To think new builds are a bit ridiculous?

[Thehonestbadger]

In terms of wait times?

Turns out it around 12 months from reservation to move in around here and you can’t reserve until you’ve already sold your home which means your buyer wants you out.

They don’t put completion date estimates on rightmove and as soon as you call to ask they’re just determined to get you in the office, then act really surprised when you point out you can’t really hand over all your money and sit homeless waiting 12 months for it to be ready

• they suggest going into rented


• I pull out my phone and show them the zero results within a 5 mile radius of our town


• They say something will surely come up


• I point out that even if it does we’ll not get it, we have two rowdy toddlers and a cat which will almost certainly be banned (Pets generally are around here) no landlord chooses us over all the competition for rentals atm.


• They act like you’re being intentionally difficult and have wasted their time.

I’ve been doing this same dance over and over, honestly think it would be so much easier if they just put expected completion dates on rightmove. All we want to do is move house I never dreamed it would be so hard.

can only assume I’m either missing something or they’re primarily selling to first time buyers.

Yes I'm so torn on this. We bought an older house. I loved the house but I had in my mind that actually because it wasn't new it was environmentally speaking the better thing to do; in the same way buying used clothes is instead of new I suppose. Also I got a 4-bed semi for the same price as the 2 bed starter homes on an estate that's just been built near us.

But my house is actually a bugger to heat whereas the new build I lived in previously was very well insulated.

I know the answer is to sort out the insulation in my new (to me) but actually old house but I don't have that kind of money now that I've actually bought it!

This seems a weird arrangement? I bought a new build, the build completion was on time and I sold my old house and bought my new one at the same time. My new build is large, airy and of a good quality. Maybe look at another site?

There is no right answer to new/old build.

We bought a new build, we looked at a number of sites and builders. Some we wouldn't even consider, this one we loved the site and the builder so considered various houses. The site has been well thought through here (unlike others we saw) - parking is good, nobody really overlooks anybody and so on. The houses are beautiful inside (if I say so myself!) and the space is exactly what we were looking for - huge rooms downstairs, space for toddler to play, lovely garden, sensible bedrooms and bathroom arrangements upstairs!

We ended up buying the show home which definitely helped with some things e.g. the completion date was clear and didn't keep changing. Show homes are generally bought 'sold as seen' but the builders have fixed the minor issues that we had with no problems whatsoever (and for free!). They also left us spares of EVERYTHING, paint, wallpaper, carpet... and because it was the show home they left us sooooo much inside ans outside too, like a garden furniture set!

Yes, there are some social housing plots.........but the worst people we've ever lived next to in our lives were next to us in our old house, paying 1500 a month in rent, trashing their house and garden, and beating the shit out of each other in the street every so often... oh and shouting obscenities at my baby! The two gents living in the houses here are wonderful, as are all our other neighbours. Anyone worrying about that should be less snobby... and also consider the impact that ANY neighbour could have on you. We looked carefully at parking issues and whether we would be overlooked here, after our awful experience in the last place.

Doubt anyone will even bother read this but thought I'd give my thoughts anyway. There are pros and cons to old and new builds, the trick is to research really thoroughly. (And even then you might get something wrong, but we can all only do our best!).

I think it depends on your builder, choose a local developer and you’ll find the process and build much better.

it wasn’t my first choice, but a new build was our only option. We have a gorgeous view, we aren’t overlooked, large windows, superb at containing heat which is a blessing these days, I don’t hear any noise from the outside world.

we also didn’t pay much money other than a reserve fee which was under £500, no delays on moving, nothing was classed as an extra either.

Everyone in their ridiculous new build houses will be laughing in the winter when they barely need any heat during the next price increases. My thermostat is set to 18 and only needs to comes on for around an hour a day even in January. Insulation and heat retention is phenomenal.

Our new build is great. Big, airy rooms, loads of light, great insulation, modern and clean. Big garden. I wouldn't swap this for an older house in a million years.

I just want to add my 2 cents about new builds as we are in one and have had no issues at all. we live in a new build 3 bed semi - built by a local developer and not one of the big nationals.

we didn't have a long snagging list - I know some people do, but it's not a given with New Builds, ours was built very well.

Well insulated - we only had the heating on for an hour a day during winter

Thick walls between neighbours - we never hear our neighbour unless they are doing DIY (if they were having loud house parties it might be different, but day to day no issues)

Someone did mention think walls you can't hang things off...well we put up a massive heavy shelf and filled it with a couple of dozen heavy bottles of alcohol. you absolutely can hang things on the walls, you just need the right tools and fixtures

Our garden is actually a decent size for a 3 bed semi

Yes it's not the biggest house, but for the budget we had at the time all houses were about this size, even the older ones!

Don't buy a new build is the simple answer.
They are ugly, on ugly estates, and are comprised of spit and kleenex.
Usually have a snag list as long as your arm which never gets addressed fully.

