Buying a new build - hints and tips?

[bumpypaws]

We have all but sold our house (I hope!), and can't find anywhere to buy, so we are thinking of buying a new build to be completed around easter time, and go into rented in the meantime. Neither of us has bought a new build before, and we're not sure how, if at all, it's different from buying a 'normal' house! So..
...what proportion of a development is housing association, and are they spread over the whole development, or put together?
...we are assuming you can offer in the same way as you would a 'normal' house?
...are things like kitchen, bathroom etc included, if not, can you negotiate the prices of these?
...how can you find out what will be built around it?
...anything else which id blindingly obvious?!!
Sorry to ask stupid questions, but this is all new to us!
TIA

Bump for any daytime new build experts!

What we did is to visit developments where we didn't want to buy, just to see what sort of offers we could make and how it would be received. A lot depends on what stage they are at. If they are about to take down the show home with just 1 house left to sell, then they more likely to be open to a great offer

We then took ourselves off to the development we liked, prepared to negotiate hard.

The site plans will have all of the types of housing marked. You'll need to ask about future building plans and also check with the local council planning department. One house we looked at had a lovely open view. I ran past it last night and the view has been filled by somewhere in the region of 100 houses.

Thanks both!

Housing association is usually just in one area and they're usually fairly obviously smaller and lower speck than the rest of the development.

Consider the quality of the build carefully. They might look nice when just finished but beware the hidden flaws so buy from a reputable builder and make sure you have NHBC guarantees or similar. I always think you can tell a lot about what you're getting quality wise if you have a peek through the fence at the state of the construction areas. Tidy? Well organised? Should give you some level of comfort if it is!