why avoid new builds?

[perplexedandbemused]

DH and I are looking at houses. Over the years I've come to completely disregard new builds based on a feeling/tone from others, without ever actively questioning the opinion against them.

So, I'm questioning it now. Please can someone explain in simple terms why a person might avoid a new build property?

I’ve rented a new build flat and a terraced property and the build quality wasn’t good on either, but the lack of sound insulation was absolutely dire, both in the actual homes and from the neighbours. You could hear absolutely everything which was not pleasant, plus the cooking smells in the flat from downstairs from horrendous.

We ended up buying a 1950s ex-council house and it is solid, good size rooms throughout (no bloody box room nonsense!), and the sound insulation is exactly as it should be.

I can hear my OH plug something in, pee and fart on a different floor when all the doors are closed.

The bricks are literally crumbling away, as is the mortar.

The boiler and water cylinder are crap. The immersion is crap.

It gets FAR too hot. 24 degrees at 9am with thick curtains closed when it is 15 outside and quite windy.

Every single piece of hardware without exception needs replacing (3 bathrooms, 3 kitchen sinks).

The windows all need replacing as they rattle like Billy-o. And bits of plastic come off in your hands when you try to open them or even just wash them with a sponge.

Plus many, many more. This is a 12 yo self build new build (we didn’t build it!).

In our old new build flat, however, exactly the same applied to hardware but there were no noise issues nor any of the rest. It was a very solid building. Had to have a wall hacked out due to someone missing a key component that caused damp under one window out of three, but that got fixed. Never heard a peep from a single neighbour (top floor).

That was ten years old when we rented it.

Reasons to be wary: unadopted roads, leasehold scams, clauses saying you cannot make any changes for 5 years, being built on flood plains and causing flooding themselves. Builders going bust and warranties being useless. NHBC warranties are apparently not all that good. Also more and more houses going up around you or other works (ours was a 6 year project for a 10 metre wide tunnel being bored in the field next to us - the OH could not sleep).

It would have to be the best of all builders for me to consider one.

Helps to know how and what they are built from. There is a new terrace from a small house builder that I know of and the party walls are not even brick. It's stud and plaster. Now that might not bother some people, but it could very well impact upon your life there. I've seen some nice new builds, so it's not all bad. But many aren't built to last. Not that I believe that property should last forever. I remember hearing that the new complexes/flats on the Clyde only had a lifespan of 50 years before the parts and services would need replacing. You might be long gone by then so perhaps not so much an issue. But it's all a consideration. You can do new builds well, and also very badly.

People want different things, so it's hard to say. Small rooms are ok if you don't have children or they've grown.

One of the big issues for a lot of buyers is the new build craze of adding annual "estate maintenance" fees to the developments. This makes a lot of folk baulk at the prospect of paying that - plus council tax.
Fortunately they aren't all "fleeceholds" so try to avoid those. Fees may not be onerous at the beginning but have the potential to become so - making the property harder to sell and choking off capital appreciation.

It totally depends on the development. Some are lovely and tastefully done. Some are sprawling and miles from anything decent to walk to.
There is a snobbishness people have with new builds - but my gran remembers people being the same about 60s new builds.
Quality is often an issue but, again, not all.
I don't get the 'over looked gardens' thing. I live in a Victorian terrace and our gardens are obviously overlooked as we're in a terrace but those sorts of comments are never made about Victorian terraces.

Oh! And the no space for cars things also doesn't make sense to me. Similarly, just drive around Bristol Victorian terrace housing stock. There is zero room for car parking....but these houses are seen as desirable.
They'll probably be seen as practical family homes in 20 or so years but it might take a while for the snobbish stigma to be dropped

I think flats tend to be of much better building quality than houses. I stayed in a new build apartment for a holiday a few years ago and it was really well built and spacious. Never heard the neighbours once (and there were some as met a few in the lift).

They tend to not have much storage space in the bedrooms or room for much free standing furniture.

Too many bathrooms - more cleaning to do.

Also there's never much parking allocated for visitors in the developments. Only a driveway for the family who owns the property. Not for their visitors!

Yes I lived in a 1930s semi-detached. Absolutely no insulation at all between houses so you could hear everything.
Lovely big garden though and nice wide front street.

So true.

New builds are just knocked up very fast purely for profit, not for good quality housing. The developers couldn't care less!

We downsized from a six bed Victorian terrace (30+ years) to a three bed semi new build. Major adjustments were needed in terms of space and we had to get rid of so much furniture, but it’s been a good move that we don’t regret.

We knew our developer had a great reputation for build quality- this is key. We have been very happy with build quality including materials used. People wax lyrical about older houses being built to last but they only survive because people have improved and maintained them. Our previous house had been neglected for many years and it took a lot of work to bring it back to a liveable standard. We’re confident this house will see us out, and then some.

Poor build quality.

Disproportionate space. Loads of bedrooms and toilets, hardly any family living space, usually a kitchen/diner and lounge only.

Follow the social media account of new build snag finders. People who have bought new builds pay these professionals money to inspect their newly build home and point out issues for the builders to rectify.
It's not just flooring expansion gaps, it's drainage course blocked with cement, entire brick walls out of plumb, dodgy wiring, dangerous nails at toddler eye level.

