Would you buy a new build house?

[Welly]

My deputy boss lived in a new build house and the houses are so close together that they could see into each other's windows. She resorted to leaving her curtains closed prompting one of her neighbours to accuse her of growing cannabis! She and her husband have since moved out.

 

[Snow1964]

Correct.
In my area usually a former 3/4 bed family house converted to a 5/6 room HMO, without any corresponding increase in car parking or noise abatement.

Luckily many Councils now ban HMOs (won’t allow more to be registered) if more than 3 or 4 bedrooms, and some won’t allow renewals, but varies considerably by area

 

[TheBigD]

Luckily many Councils now ban HMOs (won’t allow more to be registered) if more than 3 or 4 bedrooms, and some won’t allow renewals, but varies considerably by area

Our local council has a (very incomplete) register but approves anything. The general consensus (may or may not be true) is that they ignore most issues so that they don't have an obligation to rehouse anyone.

 

[WelshBluebird]

In terms of HMOs, the issue with clamping down on them is what about the people who can only afford to live in them? They aren't all student let's and for example I lived in one after university until I moved in with my partner. There's no way I'd have been able to afford afford live in Bath if it wasn't for HMOs.

My deputy boss lived in a new build house and the houses are so close together that they could see into each other's windows. She resorted to leaving her curtains closed prompting one of her neighbours to accuse her of growing cannabis! She and her husband have since moved out.

I grew up in a South Wales ex mining village where the old terraced houses are close enough to do that. Certainly isn't a new build thing.

 

[telstarbox]

A lot of people who live in HMOs would be eligible for council housing if there was more of it though.

 

[WelshBluebird]

A lot of people who live in HMOs would be eligible for council housing if there was more of it though.

I seriously doubt that.
Some will no doubt.
But a single guy just out of uni earning between say 15k and 22k? No chance. Hell even for those earning less, until you are over I think its 35 universal credit assumes you will be in a house share to work out how much to pay for the housing portion.

 

[ABB125]

Short answer: no. (Unless it's a house I e built/project managed/designed myself.)

Long answer: I wouldn't buy anything built by a large/national house builder unless I was desperate. Horrible, tiny, densely packed abominations. I'd be more amenable to something built by a local building firm, be it a small development or an infill property. The main issue is that these are generally much more expensive. My ultimate goal is self-build.

Also, how old is "new build"? 2015? 2000? 1970? 1605? Everything was new at one point!

 

[route101]

My deputy boss lived in a new build house and the houses are so close together that they could see into each other's windows. She resorted to leaving her curtains closed prompting one of her neighbours to accuse her of growing cannabis! She and her husband have since moved out.

Even in my house if I'm in my kitchen, if the neighbours are in their garden they can see me. Even if in the front room the neighbours opposite can see in. I doubt they are watching all the time but I am conscious about it.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

How long do mortgages run? 25 years used to be the norm, but a longer term means lower monthly payments. If one may work until age 68, one could start at 18 with fifty years to pay off.

 

[Snow1964]

How long do mortgages run? 25 years used to be the norm, but a longer term means lower monthly payments. If one may work until age 68, one could start at 18 with fifty years to pay off.

True, but should also look at how much you will pay back, the longer the mortgage the more it costs you. Unless you get a decent size lump sum on retirement as part of your pension, really ought to be using that last decade of working to save up for everything you want in retirement. Once you retire you want every loan paid off (including new furniture, car, credit cards, house etc)

 

[matacaster]

No, unless you have a good architect and a very good builder. You also need to avoid penny pinching major housebuilders only interested in getting sale at maximum profit - most cut corners and aren't really interested in fixing faults.

You shouldn't get subsidence issues on a new build. All the builders need to do is put in thick reinforced concrete foundations. They generally don't ( or skimp) because it's cheaper not to. You later get cracks and in bad cases need underpinning.

