"It's a shame you can't get a new build"

[itscominghomeee]

I am mid-twenties and single. I have worked hard to save up a deposit to buy a house and now have enough of a deposit, and a not-huge-but-reasonable salary in my first managerial post, to make offers on houses. None of my similarly aged friends are at the stage of buying a house yet. I am looking at typical first time buyer houses: terraces or even some semi-detached, but my mum and her sister have commented a couple of times that it's a shame that I can't buy a new build.

I went yesterday to see a house with my mum and the current owner has refurbished downstairs and put a new kitchen in and installed a downstairs toilet within the last two years. Upstairs is in good condition too, but my mum said afterwards, "from downstairs you almost think it's new, but when you go upstairs you remember that it's a very old house".

My mum also told me yesterday that her sister had said to her again recently, "couldn't itscominghomeee get a new build? There are lots of new builds being built in that area".

AIBU to feel upset by these comments? Of course a new build would be lovely, but it's unrealistic for the vast majority of people in my age bracket and stage of career, especially those who are single. The comments feel like they're undermining my hard work saving up and like my mum/aunt are saying that the houses I can afford aren't good enough.

There really is a certain type of person who would never buy a "second hand" house....mind blowing.

DP is production manager at a company that supplies foundations for large scale house building and he would never touch a new build with a bargepole. The quality is usually awful (just google it, I believer Persimmon in particular are notorious for it) and they are tiny soulless boxes.

Tell your mum that you would live in a new build if she paid for it but until then, button it. And stop taking her with you on viewings! My mother was very sniffy when I was looking at ex council houses until she saw the size of them and the size of the gardens compare to her handkerchief sized plot (that they bought brand new.....)

Re: new builds. They’re not all the same and some of these comments are plain silly.

My new build house is a large detached 5 bed property with a 30ft sunroom and surrounded by fields. Our nearest neighbour is at least half a mile away. We have excellent insulation, triple glazing and a high BER rating. It was designed in Germany and built in Ireland.

A retired brickie I know has nothing good to say about the new builds being slug up in our area...

@itscominghomeee

What a very stupid and ridiculous comment for her to make! Whilst some new builds are absolutely lovely, (good quality/well built,) there are more new builds that are complete shite. Particularly the semi detached and terraced 'starter homes,' that are built close together/100s and 100s of them all crammed together on a piece of land that should really only be allowed to hold 40-50 homes. They're often poorly built, with poor materials, less stable than a Lego House, tiny with no storage, and small gardens, damp ridden within a decade, and you can hear a pin drop in the house next door as the sound proofing is shite.

Even some detached ones are/were built badly, (moreso the ones on big estates like I just mentioned,) and they can hear sound from the house next door reverberating through the shared foundation. I know a number of people who have worked for house building companies, and they said that some of them use the cheapest, nastiest, skankiest materials possible, and build as many homes as possible as quickly as possible, with the tiniest garden and no driveways, and small back gardens.

It sounds to me like she's jealous because you're young, intelligent, and hard working and managed to get on the property ladder at an early age ...

For what it's worth, I absolutely love old houses ... The older, the better. My older daughter has got an 1865 Victorian house. Bloody massive one with six bedrooms. and so many nooks and crannies and cupboards and little cubby holes and a big loft and a cellar. It's an amazing house... Mine and DH's tiny little 1970s two-bed house doesn't compare. 😆 I love it, and it's very good quality, but I adore hers!

.

Go on you tube and see the awful quality of some new builds.They haven't as much been built but thrown up by some DIY bodger some of it is hilarious only if it's not your purchase.

New builds are often character-less, poorly built and, if attached, you can literally hear your neighbour peeing at night!

No thank you!

Buy what you want and don't be slow to tell them they're being out of order, because they are. They're trying to take the shine off your first house - why would they do that? Has one of Auntie's kids bought a new build, or something?

I often think new builds are like new cars - devalued once purchased.
All the money that goes into marketing, special deals to buy people out of existing homes - gets wrapped up into the price.
Not to mention that you end up with a matchbox identical to your neighbours with rooms the size of a dolls house.
It its a large new build estate, no established community - or an existing community in the surrounding area that's opposed to the new development.
And probably a lot of snagging to resolve.

I can't see the attraction myself.

Why are you being defensive of all new builds when you own an unusually isolated and probably expensive one and OP is clearly looking at starter homes?

I'll never understand the widespread dislike of new builds on MN. It's not just the dislike, but the vitriolic disdain and the absolute pride in their disgust for anything less than 100 years old.
My new build was new in the early 2000s and has more than doubled in value since we built it. Maybe it doesn't have all the charm of an older property, but it's served us fairly well, and there are pros and cons to every home, regardless of age.

