Buying a new build - good or bad decision?

[suffolkblonde29]

Hi there,

Has anyone had a good/bad experience of buying a new build? Would you do it again?

We’ve reserved a house in a new build development just opposite where we’re renting. We like the area and the house is lovely. We’re renting a new build at the moment so we know we like the new-ness and not having to do DIY but now that we’re going through the conveyancing process we’re a little worried about having to pay an estate maintenance fee and whether it will go up too much etc. It’s free hold and we’ll be members of the management company so I think we’d have a say but I guess you don’t have that much control when there are 100 other owners.

If you have any good or bad experiences of buying a new build I’d love to hear them.

Thanks!

Oh no! Is it one of those agreements where you pay an increasing % for maintenance over the years? Don't touch it with a bargepole! Nothing to do with newbuilds per se (I love a newbuild) it's a huge con to get you to pay loads of money over years...

I really think it's personal preference. I've friends that love them. Personally I hate them mainly due to the poor quality and paper thin walls and normally the lack of parking space (road).

If it’s well built then I can’t see the issue. I would love to turn the key and not need to do anything. Here we are ten years in and just about getting it to the way we want. I would jump at the chance of a new build next time.

Trying to find some more info OP, but there have been some horror stories about homeowners having to pay ridiculous sums of money for maintenance charges, which increase year on year.

www.solegal.co.uk/estate-rent-charges-beware-buying-freehold-homes-private-estates/

We bought new build 5.5 years ago and don’t regret it for a minute. Ours was built by a smaller building company and we were really happy with them. They were happy to rectify any snagging problems and did so promptly which I believe isn’t the same with all builders.

and here:
www.theguardian.com/money/2016/oct/29/new-builds-house-buyers-leasehold-property-trap

and here too.
<a class="break-all" href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/25/leasehold-houses-and-the-ground-rent-scandal-all-you-need-to-knowwww.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/25/leasehold-houses-and-the-ground-rent-scandal-all-you-need-to-know" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/25/leasehold-houses-and-the-ground-rent-scandal-all-you-need-to-knowwww.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/25/leasehold-houses-and-the-ground-rent-scandal-all-you-need-to-know

Though it looks as if the problem here is when you buy leasehold and not freehold, so sorry if I've confused you. Don't buy leasehold!

If you love paper thin walls, tiny gardens and people parking outside your house then go for it

I'm in a new build a the moment and we love our house. It's warm and not draughty. The walls aren't thin, and I've never heard my neighbour once.

We did have a few teething issues when we moved, but nothing major. The house builders got everything sorted quickly enough.

Parking wise, all of the houses on our estate either have a double driveway or a single and a drive, but most have converted the remainder of their front lawns into another drive.

The management bitnwould worry me. I wouldn't want to be having to pay additional money if something major went wrong. Make sure you research it well

We've been in a year and we have no desire to move :)

Thanks all. Yes it's definitely freehold. But there is an estate maintenance fee (£78 per year) which covers maintenance of communal parts of the development not adopted by the council e.g. green space/playground. We'd be members (or directors if we choose) of the company so would have a vote on any yearly increased, they don't automatically go up each year but I expect it may go up a bit over time. That said, with a new build you're saving a lot on fuel and we had a victorian flat before that ended up costing us loads for things like damp proofing, re-wiring, so at least we wouldn't have to worry about that..

We live in a semi detached new build and honestly love it. We never hear our neighbours, have really low energy bills and our development is small and friendly. No major issues, couple of snags but the small local builder fixed them quickly.

I would steer well clear of anything that involves paying maintenance fees. When we bought our solicitor mentioned that those companies can charge legally up to £2000 a year and you have to pay it.

We have a lovely new build from a small developer. Quality has been great and we had so few snagging issues we didn't need to have them back to fix things. We pay £15 a month to the developer who factors the estate. This covers grounds maintenance and road gritting in winter.

This weekend we have been to look at new builds by Persimmon on a couple of different sites. Shonky, hugely expensive to get a finished house and their corporate practices mean we can't get them to commit to selling us a house in a timeframe which suits us. No way no how.

We think we've dodged a bullet and are happy to walk away.

Do try and see things by big and small builders and try to see the house type unfinished and unfurnished so you really understand what you are buying.

The new homes 'uninhabitable' after less than a year

If any roads on the new estate are unadopted then you will need an estate fund to cover maintenance issues. It is much harder to sort out any problems down the line if there is no fund in place - we have been in that situation and neighbours suing other neighbours to recover costs of repairs to communal areas is not fun. An active Residents Association is required together with scrutiny of accounts - £78 per year is not much in the scheme of things.

Thanks everyone, really useful to hear your experiences. I’ve checked and the roads on our estate will be adopted by the council, so hopefully as there is just the maintenance of some open spaces to pay for there won’t be big, unexpected expenses. Also I’m checking that as we’ll be directors of the management company that all owners will have a say on at future rises.

I wouldn't buy a new build for all the reasons others have given but also because they always seem over priced and near me people have lost money on new builds and have struggled to sell them.

I owned a newbuild. Purchased 11 yrs ago and loved it. Warm, nothing needed doing, rarely heard neighbours. Our particular estate had small houses and gardens but some estates are bigger of course.

Yes it was overpriced on the face of it but really we saved a fortune in DIY, rennovation and heating costs then when we sold a couple of yrs ago we came away a few grand in profit. If we were to sell now at current prices we'd be approx £30k In profit so depending on the market you wouldn't make a loss necessarily.

We bought one 21 years ago and have really enjoyed living in our house. New builds have a good room lay out and sufficient toilets and bathrooms. We looked at loads of old cottages when we bought and didn't want anywhere with a downstairs bathroom, just one loo or bedrooms that led off each other. You do have to remember that no matter how bright and shiny and lovely and new it is now you will eventually need a new kitchen etc so be sure to save each year so that you can afford all this.