I want to buy a new house but they are made of cardboard apparently...

[skittleboy]

I like the look of new houses and I want a nice fresh new house to live it. Like buying a brand new car that is fresh and noone else has used.

But everyone says 'they are not built to last, don't go near one with a barge pole'. It's so wrong that the builders are allowed to get away with it! They should build it properly! I grew up in a 600 year old house that is still standing strong. But I dislike old houses.

I can't build my own because I don't have the expertise.

Is there anything else I can do?

Thank you.

My new build is block and brick built with cavity walls and full insulation.

Some of the finishing has been a bit slack but the actual house structure is great!

My old house was ex council 1970 and was timber frame, minimal insulation and bloody freezing. Also had asbestos in it.

Also my rooms are BIG! Depends what design you buy and your budget I guess!

New houses smell lovely and the idea of not having to replace anything is great.

Trouble is two out of the three new houses my siblings have bought, they have both had to move out, one of them for a month.

So while it’s tempting, I have chosen not to.

I've lived in one for 6 years, we bought it brand new. It's wonderfully insulated, in fact we can't seem to get it cool in the summer, it's held about 28 degrees overnight over the past few really hot summers.

I agree with others comments that they are thrown up so quickly that the inner fittings start to come up faulty after a while, conveniently just as your 2/3 year fittings warranty expires.
Our garage door has fallen off of the mechanism and been left hanging, we've had a toilet that repeatedly ends up dripping because it wasn't plumbed in properly in the first place, our shower tiling is an ongoing issue and we've had to have the bottom completely retiled because it wasn't done properly, amongst other issues.

I've had lots of friends buy new builds from different builders and been in them several years without any major issues. I would not recommend Persimmon Homes to anyone.

I think it can depend massively on the building company.
My last house was a fairly new Persimmon and it was horrible. Small rooms, low ceilings, wall plaster that crumbled if you hung anything, lots of dubious workmanship.
My slightly newer Barratt home feels more solid, higher ceilings, better room sizes.

So do your research, watch out for leasehold properties and maintenance fees for communal land.

The thing with old houses is we are only seeing the ones that are still standing. There was plenty of dodgy construction and houses that didn't last. And the ones that are still standing we are a lot more forgiving of - sloping floors are regarded as part of an old building's charm but wouldn't be accepted in a new build.

New build really are much better for energy usage. And there's nothing inherently wrong with timber frame - I've worked on quite a few projects recently which are high end properties using SIPS panels and similar. As in multi million pound properties.

Of course there are horror stories about dodgy builders, but that's a case of choosing well, just as with any house really. My main issue with new build houses is that for the money they often have small rooms and the estates are cramped and rubbish for parking.

Not all new builds are equal. A lot have internal stud partition walls which does make them feel flimsy.

We bought our current house new from Wainhomes 4 yrs ago and it’s been great.

They are poorly constructed, paper thin walls

This is utter crap. I’m not sure why you think having a BIL as a builder means you know how homes are built, but the construction methods and specification of new homes are better than they have ever been thanks to building regulations and building control requirements from local authorities.

I work in the industry and have done for over 20 years, walls are thicker and better insulated even in that time. Building construction methods are far more advanced than they were in the 70s and 80s when houses were thrown up with speed and return on capital costs were much less so corners had to be cut to turn a profit.

There are good builders and bad builders of course, doing your research is important, but to decide all new builds are shit is ridiculous.

Sure, your bedroom might be bigger in that 70s and 80s house, but be prepared to shell out to fix the issues with damp, timber rot, potentially remove asbestos, have the whole place re-wired and re-roofed very soon. I lived on a 70s built estate, the homes were just as close together there. Victorian terraces aren’t exactly brimming with space. My current new build house has a huge garden.

Having a preference for old v new is absolutely fine, but be sure you base it on fact not the well worn, outdated stereotypes.

If I was in you position I'd be buying a house that was around 20 years old. Still thermally efficient but a more solid construction

This is what I don’t understand. I bought my first house 20 years ago and it was a newbuild. I had all the same warnings then - they are built badly, thrown up etc etc. Then just because it is now 20 years old it is suddenly ok. The structure of the house has not changed.

Yes new builds have downsides, but so do older ones. Parking may be an issue, but there are plenty of parking wars in different areas regardless of house age. People look for different things in houses, have different priorities. We’d be in a right pickle if everybody only bought houses over 100 years old.

@mynameisntlouise Damm alot of the homes in my town are Persimmon

There is quite a big difference in building regs requirements for thermal efficiency now compared to 20 years ago.

I'm in a brand new build. The walls are most definitely not paper thin. Better sound insulation than any house I have ever lived in, and so lovely and warm.