OP, I'd ask why people in your life are recommending a new build, then counter with your own view and finish by saying that you've made your decision and will appreciate if they can try to be happy for you.

That’s what our builder/ handyman says. If ever we whinge about needing to fix something up he says “old buildings little problems; new builds, catastrophic problems.”

That’s really not comparable. It’s obviously not a typical new build estate house. It’s a one off high spec house built with no expense spared.

If it was a new build with excellent insulation, solar panels, plenty of storage, green spaces all around , heat pump or similar future proofed heating system in an area that didn't require getting in a car to buy a pint of milk it might be worth it . I live in an area with loads of new build houses many of which have bad reputations for mould, damp, poor build quality etc and you have to build in the fact that they depreciate like new cars. My DS and his young family are house hunting and after initially being dazzled by new builds have stopped looking at them.

Probably not what OP is in the market for though ..,

Enough money will always get quality if wisely spent.,

Personally even if I had unlimited funds I wouldn't go new build!

If it felt right to you ignore anyone else's view. Don't let anyone rain on your parade ❤️

I've also heard this

OP you are better off with an older house. My current house built in 2000 we don't put much on the walls, curtain poles are constantly coming out the walls even with the raw plugs.

I bet you also get a better garden with an older house, well at least a garden and not a pocket handkerchief

New builds aren’t necessarily superior - yes they will be bang on style for today, but can lack character.

there are advantages and disadvantages. My first two homes were new builds - I was very proud of them but now have enough money to have bought somewhere older with character. It has a much bigger garden and the sound proofing is much much better!!

to each their own.

bit tell your mum not everyone prefers new builds - you want something unique!

You say you built it? If it’s a home you had built with builders you commissioned yourself, then that’s not the sort of home people refer to when they talk of ‘new builds’. New build disdain comes from the estates that are thrown up from the same developers, when they buy a plot of land and proceed to vomit out 400 near identical variations of the same cardboard house
Also, even typical new builds of the early 00s are far better than the new builds of the last 15 years. I bought a new build in 97, wasn’t as good as an older house, but nowhere near as awful as what they throw up today.
we viewed quite a lot when we moved 5 years ago, all awful-we eventually bought a house built in the early 80s

I bought a new build flat as my first home back in the early 90’s. Also looked at a terrace near to my family home which I liked - same price.
My late DM said at the time - I was brought in a terrace, I’m not having you going backwards, you are buying that over my dead body.
My parents helped with my deposit and I got the flat.
SO badly built I recently saw one for auction for 25k (15k less than I paid for it 30 years ago!) The terraced house is now worth 190k.
The lesson - go with your gut and your mother isn’t always flipping right!!!!
(Within a year of moving into my flat the ceiling was falling in, the electrics blew, the heating packed up and it was riddled with damp - I couldn’t get out of it quickly enough!) Have friends in new builds which are lovely, for balance!

I wouldn’t buy a new build unless you paid me or I was incredibly desperate. Build quality, crappy room and garden sizes, management companies, often rubbish parking. And the prices you then pay for the ‘benefit’ of it being a new build?! The one and only reason I can see for shirking houses older than 1990 is the risk of bad asbestos. Get whatever it is you want, you worked hard to save that money.

I don’t like new builds and I’ve heard lots of stories of things going wrong. I love old houses. Way more character. Go for what YOU want within your budget and ignore what anyone else thinks.

In response to OP :

Shame?!

🤔

Our first house at 19 was a 1960’s terrace. I loved it and we extended it and did a loft conversion over the years and increased the value so much. Our house now is a 1930’s house. I love this too, lots of character, big garden , huge bedrooms, original features, cornice, skirting, light fittings. I’d never buy a new build. They usually come with a whole host of problems, gardens that flood being an issue I see constantly on SM. They’ve got no character and usually small rooms.

You don't want a new build. They lose value after the first sale as there is a "new build premium" on the market value. And the quality these days is appalling. You see so many people talking about that, so many people with snags lists as long as their arms.

My DH used to work in a building adjacent trade and still has a lot of contacts there. A lot of his mates from that time are refusing to take those contracts because they aren't allowed to do good quality work. It has to be fast and cheap.

These are relatives yet they throw jealousy spanners in your works!

Because their old landlord wanted to sell up and that's all they could afford? Because a relationship broke up and to stay in the same area as their children and support system that's what they could buy as no one else was selling?
I get that people like to come on these threads too be dismissive of those who live in new builds but can you really not think of any circumstances people might live in one?