new build - pros and cons please!

[couldiBEwearinganymoreclothes]

We are thinking of buying a house on a new estate but I am a bit nervous buying a house that hasn't been built yet! Can those who have done this please tell me pros and cons, any problems and any hidden costs. Thanks

I'm currently attempting to purchase a new build so just marking my place!

I live in Gloucestershire, and we live in a house that was brand new (showhouse) 16 years ago. We either wanted brand new or "period" when we bought.

Advantages - Good layout, best use of space. Better sized rooms than most cottage style and victorian (modest sized houses) rooms. Good community spirit with our new neighbours as we were all in it together. Easy house to look after and good loo/family member ratio

Disadvantages - the house has not got much character and new houses need to be kept very clean and tidy to look ok. Just because it is zero maintenance when you move in it won't stay that way. I now put aside a monthly amount for replacement domestic items and repairs/renovations but if I'd done this from day 1 I could now have the new kitchen we really need.

Finances - Ours is one of 6 and three of them have been sold and resold in the time we have been here. For the first few years it is difficult to get your money back, but ours is now worth well over twice what we paid for it.

Gardens - ours is OK - I've got a couple of fruit trees and a small vegetable patch, but I don't really like gardening and it isn't an issue for me.

I'm sure if you are buying off plan you would be able to find another house with similar sized room to compare - look out for tiny sized bedrooms 3 & 4 in larger houses. Do negotiate on price - we got ours for £20k off the asking price becaue they needed to be able to sell the first two to get on with building the last 4.

Just thought I'd come back with an update! We have checked and carpets/flooring aren't included so we will have to factor that in, and neither is turf in the back garden but my partner is a keen gardener so he doesn't mind that as it means he can choose what he wants where. I am a bit concerned about the thin walls/small gardens/small rooms/lack of storage, but we don't really have much choice as we can only afford to buy using a first-time buyer Government deal and these are only available on new builds! So we either put up with those potential shortcomings or we rent for ever and ever - and I really want to have my own place even if it is small! On the plus side it is in a lovely area with very good schools. We will also get 2 allocated parking spaces right next to the house, and we're an end terrace so will only have one set of neighbours to worry about noise from, and our main rooms are on the outside wall not the party wall so shouldn't be too much of a problem!

I'd be very wary about buying off plan, especially in the current climate. If you 'bought' now how much of a commitment is it to go through with the sale. If house prices have fallen by the time your house is built are you going to be ok with paying the price you've paid. If you're just reserving off plan that's slightly different.

Be aware of planning changes, all the new estates around here have at least 2 or 3 more planning applications after the original reserved matters normally relating to substituting plots or rejigging the layout. You won't be notified of these and it could impact on your plot.

Parking allocation looks good on paper, but often parking spaces are in rear courtyards and some distance away from your front door. This means people don't use them, parking is also less secure by virtue of it not being overlooked.

Storage wise we saw some houses that had loads of inbuilt storage and some that had none so really depends on the house. A lot of the larger houses we looked at were top heavy, decent sized bedrooms, bathrooms and ensuites but the space downstairs didn't match up with just a kitchen and lounge/diner.

Just noticed about the first time buyer Government deal, do your research very carefully. Most of these schemes served the interests of the housebuilders not the first time buyers. I think some are 'ok' but have heard of a lot of people getting their fingers burnt with these sorts of deals.

I bought in a new build, and here are some things that worked (some are tips picked up from purchasers more savvy than me):

• negotiate. Our developer's brochure seemed to indicate parking spaces were included in purchase price. They weren't, so most people paid extra. Some paid asking price without querying, but others were clever enough to negotiate the price (I paid about 1/3 of what was asked, and would have been mightily upset if I'd learned later/by chance that prices were negotiable).

• before you move in, do any 'extra' work you may want. I had the builder 'leave out' a portion of a wall to slightly alter the floor plan to something that suited us better. Should future buyers want, replacing that section of wall would be fairly simple/easy. Also, other buyers in our development bought their own paint and got builders to use that rather than the standard magnolia. Others had extra wall plugs and phone jacks installed (or moved locations).

• hold back a bit of money until snagging is completed to your satisfaction. I (naively) released all money on the developer's scheduled payment plan and had great difficulty getting them to sort out issues as they weren't motivated. Other purchasers held back about £10k that was paid once all snagging was done - and it served them well.

• Ultimately i had to bring in the NHBC to get the developer to comply with all that had been promised to an acceptable standard. Hopefully your situation would not resort to that - but if it does - you and your neighbours will fare better if you band together to address general complaints with the developer. it is much more difficult for them to fob off an organised group of concerned purchasers/residents. Also will benefit you to hear what strategies have worked for others - if it gets to that.

Good luck.