Want to sell my house to buy a new build

[Hometimeyet]

We moved into our current home during pandemic and had 2 DC since. Our house is 70s detached house, originally 3 bed but previous owners built extension with additional downstairs bedroom, toilet, additional living room and a utility. Insulation isn't the best and extension feels colder. There 's no radiator in utility.
We did lots of work on the house, replaced the old kitchen, got new kitchen of our taste, new driveway, patio, changed windows, radiators, decorated the whole house and put smart heating system etc. we have been here 4 years now and there are good primary schools around us as well as good shops, surgery and walking distance to my workplace along with DC nursery. It saves me time and money as no commute, but, still for some reason I keep dreaming about selling this house and moving to a new build house in a town which is 20 mins away on train.
It would mean lots of additional cost on stamp duty, moving cost, hassle of packing but it would be a new build house, hopefully warm and more insulation. Also, that town has grammar schools.
However my DC are very young still in nursery and I don't drive yet so travelling to work would be a juggle along with finding new nursery etc.
I just don't know what's the right thing to do!

Absolutely love our new build, no problems other than minor snags.
Removals on Friday, by 11am on Saturday morning everything was put away & finished. Nobody could believe we had only just moved in.

Enjoy the fruits of your labour in your current house and make it work for you. Moving to a new build, which could be full of problems and making travel more problematic, plus the expense of fees, I would forget about it.

Yes, when we were on the new house search, we saw an absolutely gorgeous Persimmon. I wanted it so much! I was put off by the many people warning me how badly built they are.

Even so, when lady who had been in the same house chain as us told us they'd bought that very same house (which they absolutely loved) I admit to feeling a bit envious!

Meant to mention!! Beware of visiting show homes! They are VERY seductive. I'm sure they put something in the reed diffusers!🙄

Is it something you can wait on? Sounds like location would be more important than layout right now.

I wouldnt move for your reasons. Sounds like it will be far more negatives than positives.
We have the same issue as you with the layout, but its not enough to make me move. 4 bed house with one downstairs. We actually do need all 4 bedrooms too as a family of 5, but our twins share one upstairs and we use downstairs as an office like you. I dont really see how you find an office room a bad thing when you also have enough bedrooms for the family upstairs. Really doesnt make sense to me. Our option is a double extension when we can afford it, will give us a bigger kitchen downstairs and an extra bedroom up.
With the heating issue, just look into better insulation. We have an extension on the back and its absolutely roasting. Check how yours has been built and if theres enough insulation there. Your reasons for moving for me just dont seem valid enough to uproot your life, the added commute and costs of doing it would completely put me off, you dont have enough benefits and theres no guarantee youd be happier.

As someone who owns a newbuild, don’t do it. It was our only option to get on the property ladder as we needed the Help to Buy goverment loan (we were privatly renting, so struggled to save more than a 10% deposit), and it was only for first time buyers on new builds, but honestly they’re usually more expensive than older homes (in our area anyway, may not be true for everywhere) and not brilliantly built most of the time, regardless of which developer you go with. They’re all thrown up super, wesaid we wouldn’t buy another new builds again.

That being said we haven’t had any major issues with ours, we researched the developers in our area and chose the one with the best customer service. They fixed all snags very quickly, and the house itself is lovely, but we could buy a much larger older house for the price we paid for this one. It was nice being able to personalise it how we wanted it from the beginning though.

Thanks for Some good suggestions to think about. I agree that show homes are tempting.

I think the hassle wouldn't be worth it so we will stay put for now. I have got some lovely neighbours which is also a good reason to stay out along with easy walk to work and schools etc.

Don't Persimmon have just about the worst rep of all the high-volume housebuilders?

Maybe you fancy a change. Does it have to be a new build or would another house with a different layout do the job?

I have seen nightmare articles about Persimmon do not buy! Somone I know recently bought one and has had so many problems.There are so many developers who are better out there.
I chose a new build as just don't have the time and energy to overhaul an older place.
I have done it three times before and had enough. The one I'm in is an executive type so large and practical with all ensuites plus good storage. It is a cosy home in a quiet semi rural area which has restrictions to no more building nearby. I don’t miss all the land I had to look after before. It also has a character exterior which is a nice touch.

