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.

We're in a new build. 18 months on and I love it. Four bed detached. Warm. Lower bills. Hardly any snagging issues which were sorted over the first year. Large garden (that we never use! ) Never hear the neighbours (and there were twin babies born 6 months ago - not heard a peep)
Massive garage with space for two cars side by side. Quiet cul-de-sac but 2 minute walk to the local shop. I love our kitchen that fits in a table so we can all sit in it. I love the en-suite and my walk in wardrobe. And the kids both have a double bedroom each. We COULD have had more space for our money, but a part -exchange came up and we jumped at it. We got off-plan so I chose the spot I wanted, then the kitchen to my spec. I had an external company fit the flooring to my taste (and for much less) Lots of people knock it, when they haven't tried it, they've just read some sob story in the Daily Fail. Well its true that some builders are terrible, and some homes are poky with thin walls, but ours have been fine.

@sugarbum Perhaps name the builder then as I'm sure they will get loads of business. Unfortunately friends of mine who went new build have not been anywhere near as lucky as you so is nice to hear

@marieG10 well its Barratt homes, but I can't vouch for them everywhere - only the branch that worked on the specific phase of the site that I live on. There are so many factors involved that impact on the whole process. For instance the contractors that they hire to do the actual jobs required. Some of them will be shit. Some amazing. Most I imagine somewhere in the middle. And the site managers involved - we had a crap one initially who took ages to sort things out, then he was followed a great one who clearly had a tick list and was working as hard as she possibly could to get through it. There were hiccups, but its the overall picture and the satisfaction that we get in our new home that we love that is important.
For instance, we had a crap sales team (the turnover was so high no one ever really knew what was what) who failed to mention (probably because they didn't realise themselves) that the house we had bought off plan would be a different colour brick from the show home (also on site) Our house is red brick not beige as we expected. Which is quite a significant omission. I didn't know until I was allowed to visit it. I like it now and I'm happy with the colour, but I was pretty pissed off for a while because even though its exactly the same structure, it looks quite different.
I am impressed with overall design so far of the new estate that I live on. And I'm impressed by how quickly customer services deal with the odd problems that we have had (we managed to find a direct contact and she's been bloody great)

Wouldn't touch a new build. Apart from them being uninspirational, characterless and cheap (quality wise) the NHBC isn't worth the paper it's written on. A quick google of new build nightmares will give you plenty to go on. BIL spent £1.1m on a new build. Over 150 items on the snagging list, which took nearly 2 years to sort out, plus a whole load of stress and antidepressants for his wife. All the Nopes.