New build phases and plot deciding

[ihatedoingwork]

which was the deciding factor to select plot in new build estate ? any compromises you had to make ? The plot I am interested will not be released for couple of years ?

For us is was South West facing garden was a non negotiatiable, other than that we didn't really have much choice

@QforCucumber

For us is was South West facing garden was a non negotiatiable, other than that we didn't really have much choice

South west facing gardens are too close to the busy road and are big gardens but we will be selling the house in 10 years time and move to countryside . whilst children are young , countryside does not seem to be practical for us for another decade. South west garden is desirable but there are so many developers are building by this road and I assume road will be getting busier and busier.

I thought selecting plot would be easy and fun but tbh it's stressful

To be honest we had must haves and desirable. Most important to us was the parking at the plot, I wanted it side by side, and a south facing garden. Only thing I can recommend is sell your current home, as then builders tend to take you more seriously. We had to move in with family with long commutes to work but was worth it to wait for our dream plot which was released 9 months later. As it happens we got it all and compromised by having a south east garden as that plot had everything else including open land in front and side so we didn't feel penned in.

If it was a new build I'd want to be at the end of the road, so not near the main road/junctions.

Garden orientation would also be important but not as important as the road.

See if you can get an idea of where bus stops are going to be too. Also think about footpaths - there's a street near us where a new footpath was built to replace the old one as part of the development and they have very little privacy, it's better now that the planting has taken hold and people are used to the development, but at the beginning people stared in on the way past.

@Thatsveryniceofyou

To be honest we had must haves and desirable. Most important to us was the parking at the plot, I wanted it side by side, and a south facing garden. Only thing I can recommend is sell your current home, as then builders tend to take you more seriously. We had to move in with family with long commutes to work but was worth it to wait for our dream plot which was released 9 months later. As it happens we got it all and compromised by having a south east garden as that plot had everything else including open land in front and side so we didn't feel penned in.

we have already sold and living in rental. we put our house on sale as we were worried about falling house prices after Covid but opposite happened. Some days i feel so bad about making that decision as we felt priced out for few months but luckily dh has got big promotion so we can apparently get what will suit us for another decade .

Plots with big front garden and more privacy from other neighbours drives are north east facing.

@NoYOUbekind

If it was a new build I'd want to be at the end of the road, so not near the main road/junctions.

Garden orientation would also be important but not as important as the road.

See if you can get an idea of where bus stops are going to be too. Also think about footpaths - there's a street near us where a new footpath was built to replace the old one as part of the development and they have very little privacy, it's better now that the planting has taken hold and people are used to the development, but at the beginning people stared in on the way past.

Thats good point about pathways as developers don't mention anything about them . I lived previously close to main road and i hated the noise when someone treated empty road as racing road midnight .

But plots far from road are quite expensive

I drove the housing association mad as I kept changing my mind about which plot I wanted. Fortunately the one I settled on worked out brilliantly.

If some types are ‘mirror images’ of others, really think about which way would seem right to you.

Also look at/ask about the sloping of the land. Half of the houses on our estate have big steps up to the front doors, others are level (by beautiful coincidence we got a flat access one - 7 years before DD who uses a wheelchair came along)

Next door (which I was down for at one point) has loads of ‘man notes’ in the garden we managed to avoid too.

Parking, access, outlook, surrounding houses and garden (size and direction), in that order.

We are end of cul de sac so don't have pedestrians walking past, but not so far into the estate that we have to travel through a rabbit warren to get to it. Mostly we studied the driveways really carefully to work out which was easiest to get to and have more parking, we can easily park at least 2 more cars "unofficially"

Also look at the proximity of the houses and what windows overlook the garden.

@user89764

Parking, access, outlook, surrounding houses and garden (size and direction), in that order.

We are end of cul de sac so don't have pedestrians walking past, but not so far into the estate that we have to travel through a rabbit warren to get to it. Mostly we studied the driveways really carefully to work out which was easiest to get to and have more parking, we can easily park at least 2 more cars "unofficially"

Also look at the proximity of the houses and what windows overlook the garden.

thats very useful. Getting access I did not think about

@Etihad

I drove the housing association mad as I kept changing my mind about which plot I wanted. Fortunately the one I settled on worked out brilliantly.

If some types are ‘mirror images’ of others, really think about which way would seem right to you.

Also look at/ask about the sloping of the land. Half of the houses on our estate have big steps up to the front doors, others are level (by beautiful coincidence we got a flat access one - 7 years before DD who uses a wheelchair came along)

Next door (which I was down for at one point) has loads of ‘man notes’ in the garden we managed to avoid too.

land is sloped but i ll get more details

How long are you prepared live in rental and to wait for a new house? Releasing plot in a few years and then it will need building - another few years sounds mad to me - and then you are moving to the countryside after that anyway?

New builds lose money in the short term - it sounds like you are going to be out of pocket significantly by making x3 bad decisions:

1. Selling up and being out of the housing market for years when the market is rising.
2. Paying rent for years
3. Selling on a new build after a few years

Also additional and unnecessary losses of fees and stamp duty for extra house moves. Why not move to the country now?

Don't dismiss a NE facing garden. I was very unhappy about buying our house as it has a NE garden but we had no choice. I've actually been really happy with it. At this time of year we have sun on it from first thing until about 6pm and it is a short, small garden. Our neighbours over the road are complaining that their gardens and house are too hot. I would buy a house with a NE garden again and regret rejecting some fabulous houses in the past because of the orientation of the garden.

