To not buy this house?

I've got something similar but it's a much higher up window and a toilet slit and hallway window frosted on their landing.

That would be really off putting for me. I wish we didn't have what we have either but at the time you had to buy whatever you could , but that's a really weird one

A house wall wouldn't bother me but windows would. It would be a no from me.

Fair enough compromising on a new build but you do get a say on which one and where. DH needs to appreciate that

There is no way I would buy a house where there is a window of a neighbour practically in my garden. There would also be the issue of planting along there, no idea if you can. If it blocked light there could be a dispute.

Oh and my handyman has stories which would make your hair curl about the new build estate near us, I would be very careful if I were you.

Nope that’s awful. I’d be worried they can hear everything, if they open the window they will see everything too. Plus if anyone plays football no doubt someone will smash it. Don’t be bullied into buying a house you don’t like.

No. SOME have small rooms, poor quality, no parking etc. Some don't. This insistence they're all the same and terrible is ridiculous.

I have a four year old new build house. It's a 4bed detached, solid walls, great quality, aplus energy rating, cheap to heat house with 3 large double bedrooms, one large single, 2.5 bathrooms, a double driveway and large front and back gardens, in a quiet estate with lots of parking.

And btw, the house in the OP will clearly have a fence that gives them a walkway past that window. There's no possibility there won't be.

What a pointless thread

Are you sure there will not be a fence??

Oh! Maybe that's it. When we moved into ours they didn't come with back fences so it was all open plan mud at the back, so someone hired a fencer and we all paid half for each side.
That would make more sense than the total insanity of having someone else's house as your literal boundary fence.

As others have said, new builds have small rooms and shocking build quality. The way the houses are shoved into the space to maximise profit is horrendous.

There are always issues with parking, conflict due to lack of space, everyone is staring into each others houses, the gardens are stark and miserable because there are no trees and the soil is wrecked by the builders.

Just no. I wouldn’t have a new build if it was free.

Critically, the one you’ve shown will be impossible to sell due to the issue you’ve highlighted. Your husband is either naive or foolish, sorry. He also sounds overbearing and ill informed.

regarding resale … It’s not an opinion btw - it’s a bald fact that particular house will be hard to resell and will be devalued by overlooking. Ask any estate agent!

Besides - there must be hundreds of houses in your price range. Why buy a ticky tacky box that has one huge fault that none of the other ticky tacky boxes have got? It’s a terrible use of capital.

BTW, we live in a slightly scruffy conservation area in London and have a fantastic community. The houses are 100 yrs old so you don’t need a new build for community feeling - quite the opposite I suspect!

No that's not good.
Compromise with a different house on the development. That is really odd with the windows. Are you sure there will not be a fence??

I feel like I should defend life in a new build. This will be our 10th year here.

It is small and our garden is shit. That’s the main reason we’re moving. I want to get chickens.

It’s very well insulated and our bills are low. Layouts are very convenient for modern life. The community element has been amazing. When we moved in, so did four kids in my daughter’s year at school. They played together in the streets for summer and at the little purpose built playground around the corner. It also allowed us to live near some very good schools.

No way in hell

Oh no, that looks awful

• no privacy
• potential boundary issues & access issues when they sell (& I bet they put it up.for sale asap.after the purchaser of the house in the garden moves in)
• the garden & house will be in shade for at least 50% of the day.

It looks like they put the wrong size window at the top and filled the brickwork in with an odd pattern.

Do the windows open outwards at all?

Is there a restriction on what can be planted near the wall?

Does your DH need a visit to the opticians?

It is all so poorly designed, which usually also means poorly built as well.

Just no!

Also show this thread to DH.

Dear DH, I think you should give more weight to your DW’s tastes over yours, particularly if you think this is something you would like.

The debate over new house v old house is one thing. However accepting the positioning (and design) of this new house is not.

HTH

In my area there is no way that would have passed planning. You’d be paying a new build premium and it would be a nightmare to try and sell if you ever move.

That's awful.

New builds are so claustrophobic. I could never.

This really! I would be willing to compromise on a new build but not this one. You should keep looking till you find something you both like.

That's ridiculous FFS. Don't buy it!

Think your DH may also be romanticising the whole 'new build community' thing too. Its defo not a good enough reason to not be looking at both new houses AND old houses.

You could miss the perfect home because he is being silly and doesn't realise it yet.

I mean - I get he’s desperate for a new build - but THAT desperate?! How that even passed planning is beyond me. And why are you having to compromise? Where is his compromise?

Looks like a prison yard.

Just add to your boxes (for ticking)

Not overlooked by neighbors
No confusion over boundaries
privacy for windows and garden

the list isn't new vs old (exactly) its what you value in life and living.

Nope not that one.

This thread shows it will be a struggle to resell.

Thanks @Grammarnut , I'd wrongly assumed it was to do with overlooking

Oh and we’ve in three houses, one built 1908 one in 1926 and one in 2007. Guess which has given us most problems. By a country mile.

100% no on that one

I wouldn’t totally rule out a newbuild but the ensuites thing is ridiculous as it means vastly smaller rooms and usually almost no decent space for storage. Ensuite is a nice to have for adults, kids def do not need them

also. Round here at least the parking accomodation at newbuilds is dire. One parking space at the most in an area where the vast majority of families need two cars (public transport is rubbish before anyone pipes up).

The objection is that the boundary is the wall of the adjacent house and that the wall has two windows, currently frosted, that look as if they open, which overlook the other garden. This will cause problems e.g. with broken windows and attention to the other house's pointing and guttering etc, since access to the wall will be required; also there may be restrictions on planting or putting up sheds near this wall, as they would cut out light. I have never seen a Victorian house with this arrangement and windows overlooking in this way is usually not allowed in planning regulations since the windows impinge on the other property's boundary. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, it will be very difficult to re-sell. OP's DH is barking up the wrong tree if he is looking for a community in new build estates, too.

Absolutely no, our first two homes were new builds, had so many problems with both. Love in a 1960's housing estate now, house is much bigger and the neighbour are nicer.