 

[telstarbox]

True, but should also look at how much you will pay back, the longer the mortgage the more it costs you. Unless you get a decent size lump sum on retirement as part of your pension, really ought to be using that last decade of working to save up for everything you want in retirement. Once you retire you want every loan paid off (including new furniture, car, credit cards, house etc)

I would expect most people don't stick with the original 25-30 year term "for life" any more. The market is very competitive for fixed term deals and often buyers will have a higher income after the first few years so they can remortgage with higher repayments / shorter term.

 

[eMeS]

Answering the thread title, I did buy a newly built house.
It was when my job was moving to Milton Keynes in 1980-2. I commuted along the M1 for nearly two years from the St Albans area when the M1 carriageways were being rebuilt, and buying a home in Milton Keynes was clearly a "good thing". I did check out the then top end of estate houses, but the largest I could find then wouldn't take my furniture comfortably, so I ended up buying a rare architect designed house in a "build-it-yourself" area - and I'm still in it. It's done me well, with generous sized downstairs rooms, but small bedrooms, and I'm sure the design wouldn't suit many people.
Milton Keynes now has a much wider range of houses than back in the 1980s, so what drove me to buy my present home in 1982 wouldn't apply now.

 

[JamesT]

How long do mortgages run? 25 years used to be the norm, but a longer term means lower monthly payments. If one may work until age 68, one could start at 18 with fifty years to pay off.

I bought my first house 2 years ago. The mortgage broker was defaulting to a 30 year mortgage. But I pushed them towards a 25 year as I’d rather not still be paying it when I’m in my late 60s. It may be lower monthly payments, but over the entire term you would be paying more if you have a longer mortgage.

To the original post, I’ve heard a few horror stories about new builds which put me off. Not that there were any in my budget round here.

 

[PeterY]

Strangely reading these posts, I'd never buy a new build but then again, I've never had my foot on the property ladder. I've always rented (council). I now live in sheltered housing. My flat was built in 72 and you need a good sharp masonry drill to put shelves up.

 

[36270k]

Bought a new 1 bedroom house in 1983 built by Barratts. Build quality was very good. I believe that they did vary a lot around the Country.
Moved to a 2-bedroom new build in 1989. Built by Fairclough's . Build quality was very poor, wall cracks and poor finishing. I got the impression that it was built in a hurry.
Later when digging the back garden, kept pulling up steel bands off brick pallets. the builders had buried their rubbish and thrown top soil over it.

 

[Mojo]

I’ve had a few workmen into my house (built 1926) and without fail every single one of them has said how much more pleasant it is to work in an older house than a new one.

One thing that surprised me the most was the gas man that I got in to move a radiator who told me that new houses don’t have floorboards but interlocking chipboard panels meaning that a job like mine (which required a single floorboard to be lifted To lay a new pipe) would require the carpet to be lifted in half the room and in many cases would require a new board to be fitted.

 

[IanXC]

The single biggest thing that frustrates me is people claiming that internal cracks denote poor workmanship. I know many many industry professionals, from NHBC inspectors, to site managers, to building control inspectors who will tell you that this is entirely normal. Any new house will settle over the first few years after its construction, and this will even vary depending on how hot/cold/wet/dry those years are. Unless and until an internal crack is wide enough for the thickness of a pound coin to fit in, then it is entirely normal for a newly built property.

From a personal perspective I have experience of multiple new build properties, and yes there are teething problems but on the flip side you are getting a property up to modern standards on energy efficiency, plus you know that no one has done a homemade repair on the gas and/or electricity.

 

[dgl]

Well my Grans house was brought as a new build, don't think she's had any real issues (apart from no sound insulation!) and all still seems fine. She has lived there since 1961 though!

 

[SteveM70]

I bought a new build back in the mid-90s, and it was absolutely fine, albeit the circumstances were probably a bit unusual. It was a development of 11 houses built by a local company run by a pair of brothers I knew well, and whose parents were my parents in law’s best friends.

We agreed the purchase in the early stages of the build, and as a result got a lot of choice along the way, from small stuff like the number and location of plug sockets through to major stuff like where an internal wall went.

