To buy a new build?

[M340]

Morning everyone!

Not sure if this is the right place. Been house hunting for a while and we were ideally looking for a 'dooer upper' as a project. We are Hampshire / surrey border and the houses down here are so expensive as everyone knows. We haven't yet found a home that has felt right.

I've read so many threads on here of how new builds have lots of snags and to stay away from them. I wasn't ever totally against them but I for some reason was avoiding them. I guess I never thought of buying one as an option.

I have found 2 houses on the same complex that I have fallen in love with. One slightly more than the other.
Can anyone who's recently bought a new build please let me know how you found it with snags etc? We get warranty with the house. I'm just worried about these 'covid new builds'.

Can post the show home on here if anyone wants to see. Any advice or tips welcome! TY!

Depends on the developer. There are some I wouldn’t touch with the proverbial. We’ve had three new build houses and of course there is snagging, but we had a man whose job it was to fix the little things and when the house was a year old, fix the things that happened with settlement. We had one in Surrey, one in Hampshire and one in West Sussex.

You can get a snagging survey done which will pick up any issues.

Which builder is it? Some builders have better reputations than others.

My. Neighbours purchased a new £750,000 house in Alton a couple of years ago, they are extremely fussy and thought it would be plain sailing, unfortunately they’ve had no end of problems with drainage. It got sorted but obviously took a while. Meanwhile my nephew purchased a new house in Wantage near Oxford, they had no problems at all.

Not all new build are bad. It definitely depends on the developer. Do your research and find an reputable developer. ALL new-builds WILL have snags, but some of the things I've been seeing recently are jaw dropping.

Depends on the builder, we bought a new build and had very few issues just minor snags, friends bought from a different developer and their very expensive house (as they like to remind everyone) has had no end of issues that they're struggling to get sorted.

I'll do some research that would be a good start!

The developer is Taylor Wimpy. Has anyone used these before?

I'm not sure what a "covid" new build is?

I work in new build construction. Yes, there are snags- but there are plenty of things wrong with older properties too (new roof needed, updates to wiring) so you have to take it in the round.

In terms of things to consider. If you do get a chance to go round with a clipboard beforehand and make a snagging list, then do that. Ask the builder to clarify their remediation process and timescales. If you can, get the snags being completed as part of the agreement for exchange. Ask them how long their defects period is open for- usually either a year or two years. Run taps, fill bath, open and close all windows.

The warranty that you'll get is likely to be a structural one, so not one for minor defects hence the paragraph above. Check details of warranty, likely to be NHBC, premier or LABC.

When you come to buy- you need to ensure that your solicitor thoroughly checks the land title, as well as checking that all planning conditions have been discharged.

Some pointers!

Yes!

we had to move out for a year as major structural defects in our new build with Taylor Wimpey!

they were awful to deal with. Only way I got them to fix it was to get our MP involved.

wasnt just our house , a number of the neighbours of a similar style had same problems , though ours was the worst.

Also a snagging wouldn’t have picked up the issue - the floor beams were not correct & roof trusses had issues as well.

I’ve bought with Taylor Wimpey before and their house didn’t have that many snags. It really is luck of the draw though as one of my neighbours had no end of problems (never buy the house that’s at the end of the drains- every time the neighbours flushed a wet wipe his downstairs toilet backed up!).

what I would say is though get all of the snags in quickly. The first 6 months is brilliant service but the year and a half afterwards is crap. Also book the first 2 weeks you move in off if you can- the builders just randomly turn up without an appointment which is a bit annoying.

I would buy with them again. I like newbuilds. Our current house is with Charles Church and the snags have been so minor I wouldn’t have cared too much if they hadn’t fixed them (a chip in a kitchen cupboard and a bubble in the bathroom Lino)

If they’re like they used to be, look carefully at what you get. For example, flooring, kitchen spec, garden landscaping etc. We spoke to one sales person and it turned out that, if you wanted the spec in the show home, you’d pay several thousand more. Even a doorbell was extra.

Our developer included white goods, flooring and carpets, turfed back garden bed some landscaping of the front, block paved drive, German kitchen etc. The kitchen/dining/family room, plus hall and cloakroom has Amtico flooring and the bathroom fittings are good quality. Not having to buy separately a dishwasher, fridge freezer, microwave is helpful.

I've had 3 new builds. 2 had minor snags. One had quite a lot.

In your first 2 years the builder has to come round and fix them free of charge.

In all three houses that happened without any problems.

I had a couple of older houses too and they were far more hassle and costly in terms of maintenance and redecoration.

