villarule123 Posted October 16, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted October 16, 2014 So me and the missus are looking to buy a new house next year, there are some new builds about to be released in Solihull Lodge with nice schools nearby, and it's 2 minutes away from her Mom. Has anyone had any experiences with buying a new build? We would like a detached house but feel that our £250k budget might hamper us and we might have to settle for a 3 bed semi. The place building them offers part-exchange, does that mean we would save on all the fees that we'd have if we sold it independently? What are the chances of us getting the cost of the house down considering they are just being released? Haven't a clue how buying a new build goes, so any help would be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Not sure about where you are but all the new build estates I've seen over the last 10 years have looked like horrid places to live. Basically designed by engineers who have to provide the legal minimum of everything to ensure they cram as many properties as possible onto the plot. Gardens overlooked by dozens of houses. Narrow roads, no footpaths, driveways for 1 car. Cars abandoned everywhere because of the lack of parking. Built to minimum spec, quickest time with the cheapest legal materials. Also will have a certain amount of affordable housing and social housing no doubt. Consider your neighbours when spending your quarter mill. I'm not a fan as you might tell. Remember, the houses won't always be 'new' so consider what is left after the polish wears off. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 You do get shitloads of plug sockets compared to a 20th century house though! 8) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted October 16, 2014 Moderator Share Posted October 16, 2014 So me and the missus are looking to buy a new house next year, there are some new builds about to be released in Solihull Lodge with nice schools nearby, and it's 2 minutes away from her Mom. Has anyone had any experiences with buying a new build? We would like a detached house but feel that our £250k budget might hamper us and we might have to settle for a 3 bed semi. The place building them offers part-exchange, does that mean we would save on all the fees that we'd have if we sold it independently? What are the chances of us getting the cost of the house down considering they are just being released? Haven't a clue how buying a new build goes, so any help would be good. Bought my first place about 10 years ago which was a new build, we got the last one on the site so got a right good deal as they wanted to shut the showroom and get off site. Part ex will save on some fee's but you just need to make sure you are fully clued up on the exact deal. As for getting the best deal, you want to be either buying early off plan or buying late in the middle and you won't do so well. But the other advantage of buying early is that you can have more influence of fixtures and fittings. Oh and if they won't haggle on the price push for extra's, even buying the last plot we were able to get things like white goods and built in wardrobes included, the cost to them is far less than the benefit to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Our last house in England was a new build, I'd never buy another one, for most of the reasons that Genie says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted October 16, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) The main complaints I've read about buying a new build is that they delay the purchase date. That would be a good thing for us as we have been saving to move out at Christmas time next year. Part-ex seems a bit hit and miss, I've been working out the finances with putting our sale price as the lowest I think it would be, so anything extra is a bonus. I've also read that they might offer the house interest free for a year? Like you said, hopefully as we are one of the first people we might get a decent deal on it, or it might just be over-priced. And Genie, the neighbour issue is why I want a detached house, I don't want to hear other people arguing at 2am, hopefully we can get a deal on a detached that is affordable. As for the location, it's on a huge new estate so I doubt there will be a huge worry as to what roads the houses will be on. Edited October 16, 2014 by villarule123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) My brother just moved off a new build estate, was only 3 years old. The road was single lane and it snaked through the estate. Cars abandoned everywhere it was a bloody nightmare to visit and nowhere to park when I got to his house. Huge estate = traffic nightmare i bet. Buy a detached house on a 'normal' estate. You might even have a front garden and not have people strolling pastcuour front door and windows. Edited October 16, 2014 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I'm currently living in a new build (2008), the positives are the insulation, its never cold, little to no condensation and, well that's it The drawbacks are largely the sound, you can here everything from the living room in our house, if I'm sat downstairs I can here my missus having a piss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) And Genie, the neighbour issue is why I want a detached house, I don't want to hear other people arguing at 2am, hopefully we can get a deal on a detached that is affordable. As for the location, it's on a huge new estate so I doubt there will be a huge worry as to what roads the houses will be on. actual street on the estate my bro just left. I'm sure the 4 bed house on the right looks great on the paperwork. 