Newbuild or older house

[Thedreamer28]

We are in a dilemma here. So we are FTB and looking to buy a 4 bed house. We have 3 children. Kids are in Y7, Y5 and nursery.
There is a newbuild development for affordable homes but we just found out about the estate management fees and they can rise and we have read some horror stories.

in Sheffield where we live it seems that everyone outbids eachother and there are bidding wars.

we really want to get on the housing ladder but not want to be tied into a newbuild with fees that are uncapped.

We are looking for older houses too but are worried that we may not find what we are looking for. Affordable 4 beds in a decent area are few. Whereas the newbuild is not in a great area but they are putting money into the area but there is a 4 bed there. With no bidding and we can move in but we will have to take the risk of these estate management fees going up and unexpected costs etc.
There are so many horror stories about these fees and homeowners are struggling with costs now even when they are freeholders and have no rights.

not sure what to do. Should we wait and keep trying on older houses.

I would keep trying for older houses. New builds tend not to represent the best value for money and in particular when they are "not in a great area" and the uncapped fees sounds like a red flag.

Agree that you pay a premium for a new build and there is often less scope to add any value. Apart from management fees you may also wait some time for landscaping etc to be completed and be living on a building site until the development is finished

I've never bought a new build but these factors plus horror stories of difficulty getting snagging works done put me off.

Sheffield has a good stock of 1930s semis and they're fantastic. Reasonably priced in many areas and much better value for money than new builds. Which areas are you looking at?

My husband is a bricklayer of 35 years experience, he would never buy a new build especially in this current climate. New house are being thrown up, roads not finished etc. I would buy older houses everytime, good luck in your house hunt

The uncapped fees would give me pause - we were fortunate that when we bought our new build (12 years ago) it was one of the last in the area that didn't have management fees.
Pros of new builds are that they are more economical, will have better heating & insulation; more modern features & layouts - unless older houses have been renovated.
In terms of new builds retaining value - completely depends on the builder, house style, location & market. Our house has increased a lot in value since we bought it & is still worth more than most similar size/style older properties.
There is definitely something to be said for being able to move straight into a newly finished house. In 12 years we've not had to do any renovations, just regular maintenance & DIY.

Yep older house 🏡 👍🏻

@Norhymeorreason we are open to most areas. But don't want to move far out past mosborough.

Ou worry is that my DS is in Y5 now. Don't want to have to unsettle him when he's doing his SATs next year. If we go for the newbuild we won't need to move schools. N we will have the 4 bed we need.

but we are worried about the management fees going up too.

what if we can't find an older house?

Older house, no contest.

We were forced to buy a new build as it was the only way we'd get onto the property ladder and, whilst it's actually pretty well designed for a new build in terms of internal space, I still loathe them. I dream of a 50s semi 😭

OP, re development management fees I will say that ours have only gone up about £25 over the three years we've been living here.

We moved from a 1926 house to a 2007 house, so not new but much newer than the old one. its quite a large five bedroom house so was definitely not sold as a “budget” property when built. A small five house development, not a big one with a major builder.

anyway I could have written a book about the shoddy workmanship seen. Literally none of the windows are properly straight, the doors are all slightly wonky, some radiator pipework had to be replaced, toilets really badly installed. None of which you’d notice if you just had a look round the house.

our old house sure had its problems but they were all quite obvious. Didn’t like the location but the house itself was fabulous.

Is it the management fees that are uncapped? That’s unusual as normally they can only increase by a percentage each year. My last 3 houses have been newbuilds in the northwest. If you buy early and negotiate, once the site is finished you find the value increases. From your post it seems newbuild wouldn’t be right for you but just adding another perspective.

Positives of a newbuild estate is that there often are lots of young families so lots of kids playing out which is quite nice. There is also parking normally for 2 cars per house which you don’t always get with older houses. You also have a guarantee of everything being new so the boiler is less likely to suddenly go etc.

