New builds.

[Tartanpaint]

I really don't understand why there is such a high price attached to them? Yes they are spanking new BUT they are often tiny and over priced.

Nor do I. Such variable quality too - several friends have been hugely stressed and disappointed by their new build quality after moving in. It's all about quantity and making huge profits for most of the developers.

We're getting a new build because it represents better value for money than the overpriced, crappy doer uppers we've wasted lots of time looking at.

There are several builders in my family who have worked for various big companies here and none of them would choose a new build due to small room sizes and quality concerns. Interior doors cost about £3 each on some developments which considering you pay a premium for the finish, is a bit rubbish.

They're built for tiny people. Lord help you if you're 6ft and overweight.

The garden sizes are also a bit unrealistic. They might as well build blocks of flats with terraces.

I went round the showroom locally and it was quite depressing to say the least. Tiny, flimsy with no storage. Horrid little gardens and completely overlooked on all sides. Bedrooms we wouldn't be able to fit our bed in .

But they are easy to buy - no stress and you only need a 5% deposit. They part ex your house so no stress.

They are homes for those who lack imagination and individuality. Cheap and nasty boxes.

Sparkle, I think that's very fair. I've never looked at a new build, because I like the best that old houses have to offer, and there have been rich pickings in my area. But having looked round a lot of victorian, interwar and postwar houses, "renovated" by people with varying degrees of enthusiasm and skill, I can confidently say that many old houses have the worst of both worlds. If my choice was between a blandified, artexed, chimney-breasts-removed victorian terrace and its modern equivalent, I might opt for the latter in the hopes that it would at least have modern insulation and wiring, and no lead pipes.

Having said that, I've never seriously compared prices of new builds to older equivalents. I'm guessing people pay a premium for being the first person to live there. That's beyond me, but I believe I am part of a different species from the idiots people who buy brand new cars, and I guess this is a similar thing.

Our 'new build' is now 10 years old and we're still happy here with no plans on moving. It has big rooms and a big garden. A couple of the appliances are now coming to the end of their life but it has been 10 years of constant use. When we were looking around we saw plenty of variations in sizes, quality, etc. but to say all new builds are tiny, pokey and over priced is unfair.

Our 'new build' is now 10 years old and we're still happy here with no plans on moving. It has big rooms and a big garden. A couple of the appliances are now coming to the end of their life but it has been 10 years of constant use. When we were looking around we saw plenty of variations in sizes, quality, etc. but to say all new builds are tiny, pokey and over priced is unfair.