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.

New houses may be made of chipboard and aluminium foil but they are very well insulated. My friend (not an expert but I think she has a point) insists that soon there will be strict rules about insulation and that you will be expected to implement changes to old homes that aren't insulated (70s 80s houses) probably at your own cost, to abide by environmental requirements.
So buy new. they are a bit small and better insulated, soundwise, from your neighbour if it is a semi, than the old ones.

My one big issue with bog standard new builds is the actual design.

Stayed in one recently.

The living room area for what essentially could have been between 2 adults and 4 children (5 double bedroom town house) as a minimum was a 2 seater sofa that blocked off one of the French windows.

There was no where to actually put a 3 seater sofa or extra seating without blocking off the only access to the outside.
There was a door that could have been bricked up and the radiator could have been moved to make a better design

Just take no notice OP it's weird snobbery.

Bizarrely enough the MN 'property with character' brigade never consider the fuel efficiency of where they live in their global warming handwringing. I can turn the heating on and my house is warm in 5 minutes. Our old house took ages in comparison.

It's also better in relation to the cost of upkeep/ maintenance.

Dh and I looked at new builds but decided against them for a few reasons -

Footprint / room size was always smaller than a similar house (eg 4 bed) built in the 1970-80s)

Cost of “finishing” we were surprised how little of the fixtures and finishing were not included or if we wanted anything other than the very basic was not included in the already fairly high purchase price

Went to help my parents look at a new build as they are getting older and were taken with the 10 year warranty they came with - with a bit of interrogation the sales lady gave an example that a crack in the wall (likely as any new plaster sets) would be rectified free of charge. Dad was chuffed... til a bit more questioning exposed that the crack had to be big enough to fit a pound coin in between it!!

Friend bought a new build and whilst it’s beautiful the snaggingnlist was never ending and unfortunately everytime the building company came out to fix a snag, they managed to damage something else. It’s been 4 years and they are still having stuff fixed!

I’m sure they are built to last - as others have said they have to comply with regs and so if you like them go for it, just be wary of being sucked in by “shiney and new” when you might find you get more for your money with an older house!

As evidenced by this thread the people who have to put them together never seem keen on living in them. My husband's another one who works on building sites and refuses to consider buying one.

I have bought both, bought a new build 5 years ago. It was 5 bed detached but small 1500sqft compared to where we are living now which is also 5 bed but is 2700sqft.
Bedrooms tend to be small and often they are over three floors which is inconvenient for family living. As many others said the internal walls are thin and you can hear everything. The roads where I used to live were narrow and the gardens tend to be small and overlooked.
As far as snagging it depends on the builder.
I wouldn’t buy a new build again, a lot of the reason people buy them is ‘help to buy’ which no one should ever get involved in.

I think you will generally find that the basic structure will be sound but from then on in it could be more variable. For example electrics should always be good due to the regulations. Same with gas and heating etc. But for example there is a Bellway estate near me. Really nicely laid out and pretty spacious but some real nightmare problems which are consistent with people moving there

Eg the mega flow water cylinder won't supply more than one shower at a time. They have three shower rooms so you would expect at least two!
Concrete floor. The concrete has a fast drying additive used. It dried that quick it had cracks all through it and the surface so bad you couldn't lay any covering. The floor fitters had to lay a new membrane to make it fit for purpose

The patio laid in a very thin base. Started sinking after months
The block paving. Lack of sand in filling and some sinkage indicating a lack of a base

Kitchen units chipped and to rectify meant a semi refit.

Stair balustrades wobbling!

So non of these totally fundamental but basically done on the cheap and resulting in a lot of rework which was difficult to get them to do. After two weeks the site manager abdicates responsibility and you deal with head office

Oh sorry...missed one. One bedroom was in the loft space...couldn't use the boxed in space at sides as roof timbers not strong enough to take weight

We moved into our new build via shared ownership 3 years ago and it's been fab. Visitor parking the only slight downside. We've barely heard a peep out of the neighbours even when they had a new baby and they've said the same to us (we are end terrace). No structural problems and all snagging issues sorted out in the first year. We looked round a few estates and this is definitely the nicest so it's worth looking at a variety before you write them off.

Timber frame houses aren't exactly a new thing. There's plenty around that have lasted 500 years without rotting.

