehold flat blocks
- Document the failures over a 90-day window
- The Property Institute (TPI) — formal complaint to the regulator
- RICS — if the manager is RICS-regulated
- Resident management company — if the structure allows takeover
- Title plan check against your TR1 transfer document
- Land Registry application for boundary determination
- First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber, Land Registration)
- Solicitor escalation — our SRA panel handles the litigation if it gets there
After Keys is included. For life. Because that's the deal.
You don't pay extra for After Keys. No catch, no fee, ever, no add-on. It's part of being a Buy Assist client — and the relationship stays open for as long as you own the home.
- completely free at onboarding — no catch, no fee, ever, no surprise bills
- Same adviser, same direct line, for the full duration of your ownership
- Third-party services (snaggers, surveyors, installers) at our partner panel rates
- Your dashboard tracks every milestone, deadline and inquiry in one place
- You're never required to use our introduced partners — but most clients do
Already have a snag, an NHBC issue or a deadline coming up? Tell us and we'll come back the same business day.