HELP DESP NEEDED - Do You Lose Money on New Builds...?

shortchanged_2

Personally I like to buy a house I can fit some bedroom furniture in as well as my bed.

Many new builds seem to ignore this fact.

peachie1509

GDB2222 wrote: »

Does that mean that 80% of the house costs you £176k? The whole house is £220k? Heck of a difference between that and £150k!

The full price is £175,999 with 80/20 we need a mortgage for £141,000 so we would need less mortgage but of course it's for 80% of the property. It is for 5 years as apposed to 10 years interest free - unsure why only 5? Lots to think on still! :eek: LOL

FATBALLZ

Buying a brand new home certainly leads to immediate depreciation in that even if you sold 6 weeks later, you would have to sell for less because there is a premium to be paid to move into a house as the first ever residents.

Buying a '2nd hand new build', ie a 3 year old house or flat, can get you a reasonable deal. Some of the flats round my area have lost 50% in value in 3 years, and probably won't go much lower. The houses have lost significant value too, but not as much as the flats.

mark5

When I bought my new build in 2006 the premium over older houses in the same area was more like 10%, maybe 15% maximum.

The gap was probably even less when you consider if I had bought an older property I would probably have spent money decorating and changing old carpets, kitchens and bathrooms.

wymondham

peachie1509 wrote: »

..... my brother who works as an estate agent is adamant it is the wrong thing to go for as he has said that New builds depreciate in value.

Your brother is in danger of giving estate agents a bad name. He's obviously not abiding by their code of honour! :rotfl:

meadow408

interesting thread. I am also considering new build in London primarely because I am foreigner and I can't get my head around the fact that some hundreds years old Victorian house retein it's value more than something brand new...can anyone explain this to me? I have been leaving in both rented Victorian converted and new build and the former's layout is usually inconvenient for modern leaving with 2 receptions (..) and one big family bathroom (no en-suite or second bathroom) and obvioulsy given the age prone to cracks and issues to pipes etc. New builds on the other hand sometimes seem to have been built on the cheap side and it's true that after a few years they look a bit shabby

SuzieSue

meadow408 wrote: »

New builds on the other hand sometimes seem to have been built on the cheap side and it's true that after a few years they look a bit shabby

That is the reason they lose their value so quickly. Unfortunately, new builds from the major housebuilders are generally badly built and the NHBC "guarantee" isn't normally worth the paper it is written as the NHBC is funded by the housebuilders and so acts in their interests and not in the interest of the purchaser.

I would much rather have a new build than an older house, and I bought a new build around 15 years ago (and still live in it) but I wouldn't buy one now because the quality is so bad.

Until the Government passes legislation which sets minimum build standards and the NHBC "guarantee" is replaced by something which is worth something, I would stay away from new builds, unless you are wealthy and can afford to buy from some of the smaller housebuilders with better reputations. But if you do decide to buy a new build, make sure you have it independently checked by a surveyor (there are some companies which specialise in inspecting new builds) before you exchange contracts .

BitterAndTwisted

The Victorians knew how to build properly. Often new-builds are thrown together from the cheapest materials possible. Plus, just take a look at ceiling-height and room dimensions. Some new-builds I've seen are too small to get any normal, family-sized furniture in easily. And they're often open-plan downstairs for a reason.

ruggedtoast

You pay a premium on newbuilds for them being new. Once you've moved in they arent new any more.

GDB2222

meadow408 wrote: »

interesting thread. I am also considering new build in London primarely because I am foreigner and I can't get my head around the fact that some hundreds years old Victorian house retein it's value more than something brand new...can anyone explain this to me? I have been leaving in both rented Victorian converted and new build and the former's layout is usually inconvenient for modern leaving with 2 receptions (..) and one big family bathroom (no en-suite or second bathroom) and obvioulsy given the age prone to cracks and issues to pipes etc. New builds on the other hand sometimes seem to have been built on the cheap side and it's true that after a few years they look a bit shabby

I can't speak for the quality of your particular Victorian converted flat, but:-

1. Poor Victorian buildings have probably been torn down by now, and so we are just left with the good ones.

2. Some newly built houses are probably fine. Come back in 100 years, and we'll know which ones.

3. Older houses have more character.

4. They have bigger rooms.

5 But they may be more expensive to heat.