I work in architecture and 2 years ago I sold my 5 year old Taylor Wimpy new build home for an older house.

every single day I miss my Taylor Wimpy home - we didn’t have much snagging and everything was built with quality in mind.

Even the architects at work liked my house.

Not all new builds are shitty and paper thin, it all depends on each development (even the same developer can be hit and miss!).

Im a structural engineer and I’m looking for another new build 🤣 The maintenance required on my current older house is too bloody much. I spend every weekend in B&Q and can’t find tradies to do small jobs.

There's no such thing as one standard new build or even a standard across one development

I know from my local Facebook groups that there's a large new development nearby where different parts of seem to have different issues

Sorry if this is stating the obvious but your only concern is the house you are looking at, every other house is irrelevant

It really comes down to which tradesperson was employed on each house.

e.g we know of a new build street that had the same plumber fail to connect the upstairs bath to the main drainage - meaning the people who moved in and emptied their baths had water go through the ceiling. 😱

That particular tradie didn’t work on the other houses on the development and the plumbing was fine elsewhere

Good luck OP!

Based on your location, you are quite probably buying in my town! We bought a new build there in 2018. If you want to chat drop me a DM.

Join the Taylor Wimpey complaints group on Facebook. Thank me later.

Are there any small local builders where you are?

I’ve got a TW - definitely join the Taylor wimpey - unhappy customers and taylor wimpey - new home buyers groups on Facebook so you get an idea of good and bad. Bear in mind that anyone posting anything remotely positive on the first group is usually shouted down and you don’t really get to read posts from happy or moderately happy people on there. Just take everything with a pinch of salt.

with regards to my house I find that the estates are quite crammed in, the soundproofing is excellent (I’m mid terrace), the kitchens aren’t amazing quality, gardens are small and customer service can be hit and miss. I’m buying another new build and would consider Taylor wimpey in the future

Buying ANY house is not an exact science. Older house have character......another word for hundreds of hidden issues, poor previous workmanship and design flaws that are pretty much impossible to solve short of rebuilding.

Then you get new builds. They have a design spec and the house builder will work to it. But in the end they are just project managers. They subcontract pretty much the entire build out to subbies paid at the lowest rate they can get away with. Unless you buy off a small housebuilder who does it all themselves in which case you will pay a huge premium.

These houses are not built on a production line like a car. They have timescales, they have weather issues, they have material issues. They breathe, they swell and yes of course, mistakes are made. Corners are cut sometimes. etc etc.

The one that makes me laugh is the snaggers. Its an industry more akin to ambulance chasers. Householders panicked into what ifs and unable to just open their eyes and try to get on with enjoying their new home. We found a few issues in our new home. Some were sorted, others not. The ones that werent, i can live with and tbh i will improve on when i decorate.

Dont be that person who buys a new house, finds something basic wrong with it and then spend the next 5 years bitter and twisted about it. I have read stories about issues like plastering or lack of insulation. People who have spent YEARS battling it out. Me personally, i would write to the house builder, give them 4 weeks to sort then sort it myself. Send them the bill after. No way am i spoiling my love of my new house.

New builds - the stereotype is that they’re all snaggy, poky, small rooms, tiny gardens directly planted into hardcore, no parking. Once sold the developer doesn’t give a shit so you don’t get anything fixed. The estates they’re on are always horrifically chavvy and over developed so everyone lives on top of each other, it’s cliquey, bitchy and everyone’s always in your business. Difficult to sell on for the price you paid.

SIL and family live on a new build estate, last year someone stabbed their neighbour 17 times and killed him over a parking dispute. The neighbour then sat on the man he just killed and had a fag and his wife brought him a cup of tea while they waited for the police.

I’d never buy a new build off an estate ever ever ever, not because of the stabbiness, but because they’re just so poky and ticky tacky. A self build though….that’s the dream!

We have had 2 new builds and I would never ever buy one again. They were both stud walls and no privacy from neighbours. We did not make a profit on both sales after all we spent on them. However after buying 8 "do-er-uppers" we made massive profits on each even after all the money we spent doing them up. Older houses were built to last, solid internal walls, more space between neighbours.

We've bought new houses both times - I don't remember many problems with the first (may have helped that we bought the show home), not too many with the current one though the NDNs had to move out for a few weeks while their house had all its plaster stripped and replaced by dry lining, we had to have one room done - must have been a bad batch of plaster or something I suppose.

But there may be worse problems with an older house and a big factor to consider is that a new build should be built to modern environmental regs whereas older ones may be a nightmare to upgrade to adequate insulation for future heating.

Thank you so much, this is really helpful!

Thank you! Will drop you a PM on lunch break. :)