Buying a house - advice please!

scottishblondie

I think what I would be very concerned about living in what will effectively be a building site for the next 5 years as the development continues. Also if you find that you need to sell up, how would you market the property if very similar brand new ones were still being sold by the developer? You might find you would have to significantly lower the price. Just something to bear in mind!

To share my experience - I bought a new-ish build flat in 2003 (it was 2.5 years old at that point), and TBH the build quality has been nothing but trouble. The builders forgot to put in some damp proof course leading to serious water ingress, we've had scaffolding up on the block about 4 times to remedy serious damp issues, and that's before I even get into the problems with the roof and the general quality of the finish!

I chose this property with the foolish assumption that as a new build there would be fewer problems than in an old property, but I've learned the hard way that isn't always the case. I don't think I would buy a new build without seriously investigating the quality of the workmanship, just as I wouldn't buy an older property without full surveys.

Doozergirl

tulipz wrote: »

What are second hand properties like ? I see a LOT of people buying such properties without a doubt in mind.... it makes me wonder what if a £50k repair bill comes up after a year becasue of some leakage during snow? what it £100k bill comes up if a part of the roof collapses (coz its old)...Some of my friends did buy old properties. They seem just as happy...did they get plain lucky or is there something I dont understand??? The reason DH thinks we should pay the premium for the new property is JUST because of the age and guarantees...

Wondering what most of you think about buying an old property vs buying a new one.

Sweetheart, they didn't spend £100k throwing up that entire new build you're looking at! The majority of cost in your area is land. A typical roof would cost no more than £10k to replace completely from the walls upwards. You usually only re-cover them. If the roof were laible to collapse then a survey would show it up - but frankly, if the roof were in danger of collapse, you'd see it too!

Energy performance, well, the average house rates at a D or an E. Even new builds can't get above low B unless they're being powered by something other than mains gas and electric. Cheap measures like cavity wall and loft insulation will make a lot of difference, as will double glazing and a nice new boiler. Along with energy saving lightbulbs, it will get an old house up to a high C. It's not that hard.

You're paying a lot extra there for peace of mind that can be provided with a £1000 survey on a similarly sized semi with a massive garden - a proper family home with a bit of potential for future extension by the look of the ones I've been seeing today. An investment.

SuzieSue

tulipz wrote: »

The reason DH thinks we should pay the premium for the new property is JUST because of the age and guarantees...

.

You need to be aware that the "guarantees" which come with new builds are often not worth the paper they are written on. The most common guarantee is from the NHBC which is an organisation which is funded by the house builders and is in no way independent. The will try their utmost to wriggle out of paying for anything to be rectified even if the property is unhabitable. There have been numerous cases on TV programmes such as Watchdog where the NHBC has not been prepared to rectify even the most obvious faults. This has been going on for at least 20 years and nothing has been done about it.

geoffky

Can i offer a bit of advice...do not fall in love with a house..treat it as a business deal ,you are first time buyers and people will try and take advantage of it.look at sold prices not asking prices in the area you are looking and fools rush in,

I once bought a brand new barrets home......never ever again..

Ms_Sophia

Guys, has anybody here bought a new build from Cathedral group or United House? what's your opinion of them?

tulipz

ppl,

Acting on the wise advice that some of you gave, we went around and looked at some older properties. We liked one property thats being marketed as a 5bed town house. Its technically a 3 bed house - with 2 tiny bedrooms on the top floor (loft conversion). Its good interms of everything except the council tax band. (band F)... If we convert it into a 3bed property (making the 2 tiny bedrooms into one and making 2 other bedrooms into a big master bedroom), can we expect a change in the council tax band? In terms of sqft, its even less than the 3bed Trinity homes property (the new one..pls refer to the first post of this thread).

Please pour in your thoughts....