2 steps out of the hallway and you're stood in the road. Cars usually parked on all the darker bricks. Edited October 16, 2014 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) most of the work i do is on new builds and the quality of workmanship and materials are pretty shit at times if im honest, also i dont think a bog standard new build is value for money. not everything is negative about them but i think you have to pay over the odds for a good un. Edited October 16, 2014 by Rugeley Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trekka Posted October 16, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) I bought a new build on a Shared-Ownership scheme. The 2 bedroom flat I bought is lovely, it even has an en-suite in the main bedroom. The problem I have is that because I only bought a 25% share (to get me on the "ladder"), I'm finding that my rent far exceeds the mortgage and I would be saving £300 per month as it stands if I managed to get the same place on mortgage only. I feel genuinely lucky in that the development I'm in is well managed. Well kept communal gardens, allocated parking and people tend to respect the place and if not then the concierge / management company are onto them like a shot. I avoided part-ownership schemes on estates for houses just for the reasons mentioned above, i.e. you can never tell what is going to happen to the place down the line. My sister bought a place, new build, same kinda deal as me, only she doesn't have a concierge or management company. Since buying (i'd guess 4 years ago), things have gone downhill and now she's trying to save a decent enough deposit to get out and onto a "real" estate before the place turns into a typical run-down council estate. If you must go into a build, don't be put off by the thoughts on here alone as it could work out. Just be careful. EDIT: Just as an aside to a comment above. I'm lucky in that the new build is next to the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and is split between penthouses and the "other lot" (like me) and is actively sold as right in the historic heart of the city, matches in with its surroundings and comes with separate parking for the dockyard for the public in the basement underneath. The building work and management had to be good - but I guess I'm a lucky one. As I've said, be careful but don't let it put you off. Edited October 16, 2014 by trekka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardCanning Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I'm currently living in a new build (2008), the positives are the insulation, its never cold, little to no condensation and, well that's it The drawbacks are largely the sound, you can here everything from the living room in our house, if I'm sat downstairs I can here my missus having a piss Some people may pay extra for that sort've thing 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Also, my brother in law & sister looked into one of those part ex things and the new build company sent a valuation estate agent round, after half hour of looking round he left and the next day the new build phoned up my sister and told her the house was worth £112k. My sister then got 2 other estate agents round to get a valuation and both come back with figures of £145/150k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's a matter of personal taste as to whether new build or older is right for you. Broadly speaking, new build gets good energy efficiency, minimal need to do DIY and some assurance the roof will last a few years. Due to those pesky planning laws they often have very limited parking. I've recently completed a scheme in Bristol where every house was 4 bedroom and they were only allowed space for one small car. That was a condition of the planners not the developer being tight. Seriously, 4 bed houses, space for a Focus / Astra sized car at max.. Older houses generally have 'character'. This means that the walls will be made of real materials like brick, stone and plaster. This means you can put up a shelf but you can't hear the missus having a piss upstairs unless she's really squeezing. They also tend to have a bit of parking at least the same size as the width of the house. They also offer 'opportunities' for endless DIY chores. Personally, I'd go with an older house, but it is just taste. Best of luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I guess my house is a new build, it was built in 2001 and I bought it off the guy who bought it new. It's not on a new estate though and I think that might make all the difference because the area has personality, my house was built on the ground which was previously occupied by an old hosiery and with the exception of the cluster of 15-20 new houses on that site everything else in the area is either Victorian or Edwardian and we are barely a quarter of a mile from the town centre. I quite like it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mockingbird_franklin Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 We looked at some new builds around 2 years ago as we really needed more bedrooms, however the sizes of the rooms, especially bedrooms in new builds seemed appalling, everything looked great until you stopped to really look and consider things, we would have needed to spend around £400k-450k to get anything approaching our needs and wants, which meant selling our house (with almost zero mortgage) and putting in another £200k +, we can extend our house by two bedrooms and a 2nd bathroom, a huge kithchen plus utility and a 15' wide garage for around £80k and end up with a much nicer house than the £450k new build and in a much