Last year I moved to a nearly new, and it’s perfect for what i need and I’ve had no issues at all

 

[Condor7]

I have bought two new houses in my life time and in both cases they were the best thing I ever diid.
That being said the first was in 1983 and the second in 1995 so not that recent and both were bought from small builders and most importantly bought off plan.

The disadvantage of buying off plan is you obviously only have a drawing of how it is going to look but the advantage is you can ask the builder to make minor changes to the interior if you want to. Yes all new builds get cracks after a short while due to settlement and drying out but these are very minor and not structurally damaging, and builders know they will have to come back to do various snagging jobs initialy.

The biggest advantage buying this way is financial. in my case both properties were offered to me at a discounted price as small builders especially need cash flow and having at least one home completed and someone living in makes the rest more saleable. So the one I bought in 1995 was £50,000 cheaper than the rest of the homes built after mine, and bearing in mind that was in 1995 it would be a lot more money wise now, and by the time I sold it 10 years later I made nearly £200,000. I don’t remember now the finances of the 1983 property but do know exactly the same happened the remaining properties where more expensive once built and when we sold it we made an excellent return. (I should point out this is up north, and would be a lot more if in the south).

I then moved to the countryside as I wanted a traditional country cottage but buying those both off plan means I no long have a mortgage. So if I had my time over again I would definitely buy new and off plan.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Only if it was a design and build job overseen by myself. The mass build housebuilders seem to be an a very tight budget in regard to space and material quality.

 

[DaveHarries]

I wouldn't buy anything built by a large/national house builder unless I was desperate. Horrible, tiny, densely packed abominations.

My thoughts exactly. I don't intend to go new build, largely because of how ugly these houses look to my eye. IMO they also look very cheaply built.

Dave

 

[HSTEd]

To be honest I'm not sure the structural quality of the houses is substantially better than a postwar prefab.

(ie. they have mod cons, but that appears to be the only benefits they have)

 

[eMeS]

To be honest I'm not sure the structural quality of the houses is substantially better than a postwar prefab.

(ie. they have mod cons, but that appears to be the only benefits they have)

They now have energy certificates, so they must be better!

 

[Lampshade]

I have a new build (well, 2019) and it’s been absolutely fine, no complaints here.

 

[Journeyman]

I have a new build (well, 2019) and it’s been absolutely fine, no complaints here.

I get rather annoyed at the general sneering at new builds. The one I own (Dec 2015) is the nicest house I've lived in by a long way.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Not if I could help it. My first property was a new build flat. Quite soon after moving in, various cosmetic things became apparent. On a daily basis. I was told to note them and one day they visited to have a look. They stuck little coloured stickers to highlight each one, in full agreement they were all defects, and over time various different contractors would come to sort the niggles out. One was a plug socket that when the plastic frontage was removed, there wasn’t even anything behind it - literally just an empty hole in the wall!

Then when I finally had a flat free of different coloured stickers everywhere, the plumbing started to go wrong. The bath needed replacing within a year due to poor quality (along with several neighbours - must’ve been a bad batch apparently). Leaks began springing up behind walls. General fixtures and fittings turned out to be style over substance. And the electronic key fob security system to get into the building? In the six years I lived there, not sure it ever worked for more than a few days at a time! I think the walls were made of papier-mâché too.

On the plus side, it was a very social place to live, as we all got to know eachother well comparing issues! And with that all just being in the first 6 years, I can only imagine how they’ve aged in the time since!

 

[birchesgreen]

I get rather annoyed at the general sneering at new builds. The one I own (Dec 2015) is the nicest house I've lived in by a long way.

I think with anything built there will be good and bad, just that with older houses the "bad" will have already been found and dealt with (even if just plastered over!)

No doubt if this forum existed in 1950 (when my house was built) people would have sneered at new build then too!

 

[GusB]

I grew up in a sandstone house which was built between 1900 and 1910 and, while I do like the character of older houses, I well remember what it was like in winter with no central heating and draughty sash windows. I now live in a housing association property that was built in the mid-1980s that has fairly new double-glazing, decent loft and cavity wall insulation and an efficient heating system. I miss having a real fire, but I wouldn't want to go back to the days where it was the only source of heat!