It's more the paying it directly to them part I've an issue with. Paying a deposit (10% usually) upon exchange is not a problem, but should be between solicitors rather than directly to someone further up the chain.
Okay, apologies if I wasn't clear. We're being driven to exchange contracts by Redrow indirectly. We haven't at any point spoken with them directly, but our solicitor and the estate agent have, and they've been passing on certain messages throughout the process. Our solicitor then informed us in the last day or two that our deposit will be required at this point (of exchange), and that the deposit would be "passed up the chain and protected by NHBC guarantee".
The "passed up the chain" part was interesting and seemed to me to be indicating that it was in fact going to Redrow. NHBC are certainly linked to them, with their website highlighting their role as; "to work with the house-building industry to raise the standards of new homes and to provide consumer protection for homebuyers".
So, where is our deposit going? Given that we won't actually be completing the purchase of our property until September, why would they request this now? Is that normal? And if so, will we be recompensed financially in any way (for interest lost etc)? Because, for me, I find it difficult to comprehend why i'm handing over significant sums 5 months ahead of a sale being completed.
As I said at the start, my understanding of this whole process is limited, so i'm more than happy for someone with a greater knowledge to tell me i'm woryying/moaning about nothing here and that it's all standard and nothing I should be concerned about.