Considering a new build. Your experiences please, good & bad?

[MovingThisYearHopefully]

We are struggling to find anything we like in the area we want so are now considering buying a new build in a different area which is slightly more affordable. I like the idea of having everything all new, & you get a lot more for your money, but I have heard such horror stories which are quite off-putting. Id love to hear your experiences, good & bad. The builders on site are Crest Nicholson, Charles Church & Taylor Wimpey.

I don't live in the Uk, it our last 3 houses have been new build. You know that they will deal with snagging, and that things will be fine for the first 6-10 years. The down side of new builds is smaller gardens (it is here) but ours is pacious and the one now will see us through till we downsize once the children have left.

Chest Nicholson are good from what u have heard. Charles Church and Taylor wimpy not. Just be aware that you will struggle to sell for at least ten years.

You pay a premium for the newness and they depreciate in value quickly. Your better off trying to get one that's a couple of years old. Look on rightmove at sold prices and you'll usually see a reasonable drop in price when you compare the original same price and then the next one.

Why @racecardriver?

We bought new build. Crest Nicholson. We saw many new builds. Crest were the best. It does vary! Some were awful and we would not have considered buying.

Pluses they will snag problems for you, it is more affordable, it is very energy efficient and warm in winter (after precious drafty house I love this).

Minuses: less character than an old house, it can take a while to make it feel like home as you don’t have to go round fixing lots of things (just my experience). Currently the energy efficiency means we are boiling hot! But really how often is that a problem

Overall very happy - I would say go for it!

We have just bought a new build (none of those builders though) and its amazing. We chose the kitchen, flooring and tiling and the builders are being really quick sorting out all sorts of minor random snagging issues.

I dunno.. it depends what you're used too I guess.

I grew up in 100+ her old houses. They seemed bomb proof, thick walls, solid roofs, tough as nails fixtures and fittings etc. For the first 25 years of my life I never heard a neighbour. Since then I've lived in houses built in the 50s and 80s and currently.live in a brand spanker.

Total opposite to the old houses. This new build is so feeble the washer shakes the kitchen. I can her the neighbours going up and downstairs and closing doors. The window frames and door frames all.move, windows don't kept noise out and the walls all sound hollow and weak. Door trims aren't wood either, they're like fibre cardboard crap.

Regrets.. I have. Few.. like moving here.
Give me a bomb proof terrace any day.

Thanks for responses. We are currently in a tiny 3 bed semi in an expensive area with a huge garden close to great schools, town etc. We have 2 teenagers who have left school now so don't need catchments or a big garden, we are just desperate for more space. A new build fits the bill in that respect.

We don't owe anything on our current house & with a mortgage could buy either a 4 bed new build detached in a not so handy location, (the development is a bit rural & will eventually have bus links but until then I'd be a taxi) or a 30's semi that has been extended, probably still with the garden we don't really want but retaining the great location that we do love.

I am keen to go detached if we can. Our current neighbours, while nice enough, are incredibly thoughtless & selfish & have made our efforts to sell our house very challenging & definitely cost us money & buyers.

Glad to hear good things about Crest Nicholson. They are the one we would probably go for. The Taylor Wimpey showhome was simply shocking!

I’d consider a new build if...
it had a decent garden size/not too overlooked.
Decent parking.
Detached.
Good square footage.

Garden is important to me, make sure there are not loads of town houses blocking light.
Would have to have a drive, but also visitor bays and road width for on road parking. They’ll only ever be more cars likely, also if you want friends and family around then they need to be able to park somewhere.
Detached - see pp comments about neighbour noise.
Check square footage, they use small and sparse furniture to make rooms appear larger in the show homes.

There’s nothing wrong with a new build if it works for you, they can be great in lots of ways (all new, can choose fittings, new neighbourhood so no ‘history’ between neighbours. Also good for part exchange if in a bind and as I’m currently stuck in the Chain From Hell I reeeealy see the appeal.
Buy carefully and choose a good plot, I’d advise an independent snagging survery on a move in date as well to make sure things are finished off as expected.

Ah sorry x post, detached is good then, also if your current neighbours suck it might be worth looking into part exchange.

I'm a carpenter and DH is a coordinating engineer for a house builder (none of those listed!). We don't live in a new build despite the option to buy at quite a staff discount in the past. We like solid walls, houses that are easy to modify, and good proportions. I've only worked on very high spec one-off new builds, but I don't hear good things about the houses on larger sites from DH. He's worked for a number of companies in the years I've known him and he says similar things about all of them. I'm not sure they do work out better value either TBH. They are a good choice for those that can't buy older housing stock IMO as they are cheaper up front. Better to buy new than not at all, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

He reckons of those you've listed Charles C would be the best (but pricier), then Crest, then TW.

