To ask which new build houses you would avoid

[bridgetreilly]

Looking for a house and there are several new build developments we’re interested in, but I’m finding it hard to get honest reviews. Are there builders with truly awful reputations that I shouldn’t even bother looking at?

And, conversely, has anyone got experience of a good quality new home that you love?

I'd definitely avoid anything even remotely near a flood plain.

All of them. Work in the sector so hear about and see photos of all the problems.

Some new builds have extras that need to be paid for annually like grass cutting and general maintenance of the estate.

Some new builds don't designate land at the front of properties, so you might have to allow for children playing on what you believe was your front garden.

Kent of these new builds have designated parking which some folk take no regard of.

You really need to do your homework on these.

Hey.

Sorry this is gonna be slightly long.

The only reason I would buy a new build again, would be if it was a detached property.

I'd seriously avoid anything other than detached.

We purchased a semi-detached 3 years ago from Bargate Homes, the build quality is terrible, everything is done so it 'looks good' but not actually finished to a good standard.

Luckily my dad is an electrician and came and tested our electrics not long after we moved in, upon inspection, the circuits didn't trip fast enough when there was a fault. Which isn't good.
Most of the wiring was done backwards, example, the kitchen light switch should've been the dining room light switch, and vice versa.

The noise from next door neighbours going in their house, up their stairs, hoovering, general moving around, day to day chat, is ridiculous, may as well be in the same house. We have lovely neighbours but that doesn't mean I want to live with them. 😅

The gardens in new builds are incredibly boring, we've planted trees etc, but they obviously take a while to grow. One would have thought the developers would plant trees when they first start (2 years prior to completion) to allow for some greenery!

The landscaping in the garden will be the first place I ever break a bone, so uneven, the turf is laid on whatever was there before hand.. in our case that was heavy clay soil with chalk, not even a layer of soil was put down before the turf. So all our grass is dead and our neighbours have ripped theirs up and starting over again.

If you have the money, buy something that needs renovating, with a well established garden and make it your own. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to do that.

Best of luck!

We're in a Miller Homes house - have been in 3 years now.

They weren't perfect but I would purchase another house from them.

All of them are lashed up by trades that couldn't give a toss.

Have to say I never thought I'd be in a new build but we've really loved ours.

Absolutely zero work to do on it - the snagging contractors even put up our shelves / mirrors / etc.

You know you're not going to unearth some holy mess under old wallpaper or have a boiler give up two months after you move in.

The Miller homes have some character built in - they don't use the bog standard internal doors and handrails for example, ours are quite nice.

They also mixed up the style of the houses - ours has a lovely flint cottage style finish.

All these people coming on just to say "I wouldn't touch a new build".

Your opinion doesn't count for much if you've not bought or lived in one. As for the journo - nobody is going to come to you and say I love my new build please write a story about it.

Another vote for Miller homes! Lived in mine for 8 years and still love it!

Also starting to take exception to the trades bashing here. I know plenty who do take pride in their job, knowing they are building someone’s home

I live in a supposedly high end new build (
and I have to say - never again - been here 7 years. I hope we can move again in about 5 years depending on finances. Cons: small rooms, a ventilation system that’s never worked, dodgy heating system, having to pay a service charge even though we face the main road and get nothing out of it, sm as ll garden w shit ground do grass doesn’t grow properly.
Pros - moving in to a totally new home was nice as we didn’t have to do anything, having two parking spaces not sure there are any more 😆,

@CervixHaver it's Furlong park in Thirsk

I just want to state I'm not trying to 'trade bash' at all, I'm just stating my experience.

The developers are unfortunately the ones who set the standards, and pay poorly.

Not bashing at all, they have a job to do, and a time set to do it in. It's not their fault.

The OP asked for truthful reviews.

@Penners99

All of them

This. Especially ones that charge an annual maintenance fee. I understand that the council rarely want to adopt the site but I already pay council tax. I'm not paying another £££ for a freehold property, it's a licence to print money. We looked at a very small 3 bed and it was going to cost almost £400 a year despite having access from the local authority road. The development was 3/4 complete so some people had already moved in and it was an absolute mess, dog poo and litter everywhere. If they couldn't do a good job before they'd even sold all the properties I didn't have much optimism for when the sales team left the site.

We have a Redrow and love it. Customer service from start to finish has been amazing and can’t fault the house. Any snagging has been dealt with really quickly. I used to think I’d never go for a new build, but our energy costs are tiny and it’s the most convenient house with a young family.

Based on new builds bought by friends and family over the last ten years (we've stuck to older houses since our first) I'd avoid any new build built as part of a development of more than six properties. The larger the development, the more problems have been experienced.

@DizzySquirrel90 that wasn’t what you said though. ‘Lashed up by trades that don’t give a toss’ is different to your second point. (Which I also don’t agree with 100% but I can concede on that)

[quote MiloAndEddie]@DizzySquirrel90 that wasn’t what you said though. ‘Lashed up by trades that don’t give a toss’ is different to your second point. (Which I also don’t agree with 100% but I can concede on that)[/quote]
@MiloAndEddie I think you'll find I am not the one who said that. Please read my posts and try again.

@Tossblanket

All of them are lashed up by trades that couldn't give a toss.

@MiloAndEddie I believe this is the person your referring to.

@DizzySquirrel90 apologies, you are right.

Avoid all of them.

A lot of new builds near us have one and a half parking spaces. This is an area with poor public transport and people need to drive to work. Consequently parking is already a real problem and people are parking on the pavements. Our house, built 1980s, has three parking spaces and a double garage. The equivalent on the new estates has one and a half parking places and a single garage. For that reason I would not want a new build.
There are five estates on the outskirts of our little town including one by Taylor Wimpy. I haven't heard horror stories about the build quality, but the balancing pond overflowed and flooded an area of the town.

I've got a 'new build' that was built in early 90s. Lived in it for 6 years. It has all wonky walls but nothing major. My partner worked in new builds for a bit and he was shocked, he said the people literary just threw things together wherever they wanted and they just didn't care. I don't think I would buy another.

My mum had a Charles church house and had very few issues at all- but it wasnt cheap !!!

Our house, built 1980s, has three parking spaces and a double garage. The equivalent on the new estates has one and a half parking places and a single garage. For that reason I would not want a new build.

My 2020 new build has a double garage and an additional 4 parking spaces. Plenty of 1980s houses have less parking than that, there isn't a rule book that says all new houses built after X date will have 1 parking space, it's down to budget and what's available in your area, as with any house type. I could have bought a single garage or a shared driveway, but they were on my avoid list, so we avoided all houses (new and old) for that reason.