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Property/DIY

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Original poster

New build from plans-anyone ever bought one?

19 replies

TiredMule · 21/10/2013 11:18

We've just had the plans and details through for a new build I the village, it looks fantastic!

But.....
However good it looks on paper I worry that you just can't tell the feel of the place, light etc

Have you/would you ever buy from plans?

It would be fantastic to be able to choose all the fixtures and fittings and make minor changes.

I just don't know!

Any advice and opinions very welcome,

OP posts:

HaveToWearHeels · 21/10/2013 14:13

We bought our house off plan, love it, will never move.
Have a look what will be around you, or close you. We have lots of windows and only have a house behind us and we look out onto a park area so knew it would be nice and light.

HaveToWearHeels · 21/10/2013 14:14

just a thought, is the slab down yet that gives you a good idea of the space involved ?

PersilOrAriel · 21/10/2013 14:57

We did 14 years ago. We love it and it is our forever house. What we found really helpful was that the builder had a development with the same styles 50 miles away so we went to look at the houses there to see what they were like.

Could you find out if they have similar developments you could view?

schmalex · 21/10/2013 15:57

I wouldn't, unless it is a large, reputable builder. But then I'm having a nightmare trying to buy a new build that is finished... I thought it would be all new and lovely and perfect, but the survey's shown up some complete deal breakers that make me very glad I haven't parted with serious amounts of cash yet.

WhatWillSantaBring · 22/10/2013 09:20

I did and I loved it - 'twas gorgeous and it was really easy to tell what the inside would be like.

My only note of caution would be to remember that new builds can have a sudden depreciation if you want/need to sell quickly after completion. Also, (although probably less so if the house is a one off) but if its part of a development, you might also struggle to sell quickly - at least until all the other houses in the development have been sold by the developer (and even then, you may find a sudden rush of people who bought off plan and now need to move).

TaylorWimpeyDidThis · 22/10/2013 09:32

This is our experience of buying off plan from a "5 star National Housebuilder"

www.brand-newhomes.co.uk/forum/smf/taylor-wimpey-homes/if-you're-thinking-of-buying-taylor-wimpey-please-read/

RobinSparkles · 22/10/2013 10:14

We did and it turned out great but it might be worth checking if there are any show homes for the same house on another site, if there are any.

We reserved our plot but there wasn't a show home for the house. We found a show home in another part of the country which was really helpful! It helped us to think about what we could put where.

KenDoddsDadsDog · 22/10/2013 10:17

Have bought two from plan and would defo do it again. Reserved and paid deposit and had to travel to 'similar' show homes.

bettsiom · 22/10/2013 10:33

We are about to complete on our new buld in the next couple of weeks and being the first of its type to be built, yes we've bought off plans only. It has been weird but exciting!

At first it's just pictures of course, so if you can look at other houses the developer has done that may help you have more of a feel. We loved picking out the options - kitchen, tiles, carpets, wardrobes and feel relieved that there's little to be done once we move in.

The road leading up to it has only just been opened.

Main annoying thing with new builds is not knowing when it's actually going to be ready. So we've been in a tiny cramped rental for past few months since selling our house.

Will let you know how it goes!

HaveToWearHeels · 22/10/2013 10:33

Well mine house is a Taylor Wimpy house and I love it. A few little niggles but nothing major. It is my forever house.

HaveToWearHeels · 22/10/2013 10:39

TaylorWimpeyDidThis your photos are shocking, but I honestly believe these are due to the site manager being shite. Some of the first phase of our development weren't up to standard however he was sacked and replaced, ours is beautiful. Hope you get it sorted soon.

TaylorWimpeyDidThis · 22/10/2013 10:46

Thank you - the same site manager won this years highest accolade for Pride in Job and Quality from the NHBC, for the same development.....

Its great to hear other people have had good experiences.

I just hope our experience enables others to put measures in place to prevent it happening to them.

Original poster

TiredMule · 22/10/2013 14:46

Thank you for all your responses, there's a mixed few so it's good to hear the good and the bad!

It's a one off in our village, though he has done others. We actually viewed his last one, he still hasn't sold it and we really weren't very impressed, main reasons being it wasn't very well thought out (eg downstairs toilets tiny sink was literally right next to the toilet, and e/s had a tiny sink too) and it had very obviously been rushed and bodged at the end (bathroom tiles were bad enough to need redoing, fence posts in garden were too short and some sort of bodge patch job was done) To be honest I think he had big access probs and ended up paying 25k to allow access to the garage so this may be why. Plus it's been reduced from 495 to 475 and they still aren't getting any offers after months!

That doesn't sound great tbh does it?! Would that completely put you off?

OP posts:

Onesleeptillwembley · 22/10/2013 14:53

I also bought a Wimpey house off plan years ago. What a fiasco. I've not read the above link yet, but intend to. Do NOT touch Wimpey with somebody else's barge pole. Dishonest sellers. Dishonest, incompetent tradesmen. Unsafe (seriously unsafe) electrics where they then said they'd check the rest of the development. They didn't, as the same problem was literally over the road. I cannot urge you strongly enough to avoid them.

HaveToWearHeels · 22/10/2013 14:54

No doesn't sound good at all, if he was happy for you to see something substandard then he isn't proud of his work. You could purchase but have a retention for any snagging or things you are not happy with, he might be happy to agree to that. Did you point out the bodged work to him, what was his reaction ?

RachelHRD · 22/10/2013 17:20

we bought off plan in 2011 and have been very happy with our new home - snagging and settlement issues are pretty standard but on the whole they have been remedied well.

fussychica · 22/10/2013 17:20

Have done it twice once in UK and once in Spain. Both properties turned out great and the quality was excellent. We did loads of research before committing to the properties. In the UK it was all about the location, in Spain it was purely for investment and we never lived in it though I would have been very happy to if I hadn't loved my old farmhouse!

Both allowed a fair amount of choice on finish but the UK property did run over the scheduled completion date which was a pain and meant we had to live with parents for 3 months - my dad couldn't understand why we wanted to move into the new property the day before Xmas eve!

Original poster

TiredMule · 22/10/2013 18:46

Haveto- we viewed the house with the ea before we even knew about this new build, so he prob won't know we've seen it. He's obviously had major issues with that house.
Dh is trying to arrange to meet on site with him and the ea next week, dog found out he's building 15 other houses at the moment.
I drove past yesterday and they are literally just starting the foundations, so it will be hard to get much of an idea.

OP posts:

HaveToWearHeels · 22/10/2013 20:14

good idea, have a meeting with the developer and take it from there. If you don't feel comfortable don't proceed. You could explain that you have seen a previous property and were concerned about the quality of the finish, see what he comes up with. Best of luck, having a choice of finish is lovely, you can really make it just how you want. Remember most internal wall can be changed/removed so you can get just what you want.

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