"It's a shame you can't get a new build"

Why are you being defensive of all new builds when you own an unusually isolated and probably expensive one and OP is clearly looking at starter homes?

I often think new builds are like new cars - devalued once purchased.
All the money that goes into marketing, special deals to buy people out of existing homes - gets wrapped up into the price.
Not to mention that you end up with a matchbox identical to your neighbours with rooms the size of a dolls house.
It its a large new build estate, no established community - or an existing community in the surrounding area that's opposed to the new development.
And probably a lot of snagging to resolve.

I can't see the attraction myself.

New builds are often character-less, poorly built and, if attached, you can literally hear your neighbour peeing at night!

No thank you!

Buy what you want and don't be slow to tell them they're being out of order, because they are. They're trying to take the shine off your first house - why would they do that? Has one of Auntie's kids bought a new build, or something?

Go on you tube and see the awful quality of some new builds.They haven't as much been built but thrown up by some DIY bodger some of it is hilarious only if it's not your purchase.

@itscominghomeee

What a very stupid and ridiculous comment for her to make! Whilst some new builds are absolutely lovely, (good quality/well built,) there are more new builds that are complete shite. Particularly the semi detached and terraced 'starter homes,' that are built close together/100s and 100s of them all crammed together on a piece of land that should really only be allowed to hold 40-50 homes. They're often poorly built, with poor materials, less stable than a Lego House, tiny with no storage, and small gardens, damp ridden within a decade, and you can hear a pin drop in the house next door as the sound proofing is shite.

Even some detached ones are/were built badly, (moreso the ones on big estates like I just mentioned,) and they can hear sound from the house next door reverberating through the shared foundation. I know a number of people who have worked for house building companies, and they said that some of them use the cheapest, nastiest, skankiest materials possible, and build as many homes as possible as quickly as possible, with the tiniest garden and no driveways, and small back gardens.

It sounds to me like she's jealous because you're young, intelligent, and hard working and managed to get on the property ladder at an early age ...

For what it's worth, I absolutely love old houses ... The older, the better. My older daughter has got an 1865 Victorian house. Bloody massive one with six bedrooms. and so many nooks and crannies and cupboards and little cubby holes and a big loft and a cellar. It's an amazing house... Mine and DH's tiny little 1970s two-bed house doesn't compare. 😆 I love it, and it's very good quality, but I adore hers!

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A retired brickie I know has nothing good to say about the new builds being slug up in our area...

Re: new builds. They’re not all the same and some of these comments are plain silly.

My new build house is a large detached 5 bed property with a 30ft sunroom and surrounded by fields. Our nearest neighbour is at least half a mile away. We have excellent insulation, triple glazing and a high BER rating. It was designed in Germany and built in Ireland.

There really is a certain type of person who would never buy a "second hand" house....mind blowing.

DP is production manager at a company that supplies foundations for large scale house building and he would never touch a new build with a bargepole. The quality is usually awful (just google it, I believer Persimmon in particular are notorious for it) and they are tiny soulless boxes.

Tell your mum that you would live in a new build if she paid for it but until then, button it. And stop taking her with you on viewings! My mother was very sniffy when I was looking at ex council houses until she saw the size of them and the size of the gardens compare to her handkerchief sized plot (that they bought brand new.....)

From friends who have bought new builds (while being built) have had so many problems you'd think you wouldnt get. Plus new builds sometimes have smaller gardens and not much parking than older homes.

When we married, our first home was two years old, so not new build but very nearly. It was a nice little house - called itself a three bedroom house but in reality it was two bedrooms and a room you could have just about fitted a cot in, or a toddler bed, but not a standard single bed. It was pretty cold in winter, pleasant in summer. Walls were so thin that we were advised never to attempt to hang anything heavier than a couple of photon the wall. Definitely no fitted kitchen!
Then we moved to our current house. It's just shy of 100 years old. Three good sized bedrooms. Solidly built, warm and cozy in the winter. We have a good sized garden, Lots of character. This is where we brought up our family. It feels like home. Our first home never felt like our permanent home. This one does.

Yanbu OP. Victorian terraced houses are far superior to new builds in my opinion. There are usually teething issues with new builds and the build quality is a bit hit and miss.

What’s wrong with your mum and sister?? 🤣 New builds are notorious shit piles that won’t still be standing in 100 years.
The old adage “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” is VERY true when it comes to houses. I wouldn’t ever buy anything pre 1990 at the latest. I had a new build once, in 1997, not as bad as today’s new builds but still pretty terrible. Never, ever again.
You want a lived in house that’s been standing a few decades already.
Not to mention New Build estates are cheap looking little ‘toy towns’ with bland and tiny garden spaces.