The quality of materials and workmanship is awful. Genuinely awful.

They are generally priced about 20% higher than non new-builds, even taking account of all the "incentives" they offer.

Oh , and on the estates near me the builders have connected the rainwater system to the sewers so when it rains people get sewage in their garden or their kitchen. This is not an isolated issue.

Depends on which developer, different developers build to a diff standard with a diff target market. I think the avoidance for new build is primarily focused on the cheaper end of the market. Higher end new builds still have decent yard, decent parking, more eco friendly (esp compared to 90s 00s builds)

Variable build quality, small rooms with low ceilings (I've lived the vast majority of my life in one sort of period property or another), ridiculous ratio of bathrooms to rooms (losing floor and storage space), usually on the sort of estate that has poor access to any facilities that I want/ need so I would have to drive everywhere, snagging issues which negates the point of buying a new build in the first place.

Obviously, there new builds that aren't like this, but these are all reasons I wouldn't take a punt on one.

This is a really individual thing- my favourite 2 rented houses we have lived in (and we've lived in lots) were a 2005 new build 5 bed 3 storey semi in a posh bit of Oxford - one of only 4 - not on an estate

And our current one an 1895 4 bed semi cottage built in Bath stone but really well renovated with a beautiful garden and a house and home type interior.

I've been in a lovely 4 bed new build detached on a very small development in a convenient part of a town that was drop dead gorgeous and a 3 bed detached that was 4 years old on a large estate and was dropping to bits

There is a huge range of prices and therefore a huge range of quality, and yet somehow it all gets swept up into the same generalisation and new-build snobbery.

We have a spacious new build from a smaller premium builder that cost about £3,500 per square meter. It’s incredibly well insulated both for heat and for noise, has high ceilings, and has more built in storage than we could possibly need. We’re in a 1/3 acre, with a double garage and parking for 3 cars on the drive, with additional shared guest parking. We also have great views.

By contrast, at the other end of the estate the (perfectly nice) Taylor Wimpy homes are targeting a different demographic. They are much smaller (even though technically the same number of bedrooms), and smaller plots. They are also significantly cheaper both in absolute cost and cost per square meter (about £2,000 per square meter).

Moved into a new build in November and whilst the quality isn’t the best (fairly big builder) it’s annoying stuff like bad paint and rushed jobs nothing big thankfully. The finish e.g bathrooms
tiles etc not the best either BUT we knew we’d pay a premium as it was new build & buying older i’d just inherit previous owners issues and decor to change at some point.

the rooms are bigger and brighter and overall layout is better (despite moving from
a 5 bed to a 4 bed) rooms are a decent size but we do lack storage. Garden is smaller but not as boggy / marshy as grass in our old one and we are over looked but we bought at the end of the development, got a good deal & it was 100% the right move.

my husband was against new builds and whilst we haven’t had no issues we haven’t had big ones. Lovely neighbours, kids can get out to play - no regrets whatsoever on my part but it was me who had the preference for a new build. Hated our old house we spent 15 years in &
was desperate to move and he came round to the compromise of a new build & he also has no regrets.

lots of valid reasons mentioned on here why people don’t like them but also good experiences and i would say don’t discount them without looking for yourself. You’ll know if they are for you or not when you’ve seen some. If you agree with the negatives then discount them & if you like what you see then one could be for you but only you can decide what to avoid when looking. I lookedat a few sites before choosing our house and i am so glad we did - snagging and all!

You pay a premium for shoddy building standards.

We bought a new build off plan 25 yrs ago after living in a 200yr old cottage for the 18yrs before that.

Low bills, minimal upkeep, driveways, garage, large rooms, plenty of storage, no noise, and, 25 yrs on, outside is green and beautiful. Schools and shops within walking distance. What's not to like.

We've just upgraded the kitchen but nothing else needs doing other than the usual decorating.

It's been perfect for bringing up children, easy & relatively cheap. There's nothing wrong with a new build if it's the right one for you.

I lived in a beautiful detached Victorian villa . I spent a fortune sorting out damp problems,drains, poor wiring and central heating problems. But the house was lovely.
We moved to a new build 10 years ago. It’s much more comfortable to live in and we can actually afford to heat it properly. It’s easy to keep clean. I have loads and loads more storage space. All the rooms in this house are bigger than they were in the older house, and I don’t have to cope with coombed ceilings upstairs. There are enough bathrooms to avoid queues!
So it depends on the house. There are awful old houses and awful new ones . I find living in my new house so much easier and more comfortable than the old one. It was prettier - but I wouldn’t go back .

I have lived in both - and it completely depends on the estate/area/builder etc.

reasons for me to dislike - smaller gardens and overlooked, snagging does take forever! Little scope to make it your own, they use a template but that’s probably because it’s what people want! Size of estate matters, no one wants to have 200 cars all trying to get out the one street at the same time.

reasons for me to prefer - love the brightness, character too often means tiny windows and heavy dark beams, I love the sun shining in!
well insulated, no worries re damp etc. often designed with family living in mind - open plan etc. no need to take on project.