pros and cons of new builds please - found our dream home!

[Summerbird73]

DH and I have been talking of moving for a while. Not got house on the market yet as i am not going to be full time until the new year and thus not getting a better mortgage offer until then.

So we had a rare day off on Monday and 'for a laugh' went to look at a new development near us. Honestly we went along as time wasters browsers but ended up falling in love with the show home (i know i know they are always done up to the nines but blimey!)

I explained the situ with my part time wages and mortgage etc and she said it would be fine as long as i get a letter from HR confirming my salary as of January (wouldnt be in a position to move till then anyway). She said that the last plots had just been agreed on but no contracts etc so she would take our details and contact us if one of them falls through.

Now i know that this one prob isnt going to happen but it has really made us think about a new build in the future (some new ones are going to be built next year).

I love the idea of a new build as there is no DIY to contend with for a while and you basically get a shiney new home with loads of loo's/bedrooms/storage and a liddle study. We have a 15mo DS and can just picture him running around the lovely spaciousness

We live in a 1930's semi which basically has no storage space to speak of, is pokey and is constantly needing 'stuff' doing to it. DH doesnt mind that as he likes a bit of DIY every now and again but even he was bowled over by the shiney spacious newbuildiness.

So i know of a couple of people who have had 'teething' issues with newbuilds but nothing seems to be deal breaking to me.

She also offered part exchange to us - i said i thought they always undervalued our homes for this purpose - she reckoned not (although she WOULD say that innit?)

So come on then property lads and lasses - pro's and cons s'il vous plait

Cons are usually location (built in outlying districts with fewer amenities), quality of build, paying a new-build premium for all the swanky fixtures and fittings (which usually aren't nearly as nice as you have been led to believe), lack of storage as every square inch is devoted to making the floor space look as big as possible and lack of character.

Pros are that they have to pass certain building reg requirements which should mean that they are much more energy efficient. Umm, can't think of anything else... sorry, I would always buy second-hand as I have come across so many people who have fallen in love with shiny new house only to be very disappointed by quality of finish once they are in.

we had a new build flat before we moved here. ours was very solid, with a good finish, but lots of people don't have that experience. It was also very energy efficient.

Cons - no storage, small rooms (do check the sizes of the furniture in the show home as they sometimes use smaller furniture to give the illusion of more space), a bit soulless all in all, especially when the shiny newness has worn off a bit.

We're now in a Victorian Semi.

Well, we've had two new builds and loved them both.

We part exchanged our first for our second and they gave us MORE than it was worth. When the estate agents came round to value our old house they asked me what I thought and I over-egged it thinking they'd see straight through me but they didn't!

The finish of ours is fab and fixtures and fittings top notch. Only gripe is the teeny tiny garden but we hate gardening so not that big a deal really.

Blimey! We've just bought a 1930 semi and it's huge! I've never seen a new build with anything like that much space and storage. They always look airy and spacious because of the way they furnish and decorate them - think about it with all your stuff in it. Would it feel so spacious then?

thank you for your replies everyone.

the room measurements are slightly bigger than ours and the estate is not far from us (about a 20 min walk) so location is good. The layout was better as we can only fit one 3 bed sofa and furniture in our lounge but this one had a 3 and 2 seater with similar furniture in the lounge so all good.

I will take the cons on board though esp about the storage as that is a gripe in our house.

Storage depends on the house. We had plenty in our first house (bought off plan), but have less in our current house ("2nd hand", but less than 10 years old).

Yes, you get snags on a new house, but the builders will fix them. You are just as likely to get problems with an old house and you have to deal with those yourself!

If you are buying a house early enough in the process then you can have a huge amount of say in fittings etc.

Having lived in new and old, there are advantages to both.

Our first house was a new build and I loved it - no manky stuff from previous owners, no DIY to do, we just slapped a bit of paint around and made it ours.

Do check dimensions and look carefully - show homes often have no doors on (makes it look bigger) and use funny sized beds and don't have wardrobes in; built in wardrobes tend to be teeny.

They tend to be right up against the neighbours and gardens can be small and unfinished, so budget for turf, patio etc.

If you get one of the first wave to be finished (as we did) you live in a building site for a while until the rest of the estate is finished. Our roads weren't topped until the end and streetlights not put in until they had finished.

But it was so easy and I did like everything being clean and new.

Do have your current property valued independetly, too.

Re: DIY dont forget nearly all new builds dont come with stuff like loo roll holders, coat hooks and curtain poles so there IS actually quite a lot of DIY initially (our first house didnt even have a number on the door!). Have had 2 new builds and had snags with both but got sorted in the end (altho with our current house did take a few years and many threats of suing etc).

Agree with Sidge tho check sizes carefully in relation to your furniture they can be very cunning in show houses, measure up to be sure, and look out for oddly positioned doors which can make arranging furniture a nightmare! A friend of ours had a lovely master bedroom with en-suite and fitted wardrobe but if you wanted to be able to open the wardrobe doors you had to have one side of the double bed pushed against the wall!

great thank you for all your comments. i am totally sold on the 'no DIY' as i am fed up of DH spending every weekend 'just touching up that paint job' or fixing a fence or something!

mustnt get all excited by shiney newness of show home!

Check what they actually include in the price.

We have had 2 new builds and with the first one we only had flooring in the kitchen, so we had to pay out to floor the rest of the house. As well as all the curtain poles, blinds, loo roll holders etc.

The second one we managed to get it all floored as part of the price.

Also most of them do nothing with the garden. You might get a tree and a few bushes (mainly at the front) but your back garden could be just mud with about an inch of topsoil on it. They often only offer it turfed etc if they are desperate to get a sale. At least I now know how to lay turf :)

I agree as well that the storage is often bad.

You may find that you can pay the guys on site to extra jobs for you - such as lay paths for less than the going rate.

check the ground its built on, storage, ie kitchen units, check what is included, how many are going to be local authority housing and where

Oh and make sure it's not on a flood plain! Sounds obvious but all the new builds round here are built on conveniently flat land that just happens to be medieval water meadows Which, prior to building used to partially flood every winter.