Reminds me of a conversation I had with my friend.

She was really disappointed that her friends were all moving out of the city to a gorgeous seaside suburb. Really well connected to the city, lots of nice shops. But she didn't like the old houses.

So she moved to a new build estate that is still under construction six years later and the only local feature is a really big Asda.

Back to the OP... don't invite your mum anymore, or brush off her comments. My FIL always makes rude comments about my 13yo Yaris, but it's only evidence of how narrow minded and rude he is.

Iw had a new build( show home) I would never recommend a new build to any one. So many problems, rooms smaller then average. We are now in a 1960s bungalow and I love, had to do some renovation but we have proper sized rooms. Good luck with your house hunting

I’m also not a fan of new builds, I don’t like the way they are built and I usually don’t like the streets they are on and the way they are laid out. The only advantage I can see is that they are often warmer, but it still wouldn’t sway me to buy one. I only know one person who lives in a new build, everyone else lives in houses 1930s or older.

Green belt restrictions around where I live mean that very few new builds happen, but that the ones that do are of the hugely expensive, high-spec variety. Three of DD’s friends’ parents live in them across three different ‘developments’, and in each of them the thing that I noticed was that the walls are paper thin and the gardens are tiny.

We live in a tiny 2 bed mid terrace that we’re planning to extend, but it was built for the village church’s workers in the 1930s so is absolutely rock solid, and has a massive garden from when people grew their own veg.

Different strokes for different folks, but I wouldn’t always assume that newer is better.

I actively avoided new builds when I was househunting, they are such lousy quality and there's still this fashion for having one room downstairs so you can't shut the cooking smells out.

The comments just highlight your Mum and her sisters ignorance,if they think new builds are better than older houses.

They obviously get taken in by the shiny newness of new builds, but don’t realise that under the skin older houses tend to be bigger, better built, more solid, and a much better buy. Especially as you are not paying the new build premium.

When I was buying my first house I looked at new builds and older properties. I quickly gave up looking at new build, because it became obvious the older houses gave me much better value for money.

Buy what you want OP. New builds suit some people and they aren’t all thrown up by cowboy builders, but if it’s not you then stick to your guns. It’s a shame your DM and DSis haven’t the vision to see what you can see in an older property but then they won’t be sharing it with you.

It’s an extremely naive way of thinking. Getting on the property ladder is hard, very hard, nowadays, having your own little house to start with is all you need. A house in reasonable condition would serve you well. Especially if the owners have recently done a new kitchen and added a downstairs loo! it’s your money and a HUGE investment, please do what suits you!! It’s commendable you’re in a position to do that on your own, so seriously well done!!

I have owned 2 new builds, still living in the 2nd. The first was AWFUL quality, sold and moved on as soon as we could. My latest I’ve been in 5 years - structurally very good, borderline impressed with the build of the structure, and actually some character. BUT, the fittings were CHEAP, so we’ve gradually changed everything. Whole new kitchen, ripped out to a bare room, new doors etc even some radiators. People called us wasteful - but honestly, it was falling apart within months of moving in!! It’s all bulk bought, mostly rushed, shit flat pack and the bathrooms are basic AF. I actually love my house, but only now we’ve changed it all. Probably should have done a renovation 😂

IMO some people favour new builds because they’re seduced by show homes, everything shiny new, and cunningly designed to sell a ‘lifestyle’ - often with 3/4 size furniture, so you don’t realise how small the rooms are.

I do t think some of the new builds are up to much

Good luck with your house buying OP😀

I’ve bought everything from new build to an old Manor House. I always think old houses have stood the test of time. They’ve not fallen down. Look for signs of water ingress especially in bedrooms and extensions, damp on walls, cracks in walls. Check all doors and windows close easily. If you tick off all of those you’ve probably got a sound house that’s not young to throw any major surprises at you. Look at the EPC to see if it can be improved or have sellers done everything they can.

In the last year I've seen many new builds basically thrown up! One near me is nearly half a million I can't tell you how many times that rain rain through the whole building, how many different teams of plasterers , electricians etc worked on it, how often they brushed water out of it! I wouldn't love there if you paid me!
I don't like new builds , it wouldn't cross my mind they are desirable.
But each to their own
You buy what suits you and your budget