Oh and it's Persimmon. I'm happy with it.

I hated the idea of a new build and wanted a Victorian house. We had looked at so many houses but couldn't afford anything great (small 3 bed semi, 1 bathroom).

One day we were driving past a new build estate and in desperation went in. Ended up buying, and getting FAR more bang for our buck (4 bed, 4 bath, detached). I live in Scotland so it is slightly different, but no leasehold and much cheaper than a comparitive second hand house.

Our rooms are huge, the house is comfortably warm so our bills are minimal and we have a decent sized garden. The convenience of extra bathrooms and a utility room (which older houses often don't have) are amazing. We also got a lot of things for free, like flooring, turf and upgraded kitchen.

And we had about 10 things on our snagging list which were fixed right away.

I highly doubt I'd buy an older house now.

Before I bought I read reviews of the actual estate (not builder) and the reviews were good.

In a year, the cost to buy my house brand new has gone up £30k. The few second hand houses on the estate that come up for sale sell within days for more than they were originally sold for.

Oh and mine is Persimmon too

Shock horror!!

People always seem to say that in new-builds you can hear a lot of neighbour noise. Well in my DF's 100 year old house you can hear every single word that next door says, I can't see how a new build can be worse than that?

I'm in a persimmon. I've had some snagging but it's been dealt with appropriately. I've had no major dramas. The estate is lovely and has regular community events that the sales staff provide prizes and things for. We won a halloween comp in 2019 the kids were amazed. I've had the fire safety inspection too and my one sock that has sagged slightly was replaced.

The estate is so green, trees and communal lawns and lavender all over the place - that sold it for me.

New builds have to be a rated for energy efficiency. My house is very cheap to heat and certainly no drafts!!

Geez dont buy the bungalows next to us ....taken 2 years and still not finished...made from plyboard and celotex insulation !

@skittleboy if you do go for a brand new Persimmon, just be really thorough with your snagging list and get everything seen to before your two year warranty comes up! My best friend has just bought a Persimmon regardless of the issues I’ve had and it’s not to say she’s going to have the same issues I had!

I want to buy a new house but they are made of cardboard apparently

The internal walls are apparently

Friend had one.

She hired a decorator to wallpaper a room.

Cutting the top of the wall paper so it was flush with the ceiling his knife went straight through the wall

The question of how long a property should last is often debated in the construction industry. In 1992, it was suggested that new build properties should have at least a 60-year lifespan. However, just 25 years on, the Local Government Association (LGA) has stated that new-build homes should last at least 2,000 years.

Found that on a construction insurance website.

So your new build will last somewhere between 60 and 2000 years OP. Update us when it falls down.

We have a reasonably new build (around 10 years old) and it's not flimsy. It's detached so we don't have worries about neighbours anyway but internally the sound-proofing is fine (I can't hear DH playing his racing games in his man cave at 2am ). It can't be too bad externally as I can't hear DD having a fit of the screaming ab dabs when I'm in the garden!

There's pros and cons with each, though. I really like old houses too, but my poor friend has just had to fork out 30k on repair works on her older house, just wear and tear stuff to do with roof and some internal problems with old plumbing and electrics, and the ongoing maintenance and energy costs are making her consider selling up and buying somewhere newer because it's been a bit of a money drain. But it is lovely house with a lot of character.

People just get a bit snobby about new builds in general. Ashamed to admit I was a bit the same –'cheaply built, small rooms, blah blah.' But then I was talked into going to see the house we're in now, and realised that I was just repeating bollocks I'd heard other people say We don't have small rooms, we've had no problems with repairs needing done or stuff breaking in the three years we've lived here, and it's a nice, warm house that seems to standing up to my DD and DDog crashing about the place.

I hate the blanket attitude to new build houses which so many people have. Yes of course there are some bad ones but equally there are some great ones.

We live on a development classed as a garden village inspired by the arts and crafts building style. The rooms are all a decent size with good height ceilings. We are semi detached and can't hear our neighbours at all, we could hear them loads in our last house which was Victorian.

Our garden is a decent size and yes the soil isn't the best but we are working on that. It is nice to have a blank canvas and be able to create the garden you want.

We have a decent size front garden too so are nicely set back from the road. It is a garden village so the pavements are wide and you have the pavement, a large flower bed and then the road so it all feels very spacious and green. There are several communal areas including a children's park and a kitchen garden where we can grow fruit and veg.

We had a couple of issues in the first snagging year which were fixed immediately and none since. We are very happy with our new build.

Oh and our house is traditional build not timber framed. I believe Redrow houses are as well.