It's perfectly reasonable to be dissatisfied with your current home but I would remember that shiney new build show homes look great because they have zero stuff in them. The rooms are often much smaller and I would be that your 70's house has better proportioned rooms. The often lack storage space. They also often have small gardens and little parking. My 70's house is like a tardis compared to the local new builds.

For the price of the addional mortgage and stamp duty / estate agent / legal / removal fees...I am guessing a mound 70k what could you actually do to your current house? You could add better insulation, more heating, you could even get an exterior makeover to make it look much more modern.

As a parent of teens can I tell you how beneficial additional downstairs living space is....playroom, den, somewhere for sleepovers etc.

Think carefully about how you will live in the spaces, can you fit wardrobes, desks, storage into the new build?

I recently worked in the house building industry for many years.

Persimmon. No. Don’t do it.

It will be a lifetime of grief, And once Persimmon are off site, any hope of getting them back to address snagging issues will be fairy dust.

Agreed, we've been in ours 5yrs and still love it. Energy bills also peanuts. Haters generally don't know what they're talking about and have no real experience or first hand knowledge to back up their bandwagon negativity.

Id like to ask posters saying "do your research" about developers/house building companies, what advice do you have on where to find info on which are the good ones? Persimmon has had a beating on this thread, are the other "big brand" volume house builders any better?
I live in a "new build", well it's 20 years old, built by a small local developer and it's great- but I wouldn't have a clue as a buyer how to tell the difference between a good or bad new build.

My house is newish, the difference is energy consumption is amazing compared to even houses built a few years before mine (think standards changed in early 00's) but based on what you have said I would stay put for now, until you know how your dc are doing at school, grammar schools do mess up the school system and if your dc aren't going to make the grade they are better off at comprehensive with a wider cohort

Buying a new build a few years after saves you paying the new build premium and means snags have been sorted. I was the third owner of mine

Yes, there is a scale of good to bad builders. It’s worth a google as part of due diligence before signing on the dotted line, as there’s plenty of info out there.

Often there is a recurring issue in a whole phase of new builds due to a dodgy / cheap component being used (eg leaky shower doors). So it’s also worth speaking to anyone who’s already moved in to an earlier new build in the same phase as the property you are considering.

My house was new build 7 years ago. I love it and it's warm, easy to heat and in a good location. I've had very few snagging problems. But your current house sounds good. Surely it would be better and cheaper to upgrade the insulation, have triple glazing etc there. Maybe get a professional designer in to give it a 'show home' look if that is what's tempting you?

I probably wouldn't do it. My house is freezing though but friends live in a new build and it's too hot for me, especially in summer!
I do think they look nice and easy to look after, but the reasons I don't personally like them is some of the materials used like chipboard etc (probably depends on the builder) and the weird layout of the streets (I just like houses to be lined up in a row, not all facing different directions). There is nothing wrong with these things, it's just personal to me.
I think all houses have issues and are money pits. People probably forgive an older house because they expect it.

I walked the dog around the one we have over our back fence this morning, specifically to count how many of the houses (there are probably 50 in total) had bad brickwork. It was about 75%. No.idea what other faults these houses may or may not have had.

We bought a 70's house in the 70's and it was freezing cold in the winter (mind you it was on the foothills of the Pennines and had no central heating.) We've since had two new builds which were much warmer and better laid out. My current house is only a few years old and is well Insulated, light and suits me perfectly.

The issue with new builds is that you need to do a lot yourself very quickly such as sort out flooring and blinds / curtains as well as develop the garden from scratch. Buying a house that's a few years old gives you all tne benefits but usually also includes lots of extras that you would be paying for with a new build such as floor coverings etc.

So you have a three bed house with an extra sitting room/office downstairs. A room is only a bedroom if you want it to be.