The difference is that many of them are oak frame. New timber buildings are often pine which warps in decades rather than centuries.

As with most things you get what you pay for.

I think a PP has summed it up with saying they are 'efficient'. Well insulated, our old one was scorching in the summer though, we moved partly because it was unbearable; space tends to be well utilised, but we had several toilets which seem to have been just put in to maximize value I guess, for example; materials werent great, we could hear everything the neighbours did, and you could hear clearly what anyone is another room was up to, this is the case in older houses sometimes though isn't it.

We live in a mid terrace new build and never hear our neighbours. There’s two layers of breeze block with a decent air space between. And we don’t have quiet neighbours (multiple small children, teens etc). They also say they never hear us either (dog and small children). The noise does travel within the house though. Garden is small but not tiny, quiet, decent parking. Bills are very low (

The biggest issue with new builds is the snagging and quality of finish. Quite a few of my friends have bought new builds and moved in to a whole host of problems that have taken a long time to sort out. The NBC guarantees can be very hard to claim on and disputes can run on for years. One friend has just, three years and a trip to court later, got her snagging list completed. Another had to have her entire garden excavated and the soil relaid because it was basically just turf on top of rubble and building waste. Yet another took her builder to court only for him to put the company into administration and avoid paying out, before promptly setting up a new company for his next project.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out a new build, but I would do a lot of very careful due diligence on the developer first.

We bought a Taylor Wimpey house off plan a year ago and it was the best thing we ever did. I think if you go in open minded and know what to expect then it’s fine. We knew the garden would be clay and would need a lot of work to get it how we want. I’m in a Facebook group with the neighbours and only 1 out of about 40 had any serious problem and that was a burst pipe. People complain about the dust of the building and the noise sometimes but ultimately we got a house cheaper for that reason.
We lived in an old mid terrace before and now a 4 bed detached and our bills have halved because it’s so easy to heat.

It depends on the developer and to a certain extent the site manager. I go to a lot of building sites and the same developer will have 2 very different finish quality just because the SM is better on one than the other.

Structurally - timber frame has been around for ages, at least the 70's in it's modern form in this country. It is useful because it means the properties can be made watertight very quickly. The infill material can be anything - Wattle and Daub was used by tudors, I want to build a timber frame strawbale house. Modern timber frame is generally brick / block and insulated sheets for the external walls and insulated sheets on stud partitioning for internals.

To improve build quality many new builds are modern method of construction - panelised preformed walls for flat pack houses or volumetric, similar to Portakabins. The houses being built arrive to site on the back of a lorry and are "built" in weeks. These houses are being built to code 4, but may are higher. One of my sites is Passivhus, which I personally find a little too airless, but other people love it. Because they are built in a factory the quality can be more tightly controlled and therefore the issues of different site managers should be ironed out.

And for the old = good new = bad people, I was on site looking at the refurb of a row of Victorian terraces when the rear wall of the entire terrace collapsed. The wall was rendered rubble & when the 60's kitchen extensions were removed the back wall came away. In the aftermath they looked at the substructure of the properties and there were no foundations. These were listed buildings so they all had to be underpinned to make them habitable.

*meant to say the dust and noise was because they are still building houses close by.

If you do decide to go for a new build, remember it's not like a new car...it won't be "perfect". The day we got our keys the site manager explained to us that it was best to keep the temperature to between 17 and 21, which we did religiously, and our "settlement" has been minimal. However, settlement is not a defect. It's just what happens to homes once they dry out/bed in.

If you expect to do absolutely no small jobs/DIY then you probably will be disappointed. But if you accept that you might need to plaster a few cracks then you'll be better prepared.

Do a thorough snagging check (you can even pay people to do it) and then make sure you keep on top of the builder to get them done asap.

If you have an estate with a good site manager/contractors they will often do extra jobs while in your house...if you ask nicely and make them tea/coffee

I bought a new build flat three years ago. Honestly although it is tiny I love it as it is easy to keep clean, well insulated and contrary to popular belief I rarely hear the neighbours. Of course snagging is something you will come across but my experience it is the builder you are dealing with that makes it harder sometimes.

The difference is that many of them are oak frame. New timber buildings are often pine which warps in decades rather than centuries.

Timber frame new builds are standard construction in Scotland and have been for decades. There are entire estates of timber framed houses built in the 70s and 80s, the frames are not warping. The frames are pressure treated to last. Please don’t spin crap if you don’t know what you are talking about.

