New build dilemma

[Adventureplease]

Hoping for some advice.
We are due to complete on a new build property very soon.
It is an eco house on a small estate in a desirable location. The houses seem to be built to a high standard compared to most new builds.
We feel that we got the house for a very good price as it is one of the last houses on the estate to sell and they are keen to move on.

Our concern is the estate management fees. At the moment they are acceptable to us and we have been assured that the management company will be run by the owners of the houses to avoid extortionate rate raises. However, the road and drainage system is also the responsibility of the management company and there do not seem to be any guarantees or insurance on the construction work.
Would this put you off?
There is so very little around at the moment and we want to move forward but we have read a lot of horror stories online about estate fees and now are worried that we are making a mistake.
Any advice welcome!

I don’t know if this helps but the following is our experience.

I live on a new build estate (it’s six years old now) and we pay fees to the management company, part of which goes into a sink fund for road repairs. There haven’t been any issues with the roads so far.

When you say drainage system do you mean the drains pipe work or a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDs) and what part will be the responsibility of the Management Company?

SUDs only deal with storm water. On our estate pipe work takes the water into a series of natural ponds that removes storm water away from the estate. We do get a bit of a rebate on our water charges as the water company are not dealing with storm water.

The issue we have is that the ponds sit outside the estate boundary so not part of the management company, but on land still owned by the developer and which they have to maintain for twelve years.

I would have thought responsibility for other drainage pipework itself would be like normal ie inside the property boundary owner’s responsibility. Outside the boundary the water companies, If I remember correctly our water company did have to be satisfied about the standard of work before they took over responsibility for their part of the system.

The fees themselves do go up every year but not by huge amounts and sometimes we have even had refunds. We paid around £300 this year.

Thank you for your reply, it is helpful!
We have never bought a new build before, I’m worried that we are over thinking this but also do not want to make a mistake.

This is our third new build although the previous two were built before the management company model became the norm.

Certainly in our area if you buy a new build there is no other option as the LAs don’t want the extra expenditure of maintaining the roads.

As a resident’s management company at least you as residents have control over it.

Our current house is one of the big developers who often get slated re quality. However, we have had no issues.

Your builder from what you say sounds good. I presume there are reviews online of their work on other estates and how residents feel about them. That might reassure you?

Personally I would never agree to this, although most people are being fleeced now. I don't know how safe you are but research a bit more.

https://www.homeownersrights.net

We are on a new estate with a service charge which is through the housing association but it's also run by a management committee so it's confusing who does what. But as we are shared ownership we have to pay the service charge of around £30 p/m to the housing association. We haven't had any issues so far but have noticed the cost has increased more this year than previously..along with our rent.

Thank you for the replies. They are appreciated!
Having researched a bit into it, I think I could be reasonably happy if they can provide proof that roads and drains are done to an adoptable standard and if they provide assurances that home owners can replace any maintenance company that they feel is taking the piss.
Does that sound sensible and fair?
I do feel that that the whole thing is wrong and the council should adopt the road and drains but it does seem to be standard right now and our options are incredibly limited due to lack of housing stock in the area.
Also, I feel it is relevant that after lengthy negotiations we managed to negotiate 100k off the asking price so feel that that should be taken into account when considering the risk factor. We could never achieve this with a private seller at the moment.

I do totally agree that councils should still be responsible for roads etc, but as you say there’s not always that choice.

Your way forward sounds fine.

Yes that sounds very sensible. In fact it's made me wonder whether our management committee has done the same.
Absolutely agree that due to such housing shortage, these new-build estates are set up in a very unfair way as it means the councils can just wash their hands of maintenance. All we get is the bins emptied. Not sure about drains and pipes as hopefully that's covered on the insurance we pay to the housing association.
Good luck with it all

I'd be very wary of any house that locked me into ongoing costs that were not in my individual control.
In Ye Olde Days councils would wait a few years to adopt roads to be sure there were no problems left by the builders, which seems fair and sensible. Which is exactly why I'd wait until the council adopted the roads before buying a house.