@BarberQueue

Don't dismiss a NE facing garden. I was very unhappy about buying our house as it has a NE garden but we had no choice. I've actually been really happy with it. At this time of year we have sun on it from first thing until about 6pm and it is a short, small garden. Our neighbours over the road are complaining that their gardens and house are too hot. I would buy a house with a NE garden again and regret rejecting some fabulous houses in the past because of the orientation of the garden.

plot we are looking having north east garden and its around 40 ft long and 35 wide. i am not into sunbathing but i want to grow veg . hopefully will be fine with greenhouse

No footpath next to the house was an necessity for us and not near the park. We weren’t that bothered which way the garden faced so we found a suitable plot with not too much footfall

Neighbour’s parking spaces.

I spent time analysing the neighbouring roads and which ones were slightly short on parking (given no one parks in their garage), whether the spaces were side by side or not, or where there were flats with 1-bed flats only having one parking space, how many visitor spaces, and therefore which roads would be chaotic.

I wouldn’t wait months for the exact right phase though unless it was a massive difference- eg near a very busy road.

I didn’t buy new in the end, bought a 3 year old one on an estate that was being finished still. I’d recommend that too. Can see what you are buying,

See, a north east facing garden would be a big fat no from me. A real red line🤷‍♀️ I’m no sunbather either. Just can’t bear the gloom.

@Ihavenoideawhatmyusernameis

No footpath next to the house was an necessity for us and not near the park. We weren’t that bothered which way the garden faced so we found a suitable plot with not too much footfall

what worries you about footpaths ? All the plots with green views got footpaths in front of them

With the summer heat I realised south facing garden is not so critical after all. I'm usually seeking shade

@HappyDaysToCome

Neighbour’s parking spaces.

I spent time analysing the neighbouring roads and which ones were slightly short on parking (given no one parks in their garage), whether the spaces were side by side or not, or where there were flats with 1-bed flats only having one parking space, how many visitor spaces, and therefore which roads would be chaotic.

I wouldn’t wait months for the exact right phase though unless it was a massive difference- eg near a very busy road.

I didn’t buy new in the end, bought a 3 year old one on an estate that was being finished still. I’d recommend that too. Can see what you are buying,

Parking is concern in new build estates. Like you said no one parks in the garage , so all the plots got two parking spaces. I heard council want developer to create less parking spaces in order to be eco friendly and encourage cycling etc , dont know whether its the truth.

Yes, a south facing garden is also not at all good. Burning in the daytime and no evening sun. No light from the front of the house.

South west or west is perfect for aback garden . Morning sun at the front of the house, afternoon and evening in the garden. Makes a house lovely and light all year round. Not something I’d compromise on quickly.

We bought off plan in phase 1,we had to sell and move into rented, was a nightmare!
House had many faults when we moved in and took ages to rectify.
We bought our house £60,000 cheaper than the same property in phase 3, 3 years later so suppose it was all worth it (have made around £140,000 profit in 4 years)
We are not overlooked and have complete privacy in our South facing garden,this and parking were a must have when we were looking,as mentioned,check the gradient on your garden as this and be misleading on a flat plan.

@Rebelmcstreettuff

We bought off plan in phase 1,we had to sell and move into rented, was a nightmare! House had many faults when we moved in and took ages to rectify. We bought our house £60,000 cheaper than the same property in phase 3, 3 years later so suppose it was all worth it (have made around £140,000 profit in 4 years) We are not overlooked and have complete privacy in our South facing garden,this and parking were a must have when we were looking,as mentioned,check the gradient on your garden as this and be misleading on a flat plan.

Phase 1 houses that we would like to buy are too close to main road but does have south west garden and massive garden . Houses at back of development which will be released in phase 3 or 4 have north east small garden but away from road .

its hard . i have to compromise but no clue

Just to warn you if you're talking years prices are likely to go up dramatically, the site we bought on has been building for 3 years, the house style we bought last year (before the market went crazy) was £60,000 cheaper on the first release, and now 3 years later they are selling for £100,000 more than the first (about 25% more than the original price), exact same style (granted the last year has probably exasperated that slightly). They increase the prices with each release and even up the prices of the ones that sit unsold!

@Sssloou

How long are you prepared live in rental and to wait for a new house? Releasing plot in a few years and then it will need building - another few years sounds mad to me - and then you are moving to the countryside after that anyway?

New builds lose money in the short term - it sounds like you are going to be out of pocket significantly by making x3 bad decisions:

1. Selling up and being out of the housing market for years when the market is rising.
2. Paying rent for years
3. Selling on a new build after a few years

Also additional and unnecessary losses of fees and stamp duty for extra house moves. Why not move to the country now?

Thats what I am feared too. Its all about school catchment too . New build estate has hood school catchment . we looked at few countryside properties which can be forever but children schooling and extra clubs will be hard and some villages dont have secondary schools. My younger is 2 so overall is minimum 15 years or so. Sorry should have written 15 than 10.

Regarding phases you are quite right . i should not wait and grab what is available, makes sense

@user89764

Just to warn you if you're talking years prices are likely to go up dramatically, the site we bought on has been building for 3 years, the house style we bought last year (before the market went crazy) was £60,000 cheaper on the first release, and now 3 years later they are selling for £100,000 more than the first (about 25% more than the original price), exact same style (granted the last year has probably exasperated that slightly). They increase the prices with each release and even up the prices of the ones that sit unsold!

So looks like no point of waiting , The way market is going its risky to wait i understand. I am getting more keen to buy now