Buying a new house....

[mrsflems1]

I feel like such a grown up.

Husband and I went to look at a new build property on Monday. I loved it, he is taking a bit more convincing though!

This is the house here...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61876327.html

It had initially been reserved and the buyer has withdrawn so they are offering it to us a good bit cheaper than advertised as my husband is actually a builder working on the development.

We have over £40K equity in our house just now and we have quite a large disposable income so can easily afford the increase in mortgage. At present I'm not really sure what I spend my disposable money on, absolute crap and too many clothes. So I would love a nice new shiny home and property is an investment.... right?

In my head I have already moved in and Im visually decorating it but my husband just needs a little more convincing.

What has been other peoples experiences of new build properties?

The chance to get something decent below market value because your do works there? I'd snap that up (unless his reluctance is because he knows something you don't!).

No..... he says they are quality build homes, he is just so "careful" sometimes and worries about the extra mortgage payment but I have done an income v expenditure and we can afford it.

We going back in to look around tomorrow again and chat with the developer.

It says common areas will be maintained by a factor - Google FLEECEHOLD and make sure you know what it could mean.

We are currently buying a new build and it's the only thing that is putting me off.

They tell you there is a small maintenance charge for getting grass cut etc. But in reality they sell off that grass area to a third party who can then charge whatever they like and you have no choice but to pay.

You have to be so careful with new builds: is it definitely freehold and not leasehold?
As another poster has said what are the communal land maintenance fees? These can also increase.
Have you checked room sizes as show homes often have small furniture in to give a false impression of size.

Congrats! House looks lovely and you sound tickled pink! I love new build houses ...I built my own 2 years ago and I love it.
The things to get your solicitor to double check are boring but absolutely essential:-

1. Restrictive convenants imposed by either the developer or the builder. These can impact silly things like satellite dishes, sheds, burglar alarm boxes etc.
2. history of flood on the build land and a land drain plan
3. any other planning apps in the pipeline locally that could impact your lovely home
4. Warrentee - who is underwriting it and is it worth the paper it is written on
5. check the sq ft £ and see if it is good value v market new builds ....are you getting genuine value or an eye catching headline price.

Those would be my top things to dig into!

Oh, sorry and the soil. Is it clay? Any under pinning? .....not necessarily a bad thing but your DH should check the structural drawings.
New houses settle and cracks appear ...check the builder will come back and deal with snagging.

Congratulations OP. It's a beautiful home xx

Property is NOT an investment! It costs you money just to keep it. It may increase in value, it may decrease in value or it may remain around the same value. There are situations under which you can invest in property but the market is largely stagnant or falling and because it is a new build it will immediately devalue and you will not be able to add value unless there is to to extend. Meanwhile you will have to pay to fix things as they break (surprising quickly from experience of new builds). You are essentially taking out massive loan to buy something that is going to continue costing you money. Only buy it if you really want to live there.

Racecar, maybe OP doesnt want it as an investment, maybe she just wants a lovely home for her family.

We have a new build and have had no problems really. If you can go for it then do. There's no new bathrooms/kitchens/boilers to be thinking about for 10 years and decorating is a breeze as there is no old paper etc to be ripping off. As per previous posters just ensure they do the snagging. We have a leasehold and haven't yet had any issues.

That price is very good too!!

Do be careful. New build properties always have a "headline" price that is way more than their true value. The building companies then offer discounts to make people feel like they are getting a bargain but in reality may still be paying over the odds. Even if a surveyor says the property is worth X, it will only be worth 85%-90% of X as soon as it has been lived in. All this is absolutely fine so long as you will be happy living there for decades. If you might want to move within 5 years then you could find yourself in negative equity.

Also echo other points about groundrent/fee increases sometimes having unreasonable ramp up rates so check everything very carefully.