@count they are one of the few ones that people say do the finishings properly (redrow also has good reviews amongst friends and family). The rest (as has been our personal experience living in a few new builds and things others have said) rush the internal finishings and don't install adequate plumbing. Morris has probably been the worst build we have lived in.

Thanks Sock. Square footage & parking are the main criteria. Our current house is so small its driving me nuts. It was too small when we moved here. We have people with one child saying that our house is too small & we have 4 adults lol. We definitely need parking for at least 2 cars, plus visitor bays available. We would also be looking very carefully at the position of any potential homes too & getting a professional snagger in.

Thanks Shank. Charles Church used to be one of the better names, but since they were bought out by Persimmon their reputation & home quality has taken a serious nosedive. They still seem to be trading off of the goodwill the CC name brings though. They are similarly priced & marginally better quality to the TW homes. They do have some nice houses for our budget though so its tempting to take a punt as long as we get everything flagged up by an independent snagger. The development is a long term one, so the builders won't be going anywhere any time soon, so nag power would hopefully get stuff done lol.

I wouldn't always say they depreciate in value. It really does depend on the area. I just sold one a couple of months ago for 40% more than what I paid for it 4 years ago - which I certainly wasn't expecting!
Whilst a new build wasn't going to be a forever home for me, it was lovely and warm and very cheap to run.

We are in a new build (Charles Church) and love it. We didn't have much choice as we couldn't sell our old house so part exchanged for this one. Our garden is small but others on the estate can be a good size.

Just be aware Charles church is no no longer Charles church as it was, it was bought out by persimmon homes a number of years ago. They use the name to charge a premium for homes as people believe it’s a better home over persimmon. Believe it or not they build Charles church homes from persimmon regions and often use same spec instead, or even lower spec than identical persimmon built homes. Just do your research before you buy one, as their customer service is well known not to be fantastic and they are a 3 star builder by the hbf.

Going out to view some show homes today. Just need a buyer on our house now. Have 2 lined up this week already & had 2 last week, plus another possibly in the pipeline. We are also flexible price wise. Doesn't seem to ever turn into a sale though, but you never know.

Everything crossed & thanks for your contributions!

Our first two homes were new-build. At the time we were stretching ourselves to get the mortgage and wanted the security of knowing we weren't going to be faced with a bill for damp, or a new roof, or something costly and structural in the first 10 years. It does give peace of mind. It's also a blank canvas - you will get to choose tiles and bathrooms and so on, but everything will be painted magnolia. No stripping off dozens of layers of wallpaper or someone else's textured ceiling.

Love my redrow, snagging sorted out quickly, not bad space, smallish garden, but we are downsizers anyway. New building regs mean that we have level access and wide doorways. I would buy a new build again, but visited plenty of new build sites where I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Even with redrow, good site manager is crucial.
All the best OP

REDROW
We have bought twice from this developer but the most recent purchase experience has been completely soured by the aftersales process. The developer have good house designs but the build quality is poor as they are rushed, not enough quality control checks happen and there is an unacceptable level of snags as a result that need fixing. The attitude of the business towards customer service is not what it used to be and they are now charging a lot for their houses. I would heed you to think about buying from Redrow as they have unfortunately become like most house developers, take your money at point of sale and everything thereafter is disappointing

We (as you know) are also looking at new builds. The one DH loves is Linden homes and although huge inside and in the much desired town we love and previously lived in it has a pretty small overlooked garden. It's also in close proximity to the road (and massively overpriced).

The one I prefer is in a village 10 minutes drive from the same town and is by Davidson homes. Small garden but not overlooked and south facing.

I bought a new build 24 years ago, Charles Church. It was more expensive than the older houses I could afford, but I figured it wouldn’t need any major maintenance for years, and I was right.
Boiler lasted 24 years, bathrooms replaced only two years ago, kitchen last year and fascias and guttering just recently.
I still love it.
I’d buy a new build again in a heartbeat.

We know a couple who bought with Redrow, and went to get their front door replaced. When they went to take it out, the original was badly screwed into bits of old chipboard that were shoved into a gap. Eek.
I would say check the dimensions on the floorplan and the size of any showhome very carefully. About 15 years old we really struggled to find a narrow, shallow wardrobe. I saw that the latest Next Home catalogue had loads of cut-down sofas and 3/4 sized sideboards, which makes sense when you compare 10-15 year old new builds and some new, new builds round here.

One thing that we have definitely decided to do if we get the new build is to get a professional snagger in, ideally prior to completion, but if not, soon after. Cost is around £450 & when we're buying a well over half a million pound house its a drop in the ocean & worth every penny. Has anyone else done this?

We really should have a buying a new build thread on here. If we actually end up going for the new build then I will make one, if nobody else has done by then!