Ex-Show Home

[EagerHouseMover]

Hi,
Has anyone ever bought/lived in an ex-show home property (on a new build estate)?

Just wondering what the pros and cons are please.
The house itself looks lovely, and it's an excellent price in an area we want, but just want to know if an ex-show home is a no go?

Thank you!

I live in one. The only con was that I didn’t get to choose my tiles/kitchen etc

We have bought two over the years. Both were real bargains, included bedding, cushions etc, and had all the upgrades you could pick.

I have recently moved into one. Potential issues so far is that there are extremely fancy light fittings with many expensive bulbs. Also there are videos of the house online. Modern estate houses generally are built with plasterboard walls and you can only put pictures or hooks up by drilling and special plasterboard anchors. There might also be estate fees to pay for estate landscaping maintenance. Compared with older houses there might be less finishings eg tiles in the kitchen. Flooring isn't very practical colour. Isn't very homely feeling as done out to be grand.

I do love it though. Layout suits me. It's warm feeling and the appliances are good quality.

Our neighbours bought the show home on our estate. The only real negative they had was that the carpets weren't in the best condition for obvious reasons.

They also said getting the top spec upgrades for cheaper was nice, but they didn't appreciate the upgrades enough to have paid for them normally. The same model off-plan without the upgrades would have been cheaper than the upgraded show home even with the "ex show home" discount, so they'd rather have done that. So if you're not fussed about the upgrades, consider if the price is still worth it if you have other options.

They also said they got a shock when they moved in and the house didn't look as good with all the decor removed 😂 Obviously they knew none of it would stay, but the empty wallpapered rooms when they moved in were a real lesson in how styling makes a huge difference.

They are usually loaded with lots of upgrades & extras (kitchen, bathrooms, additional sockets, lights, flooring, landscaping etc).
They can be tired around the edges but usually they are given a makeover before sale.
Appliances will be older but most will never have been used however the exception to this will be the boiler which (in my experience) will have been running overtime in cooler weather to keep the house unnaturally warm.
They are normally built at the entrance to a development which means everyone has to pass your house.
Although you should still get the 2yr developer warranty, I wonder about the 10yr NHBC one?

We got the full NHBC.

The garage might be plastered if they have used it as an office.

The down side is probably that they are often right at the entrance of the estate.

My friend had one and she loved it. It had all the fixings. I think it depends where it is on the estate?

Hi everyone,
Thank you for your responses; they've really helped a lot and given me food for thought 🙂

Some things that I do know the answers for. The house is actually in the middle of the estate - it's at the front of the Phase 2 of the development, so the original phase is at the front. The house itself had no furniture in when we viewed - just had pictures and mirrors on walls, which the EA told us we could have. I actually really liked most of the mirrors, so happy to keep them; am likely to replace most of the 'artwork' with our own pictures/photos, but they are mostly just A4 frames, so easy for us to dispose of. Mostly, it's very nice inside - there are a couple walls that I don't like the colours of, and there is carpet in the lounge - we want wood flooring, due to pets. But other than those small, cosmetic things, it's very nice.

The garden however is absolutely stunning - it's been professionally landscaped, and is just wow.

Not sure how old the appliances are - that's a good thing to ask. The boiler is definitely a good point. If we were to request a service on it before we move, is this something they may do? My biggest concern is likely to be snagging issues - noone has lived in there before, so these issues won't have arisen before, but the developer has already left the estate, so what is the usual situation/solution here?

We have put in an offer. The EA called us this afternoon, and said that the offer has been put forward to the developers, but some of the board members are away until Tuesday, so the offer will be discussed and decided on then. In the meantime, we have asked the EA for another viewing on Monday, so I guess I can ask them any further questions then.