First Time Buyer Gleeson Homes

Pog2000 wrote: »

Hi I am new to this forum

My wife and I are in the same boat, originally advised November then Feb, then March, then April and then last week they told us it's gone back again but still to be confirmed. I did notice that the prices advertised have increased. Part of me is wondering if this is a tactical move to make the sale fall through as we have also spent £2k on extras that are apparently non refundable.(or am I being cynical)

Different sales agents have told us different reasons for the delay. To be honest if we were not in this position I would probably have moved on by now. The biggest issue is the fact that they will not commit and when questioned on this make claims that they are powerless and it's down to the sub contractors.

This is my first time buying a new build and it does seem to be very hard work.

I don't know how much you are paying for your new home but this house http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46386093.html is just round the corner and is probably bigger and cheaper.

The ex council houses on the big council estate where this new development is based are likely to be better built and larger than the new homes. They are also likely to be cheaper and not so likely to fall in values as the new homes.

Northerngirl1 wrote: »

Any update on this? Particularly interested in the hilltop park development

The ex council houses near to this development are bigger and cheaper than the ones on the new development. In case you are thinking that the new ones will hold their value they won't because they are near to the huge local council estate they are likely to drop in value when they are second hand to less than a nearby council house because of the close proximity of the council housing. The council housing is less likely to drop in value because it isn't new.

So if considering buying on this estate. The new houses are expensive for the area they are in. They may be cheap new houses for the town but they are expensive for that area because you can buy a bigger council house for less. New houses tend to drop in value when they are no longer new. A new house that has been lived in becomes a second hand house and when being sold is compared to the value of any other second hand house. The problem with buying a cheap new house in a not very popular area like this one is that it is likely to drop more in value than a more expensive new house in a better area. This is because fewer people want to live in this area so you have fewer people who are prepared to buy a house unless it is very cheap.

The kind of person that you would be able to sell to would be someone who couldn't afford to live in a better area and so would only buy a house here if it was bigger and cheaper than a local ex council house so the potential for not being able to sell these houses without make a really big loss is huge. If you want to be able to move in the future buy an ex local authority house because that is unlikely to drop in value. I would suggest that you compare the prices of the new houses to those of any ex local authority houses nearby. If the ex local authority houses are cheaper then that is the price that you can expect to get for any new house bought nearby. when it is second hand. No one is going to pay a premium for a second hand house that is next to a really big council estate with a not very good reputation. If they have more money than that required to buy a council house they will buy a house in a much better area.

Only buy on this estate if you can't see that you will ever need to move or if you think you might want to move understand that you are extremely likely to make a loss when you come to sell.

@Cakecuts. I mentioned this problem on a local forum that I also use. I live in an ex-council house and Gleeson are building new houses round the corner. There is also another development not too far away.

I have seen many signs in windows saying that that particular house had been bought via Help to Buy. I think this will be storing up problems for the future. With Help to Buy you have to pay back what you borrowed or more if the house goes up in value. But the equity loan does not go down if the house value does. I can see many people, perhaps when some of these people start having children thinking they need a bigger house (even the biggest 3 bed on the estate is tiny especially compared to my house and my house would sell for 30k less).

I think many people will be stuck because they can't afford to pay the equity loan back. But when I mentioned this on my local forum I was told I was wrong because house prices go up not down.

If someone could buy my 3 bed second hand home which is larger with a large garden, large garage and parking for 2 cars for around 100k or a second hand new build with a tiny garden, parking for one car, small garage and rooms you can't fit sensibly sized furniture in for £130k+ what would most people pick?

It can't even be argued that you can avoid social housing on a new estate. Not that I see it has a problem but of course some people do. Many of the houses on my road have been bought with a few council left. The new build estate will be mainly private but they have to provide a number of shared equity and social housing. So not much different from my street.

Leo2020 wrote: »

@Cakecuts. I mentioned this problem on a local forum that I also use. I live in an ex-council house and Gleeson are building new houses round the corner. There is also another development not too far away.

I have seen many signs in windows saying that that particular house had been bought via Help to Buy. I think this will be storing up problems for the future. With Help to Buy you have to pay back what you borrowed or more if the house goes up in value. But the equity loan does not go down if the house value does. I can see many people, perhaps when some of these people start having children thinking they need a bigger house (even the biggest 3 bed on the estate is tiny especially compared to my house and my house would sell for 30k less).

I think many people will be stuck because they can't afford to pay the equity loan back. But when I mentioned this on my local forum I was told I was wrong because house prices go up not down.

If someone could buy my 3 bed second hand home which is larger with a large garden, large garage and parking for 2 cars for around 100k or a second hand new build with a tiny garden, parking for one car, small garage and rooms you can't fit sensibly sized furniture in for £130k+ what would most people pick?

It can't even be argued that you can avoid social housing on a new estate. Not that I see it has a problem but of course some people do. Many of the houses on my road have been bought with a few council left. The new build estate will be mainly private but they have to provide a number of shared equity and social housing. So not much different from my street.

I agree with all of this there will be a huge problem in the future with these homes because they are being sold for too much when new. If I had to choose between 2 houses in the Hill Top area and one was an ex council house and one was one of these new builds I would go for the ex council house every time. At least you know what you are paying for and the fact that the value will not drop like it always does with new builds anyway when they become 2nd hand.

I don't know what people on this Hill Top Park estate are going to do when they realise that they have negative equity. I can't see the 2 beds selling for much more than £75k which is the normal price for a 2 bed around there. That means a loss of around £17k. Who can afford to lose £17k? They won't be able to move and that is if house prices are stable.