We tried so hard to buy a new build on a small local estate last year. Gorgeous large houses, lots of eco extras like solar panels etc. Great location very close to school and train station but my god it was such a difficult process.

First we had to pass a credit check to prove we could afford the house before we were even allowed an appointment at the sales cabin which was in the middle of a mucky field as there was no show home and no intention of them building one (had to make an appointment at a site 40 mins away to see the house).

Feeling at the 'sales' appointment was that we were so very lucky they were giving us the chance to reserve one of their plots and sales lady spent about 30 mins giving us a big list of things that we wouldn't get. What estate agent we had to use to sell our house, what price we had to accept for it and when we had to exchange. All dictated in what was quite an aggressive conversation.

Despite that we still reserved a plot only to get an email a week later saying that the date of construction for the estate was getting pushed back by 5 months as they couldn't source enough building materials, no changes to expected exchange dates for our house though just too bad find somewhere else for 5 months.
Ok, fine we would figure something out.

Another month later and another email. They were increasing the prices of all the houses by 'at least 45k, tbc post construction' so they wanted us to sell our house, find temporary accomodation and wait until they could be bothered telling us what we were expected to pay for the new house.

That was the straw that broke the camels back and despite lots of early interest they are still trying to flog those houses a year later. Never again for me.

I think all houses have pro and cons no matter the age.

Regards comments about devaluing - ours is up £100k in 4 years so far. But we were very careful with company, choices, plot etc

Is your dad crap at his job then?

😂 I was outraged my bills went from £40 to £85 until I read how much others are paying. Maybe for once buying the new build was worth it 🙈

That is not the normal experience!

The completion clauses can be ridiculous too. One of my neighbours is renting at the moment. They were supposed to be in their new home in May, they have just had to extend their lease because it won’t be ready until August now!
they’ve paid the deposit, are tied in, and the property is delayed by 3 months!!!!

Are you my OH as this is exactly us?!?! 😀

We had very good reasons for buying a newbuild.
We had planned to buy an older property and remodel it to our specific (and future) requirements but work commitments meant this wouldn't be possible so we looked at a few new developments and one in particular took our eye. We investigated a couple of house styles (we are not talking starter home here) and one ticked almost every box. Decent build quality, large rooms (and plenty of them), wide doorways, good access, detached garage, driveway parking for several cars, not overlooked and a nice sized garden.
The buying process was an eye-opener to us with nearly a 12-month gap between reservation & completion but the dates held together ok and of course it meant we could go to town and order lots from the options list (the total was eyewatering but it did mean we could move straight in with less requiring to be done immediately). We were lucky that we had a house available to us to live in for several months after our old house was sold but I can see that this would incur a significant cost to most people.
There have been some snags but the developer is all over these and we have a great relationship with the site team.

As with anything, there is good, bad & indifferent but people who tar all newbuilds with the same brush are doing themselves (and others) a disservice. Cheap, easy, lazy soundbites are usually made by those not in the know (and can't be bothered to find out) or for point scoring.
We don't intend moving again but if we did a newbuild would certainly not be discounted.

What I always fail to understand is the obsession with making so many new houses ensuite. Great idea in big properties where the bedrooms can still have a good floorspace but adding ensuites then ending up with small bedrooms is just stupid imo. Great add a second small showeroom for convenience but please leave it at that.

I suppose their market research and other data suggests that most people want and expect them even if you don't.

Not all new builds are the same.

A lot of our friends were quite snobby about new builds until they saw ours - semi-rural location backing onto fields that can’t be built on, large garden and not overlooked. Good parking for everyone on our section.

Our bills are cheap - £65 pm gas & electricity on a 4 bed house, it stays cool in summer & we have zero maintenance or need to do anything up.

We will make a decent profit on this house & I would definitely look at new build again.

People love new builds on here, I cant understand it

I would never buy one personally but plenty do, they all sell in the end.

I think its something to do with legislation

Personally I would want bigger rooms rather than more bathrooms, nothing wrong with extra toilets but personally not keen on the ones that are in the room as it were (in a room in a room) because of smells

Well, I love the one I live in because it’s a great flat. And you’re generalising.

Don’t do it!

we live in a new build - even dh who persuaded me it was a good idea realises it wasn’t. Our neighbours can’t sell and it looks like we’ll end up selling for less than we bought it for (we’ll be here for at least another 3 years, so over 10 years…).

It's very hard to buy one for sure . I thought it would be like buying a car but it really isn't .

We did it though and loads do although they often come from rented !

"often come from rented"

What a strange comment and how on earth did you work that one out???
Where we live the nearest people have come from rented is because the buying process forces you to move into rented on a temporary basis.
Perhaps you are referring to FTB but newbuilds are a LOT more than just starter homes.

Yes that's what I mean . They sell then rent while they wait !

And I work it out because I live in one and we all bought from new and the majority of people did this or were ftb..