My first house was a 1920s semi. I hated it it was just a constant faff of maintenance as jobs always needed doing.

Then we bought a 7 year old apartment. I loved it. Once we decorated to our taste there was no work needed and our weekends were our own.

Then came the Victorian terrace. An absolute money pit and it never looked finished. No privacy whatsoever and you could hear the neighbours conversations.

Now we have a 4 bed detached new build. It's lovely very spacious not rabbit hutch like at all and the walls are solid and not paper thin!

I'm old enough to remember new builds in the 1970s that everyone said were rubbish and now everyone is saying buy 1970s properties because they are good solid houses 🙄

Research research research! Two new build estates going up near me, well they're almost finished. One has no end of problems, compensation claims, unfinished roads in areas they should be finished, fixture and fitting problems. It's a total nightmare for the homeowners. The other area has no problems, high standard, residents rave about their homes and are very very happy.

Two building companies, very different outcomes.

it’s not just new houses. A friend of mine lives in an Edwardian semi and the noise of her next door neighbour clacking over wooden floors in her high heels really bothers her, esp. at 6.30 am.

Another friend lives in a 1930s terrace, where the noise of next door’s little boy crashing his toy cars into the skirting boards is a constant irritation to her dh.

If you buy new, you need to check out the builder very carefully. There are still some who don’t do quick and shoddy, but obv. the houses are likely to be more expensive.

I had always lived in older houses until last year. I now live in a new build and bloody love it!!

My combined gas and electric bill is £44 a month - was £160 in previous house (admittedly larger , but not four times larger!!) I never near my neighbours through the walls, which was a problem in a previous Art Deco house.

I loved my Victorian terrace but the damp

Of course there are quality new builds, which will be standing in hundreds of years, but there is a range of quality and many are not great.

If you buy a one-off new build or a very expensive high-end one, it could be solidly built and of high quality.

If you go for a 'help to buy' type house on a large estate, which is targeting those who cannot afford to buy without help to buy, the quality may well not be great. As others have said, the fact the tradesmen who work on these big estates say they wouldn't touch the houses with a barge pole, tells you a lot.

So what are the issues? Some of it is about the funding methods and the knock-on impacts onto quality. So estates which expect to sell large percentages of their new builds through help to buy have something of a captive market - people who cannot buy older houses which don't have help to buy available with them - so they can offer houses with thin walls which cannot hold pictures, or lofts which cannot store stuff, or roads which are too narrow for everyone to park their 2 cars, whilst only providing 1 parking space per property.

New builds on a big estate can be very different from a very small development or a small builder new build. But of course, the majority of new builds are those from the big estates, which is why people think of them, when they think new build.

Pros - warm, low bills, probably less large maintenance bills (like a new roof or boiler)
Common cons - smaller rooms, small gardens, sometimes away from the town/village faciltiies, more likely to be purchased with help to buy. Help to buy might allow you to get the property but you'll probably pay more for it over the long term - less good mortgage rates, fees for remortgaging at the end of the help to buy phase, often prices have dropped in that period or not risen at the rate of older properties especially if on large estates where totally new is still available and commands the premium over the 4-5 year old houses.

In my mind, using help to buy is very much like using a credit scheme to buy a new car. It costs more in the lomg term. And it's often those who can least afford to pay more who use the scheme and lose out.

If you like modern, then why not buy a newish rather than totally new build house? Usually, for the price of a help to buy, a slightly older, but still very modern house could be had, without the downsides of help to buy. Many people who've done help to buy now wish they hadn't had the new house with the 2 ensuites but an older one without and avoided all the re-mortgaging and drop in value of a new-build issues they experienced.

Even without help to buy, look at modern but not totally new build if that's the style you like.

And remember the tradesmen know something....that's why they wouldn't buy the ones on the big estates.

I've lived in new builds all my adult life after leaving university - 2 houses and one apartment. I've lived in our current house for 14-15 years.

Great insulation; great sound proofing from the house attached to us; no structural issues encountered at all. Our bedrooms aren't overly large - well the master room isn't anyway - but big enough for what we need. Living room is big. We did an extension downstairs to avoid moving to a bigger house about 4 years ago so now have a large kitchen with dining area too.

We love it here.