New build vs older house in this situation?

[itsahousedilemma]

As we all know house prices are very high and interest rates are crippling, the best deal we can get as first time buyers is circa 5% (nearly 6% for 2 years!!)

We earn in the region of 55-60k combined depending on commission/overtime and this will hopefully rise in the next ten years possibly up to 75k. Our current MIP covers up to 220k as well as deposit.

It is very unusual to see a house of any size go up for less than 200k within the 20 mile radius we are looking within. If the occasional one pops up under this amount, it is either in need of major renovation works or maintained to a very average standard but within an extremely rough area.

We have busy jobs and lives and would like to move in and not have work that we have to do. Today we viewed a house in a good area that was suspiciously cheap at 195 but soon found out why, when we went upstairs the carpet was peeling, cracks in the walls and windows had come away from the frame!

DP wonders if we should just bite the bullet and max out our budget on a new build home and have the peace of mind that comes with NHBC and knowing everything is brand new with no hidden costs. They’re building 15 miles away but we’d be far away from family and it would be inconvenient for work.

Or… we can afford the lovely new builds round here, near parents and in a great area for schools, a 3 bed which we may never need to move from. The massive catch is that we would need to do shared ownership to afford a new house around here so would be wasting some money on rent each month. I am thinking we could always buy more shares and it might just be what we need for security, safe location and knowing we are building equity. Very much doubt prices would ever go down here as the town we are in is basically a suburb of one of the UK’s biggest cities.

Thoughts?

There will be extra costs with a new home

You will probably need to pay extra for furnishings that don't fit
Sorting out any garden
Extras - you probably want something nicer than the basic kitchen
And depending on the builder getting things fixed can be a nightmare

Probably less than an older house

New builds generally need decorating unless you a) buy the show home or b) like magnolia or whatever they paint them , you also often have to do lots with the gardens . So they are not necessarily worth the splurge . What would the max budget get you that’s not a new build . 15 miles isn’t actually that far so maybe you should expand your search area .

I’ve always preferred newer builds but I know not to everyone’s taste. The thing to factor in with new builds is the added costs for example having to pay for turfing, carpeting, curtain poles/blinds etc which are often excluded from new builds - all the little extras will add up plus you will always pay a premium price for a new build.

personally if it was a choice between being able to purchase (with mortgage) a house outright that was a little older or buy a new build but have to do shared ownership then I’d probably go with the older house.

depends how much work you’d need to do and whether you’re happy to do some of the work yourselves to keep costs low or if you’d need to pay to get trades in.

Maybe have a look again at the new builds that are a bit further out and work out what extra commute time this would take up.

Are there here any newer houses that aren’t new build that are local to you? we’ve recently moved house and bought a house much newer than our 1970’s house that needed a lot of upkeep into a house that’s much newer but not brand new - worked out much better for us as we had looked at a new build but a smaller house was minimum £30-£40k more than what we have now moved into.

good luck with your house search

New builds on unadopted roads/in private estates can come with hefty service charges or expensive maintenance obligations. They are generally not as well built as older houses.

Oh yes I agree with the point @Lovestodrinkmilk makes. Some friends of ours were recently going to buy a new build until they discovered that the driveway that led to 3 houses including the one they were buying was unadopted and there was no clarification on whose responsibility the shared areas (grassed areas and borders) was so they decided to pull out of the sale.

I’d possibly go for the new build 15 miles away if you can buy one without having to do part rent/part buy.
I am living in my third new build so am biased. The energy bills are so low as are maintenance costs.
Have you checked out two bedroom apartments in your preferred location?

New builds may not be problem free.
I’d take a quality older house with a bit of work needed any day.
carpet was peeling, cracks in the walls and windows had come away from the frame!
Carpets I’d expect to replace anyway, I’d always be painting to our tastes so a bit of polyfilla & paint is not a deal breaker, do you have a picture of the window frame? Do you mean the frame is warped and needs replacing? Are they wooden?

I moved into a new build 3 years ago, having never done so before.

The cons were: I have had to spend quite a bit on the garden and on carpets/ curtain poles etc.

Pros are: it was fully painted throughout (off-white - I have no problem with that); it is a great design; fully equipped in every possible way; fibre to the property; well-insulated (both sound and heat); efficient boiler.

I am pleased with it - I have bought peace of mind. All my previous properties were old (one several hundred years) and not having to worry about continual repairs and maintenance is brilliant.

It is on a decent group of 7 properties with good large gardens, lovely views, plenty of space and lots of privacy. I do not have a garage, but plenty of private parking space.

New houses on large estates can be harder to sell. People pay a premium for it being brand new and when people sell up a few years later there’s a lot of supply.

I, personally, like “ugly” houses for their potential. Detached bungalows are a great example. Large rooms, nice garden, often well looked after and much loved, perfectly good enough to move into without doing any work. The reality is though that you would update it but nothing is urgent.

Most people looking for bungalows are downsizers and older - they don’t want fixer uppers - but younger people are a bit anti bungalow. I just bought one for my mother in law, did it up prior to her moving in, and three estate agents have valued it between £80-£100k more than we have spent on it.

It’s also suitable to turn into a dormer bungalow so we could either do that in the future or just get planning for it before selling.

Location is EVERYTHING for ugly houses though. Have a revisit of anything you have discounted previously that is in the right area. Even an 80s “box”.