Buying a new build - what to look out for?

I bought a new build two years ago- things to consider: as someone else said, soundproofing they don't insulate between downstairs ceiling/upstairs floor as it isn't required, parking can be an issue at least people moan about it, snagging is a bit of a pain we are still sorting 2 years later. However, if it wasn't a new build, you would just be stuck sorting issues out yourself! I never wanted to move to a new build but we needed something chain free, I love how new everything is and can't imagine buying a secondhand house again! It seems to build a bit of a community too which I like.

What are the terms of the service charge? Is it capped or can it just increase as much as they feel like? There's a housing estate near me that's currently taking their management company to court as the service charge has jumped up by huge amounts and the company barely turns up to mow the verges.

Unfortunately, it looks like it's legal and there's not much they can do about it

Is the property freehold?

Service charges and any covenants on estate (my friend's has something about parking of motorhomes and caravans, no paving or tarmac on the grass in front of their house to extend their drive, no walls or boundary fences to be built to the front of the property. She found out about them after 1 neighbour bought a huge camper and parked it on his drive much to the chagrin of other residents who said they were not allowed to be parked on drives. The rule about not paving or tarmacing in front of house came up when they wanted to extend the drive to park 2 cars side by side as currently drive way is 1.5 cars wide. The no fence or wall at front came about when she wanted to put a fence or wall up to stop people walking across the grass at the front of her house- lives on a corner plot).

Is the road adopted or will you have to pay to maintain it? When will the top layer of tarmac go down and the road be properly finished? Local new build estate near us had raised ironworks and unfinished roads for nearly 2 years.

Based on people I know who live on 3 of the new build estates in our town (all big homebuilding companies). Is it built on boggy/ previously regularly flooded land? Two of the new build estates are pretty much waterlogged in the gardens year round. Do the gardens have leather jackets? Another of the estates pretty much has a leather jacket infestation and the other year everyone on the estate basically had mud gardens as the leather jackets had devoured the turf. House building company refused to do anything.

Snagging.

Parking - is there adequate parking provision for the estate? Every single one of my friends or family that live on new build estates seem to have huge issues with parking. It all seems to start with one CF and escalates from there.

Parking. You need enough private parking for all of the vehicles you own on a new build estate, especially one where there isn’t any parking on the road because it’s all dropped curbs or everywhere is on a bend.

People get so het up about parking.

Do they have as a clause that if you don't pay the service charge then they can repossess their house?
Be aware that getting out of that can take months (and cost) and some mortgage providers (naturally) don't like it, which can make selling interesting.

Pros , lots of things eg appliances , carpets are often included. Garden turfed.
Cons, lack of storage space, lot of things on the snag list, albeit minor faults, often in the bathrooms. Finishing off not good on some. Rooms often small.Covenants which can be restrictive. Shared driveways, often a cause of friction between neighbours.

Soundproofing.

Lack of soundproofing seems to be number one complaint from new build owners in my local Facebook group.

With some saying they can hear people gently clearing their throats next door.

There will be snags - if you are moving in towards the end of site completion (ie they are not still building), be prepared to fight tooth and nail to get the snagging fixed - it’s hard enough when they are still on site.

Check behind your bath panel - we had lots of rubbish hidden behind including half eaten sandwiches which the tradesmen had obviously left behind and we couldn’t work out where the smell was coming from!

The service charge would put me right off. Check that the roads are adopted by the council and that you aren’t responsible for maintaining them. Check your boundary - don’t assume that the bit of grass and planting the developer has done around your door is actually your property. What is the parking like - as more and more skinny semis and “townhouses” are built in areas with no decent parking or public transport it becomes a nightmare. Are their guarantees for inbuilt appliances? They often use a good brand but commission a spectacularly shit spec to put in 1000s of houses. What is on the garden? Shove a spade in and see if it’s rubble, clay or topsoil.

If it's Barratts run a mile...

Seriously check all conditions and that they don't have all sorts of rights over your house.

Be prepared to find they've used the cheapest stuff which looks okay for the first 6 months...

We bought a new build about 15 years ago off plan.

Our service charge has gone from about £100 annually to £500 annually.

See what you can get thrown in as part of your deal - grass, fences, carpets, shower over bath if it doesn't have one, outside tap.is the development finished or are they still building? It's the road outside finished? Ours wasn't tarmac for about 6 months but the one around the corner was about 18 months.

We part ex our old house so very convenient. We had no issues with the houses or builder (Morris Homes).

Speak to any decent builder and they'll tell you to run far far away from any new build. There are no good developers, there are very few pros!

Freehold, freehold, freehold. We got ours thrown in as part of the deal, others didn't and are now in legal battles.

Personally I wouldn’t buy a new build but if you have to I’d make sure there are no service charges related to the common areas / roads / gardening etc . Has to be a pure freehold with no other costs or charges . Make sure there is a water tight snagging process . Make sure the garden is made and not waterlogged in the winter so check drainage and what’s around , not built on a floodplain etc . Check any ‘ rules’ on the estate eg no caravan parking , designated parking if there’s no personal driveway. Probably loads of other things , in the main new builds are thrown up so check the overall quality and finish .