more desirable area. The only way I'd want a new build is if it was a bespoke self build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 No! Don't do it! New build housing is utter shite, except at the higher end. It's shoddily built, to the lowest spec they can get away with, which in respect of sound insulation is pretty low. They are forced to provide some minimum heat insulation, about a tenth of what they have in Scandinavia. I viewed some top end new build private stuff in Edinburgh. Quartermile, they call it. The site they nicked from the NHS, as we know it. It's shite. Rooms too small to rearrange any of the designer furniture they supplied. Flats looking in on one another, at a vast price, because they squeeze too many on to a site for their profit and your misery. That's the top end. Further down is vastly worse. Buy something old, but check the roof first, and have a good survey done by someone that knows what (s)he is doing. But whatever you do, don't give these shyster developers your money. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 They're crap. Not sure what it's like up north, but the ones here have incredibly bad insulation and the walls feel like cardboard, they're hollow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 No! Don't do it! New build housing is utter shite, except at the higher end. It's shoddily built, to the lowest spec they can get away with, which in respect of sound insulation is pretty low. They are forced to provide some minimum heat insulation, about a tenth of what they have in Scandinavia. I viewed some top end new build private stuff in Edinburgh. Quartermile, they call it. The site they nicked from the NHS, as we know it. It's shite. Rooms too small to rearrange any of the designer furniture they supplied. Flats looking in on one another, at a vast price, because they squeeze too many on to a site for their profit and your misery. That's the top end. Further down is vastly worse. Buy something old, but check the roof first, and have a good survey done by someone that knows what (s)he is doing. But whatever you do, don't give these shyster developers your money. For info., there are different building codes and regulations for Scotland compared with England so what you might find in Edinburgh has little consequence for somebody buyng in the Midlands. The rules on insulation are tighter now than they've ever been. Another thing to note. In the good old days the materials we had at our disposal were fairly basic, stone, brick, slate and timber. By default we were working with materials that had a 100 year life span. By default, if you chucked up some stone walls and put some hand sawn (and therefore chunky) roof members on it, then clad it with welsh slate, well, by accident you had a house that would either last 5 years and collapse, or would last 100 years. All the buildings that lasted 5 years (due to poor workmanship, shysters, conmen, lack of foundations, lack of planning, poor design) have obviously been long gone. So all we get to see now are the ones that lasted 100 years. This gives the false perspective that they knew how to build stuff in the past. The good stuff has stayed up, the shit is long gone. Eventually, the same will be said of the currently new housing stock. There is good and bad. What you do need to remember with a new house is that the builder has to get through planning, building control, probably needs NHBC backing and needs to build something people look at and want to buy. People want a slate or tiles roof appearance roof because thats what mummy and daddy had. A real 100 year slate roof is heavy and needs decent timber below it. Heavy slate and heavy timber need heavier walls which in turn require bigger foundations. Two houses next to each other, one with a recon or spanish roof and one with a 'proper' roof could cost very different prices. All you are worried about is the mortgage price for 25 years. The Spanish roof will (probably) last the 25 years of the mortgage. Builders tend to build shit because given the choice, people tend to buy shit. For info., I don't do housing. I had a little dabble in that area 8 or 9 years ago but it was too demoralising. Innovation and change are frowned upon by developers, planners, building control and the buying public. All of whom constantly moan about the current state of housing. It's a busted model. You can build a house for £40k if you try. I recently helped out with a new build project slightly larger than a modern house that including bringing in new electric, water and drainage and having to put in some innovative foundations due to poor soil still came to a total build cost (no furniture but ready for the furniture) of £35k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Seems most everything has already been covered. I've lived in my new build for just over a year now, and I'm more than pleased with the place. However, I don't drive, don't have kids, and live on my own with my cat so. A lot of the very legitimate complaints don't apply to me. A word on sound insulation though. I live on the middle of three floors. I don't have any adjoining walls with my next door neighbour, apart from the bathroom, where ofc I spend very little time. Regards the floor and ceiling insulation though, it's really very very good. There are times I'm convinced no one else is in as I go very long gone periods without hearing a thing. I barely use any heating too cos the place is always hot. OPs circumstances are a lot different to mine though, but thought it worth mentioning my own experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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