That said though there’s lots of extras that soon add up if they aren’t included, flooring, integrated appliances and turf in the garden are a must so make sure you get them to include them (they are much more open to negotiations in the current climate).

We bought a new build 2.5 years ago. Love it. No problems. Minor snags dealt with efficiently. Yes we pay an annual fee but any new builds do now as the council's don't necessarily want to adopt the roads.

House is well insulated, new boiler etc etc so less things to go wrong.

There is also parking normally for 2 cars per house which you don’t always get with older houses.

literally the opposite is the case round here. Older houses have proper drives. Newer houses have either one space or a garage plus space - with zero proper storage in the new builds people have to use the garages as storerooms so the cars are in the spaces and the 2nd cars are in the road. I had a look round a new development and we shocked how much it resembled a car park. Kids playing between the cars etc. Depressing.

I would say to really look at the area if it’s a new build. You can change almost everything about a house apart from plot size and location. A lot of them (the Waverley estate near Handsworth/Catcliffe springs to mind) are at some distance from amenities so you have to get in the car for everything - no small shops within an easy walk.

They don’t always have enough school places locally (eg living on the Waverley estate isn’t enough to have confidence you’ll get into the primary there), or medical facilities. Building on site, including on promised “green” areas, may continue for years after you move in. A lot don’t really have pavements, which isn’t ideal if you like to walk/kids like to scoot.

The houses can be well-proportioned - my relative lives in a lovely 5 bed with decent room sizes and a good layout - but they’re also very overlooked. And there are often lots of other families so other kids to play with nearby.

In contrast, older properties in Sheffield, in my experience, tend to be walkable to shops and have pavements nearby.

What sort of areas are you looking at?

I never get the hate for new builds, having bought two new and 3 older properties. I've probably been lucky, and think it's important to stick to builders with good or at least mixed reputations. Stay away from the more notoriously shoddy builders.

I've found my older properties (60s, 30s and 1900s builds) to be absolute moneypits every time. Even one which was "renovated" had been done on the cheap and was crumbling underneath. I've had endless problems with them all and the money spent on renovations and upkeep eclipses site fees for new builds.

New builds will have better soundproofing, insulation, solar panels, up to date electrics, new boilers, and depending on spec lots of other perks. Much cheaper to run generally. These building standards are now mandatory so wouldn't have been the case 10-15 years ago, perhaps explaining where the bad reps come from a time when builders could do what they want.

@CatStoleMyChocolate We are open to most areas. We are pretty central. Don't want to go too far out past mosborough. Might look at brinsworth area too.

im really nervous about getting this newbuild and then having to pay estate fees and they spiral out of control! They are written in the deeds!

the newbuild has more positives in that we don't have to move schools, shops nearby and can get into work easily. Plus it's a newbuild with guarantee etc. no bidding wars etc. With an older house I feel like we will get outbid.

im loathe to pay this estate fees. I'm worried about getting into this and then finding that the fees go out of control n we have to pay.

we looked at an older house in brinsworth area and there were 12 people looking at it so I don't we will get that one.

What does it exactly say about the estate fees? As a PP says it's usually a set percentage increase.

I do agree that uncapped management fees would be a big turn off.

what I will say in newbuild’s favour is that they are MUCH better insulated. And for the space given will be much cheaper to run. They’re rarely cold, even with next to no heating on.

My last new build the estate fees went up in ten years from £10 a month to £12. Hardly anything to worry about. My new house is £30 a month.

Can you go for an older three bed house and have two of the kids sharing?

@Flensburg unfortunately my DD have a big age gap. My eldest needs her own space as she is in secondary and often gets disturbed in the night by my 4 year old. N she's also driving her crazy coz she will go through her makeup and things.

she has to come out while we out the youngest to sleep and then go in after to sleep.

we have looked at bigger 3 beds but rooms aren't big enough to divide.

we wouldn't be able to renovate much either.

@Clearinguptheclutter They are written in the deeds and they usually go up with the national price index and heavily reliant on inflation.