An email i nearly sent to a new home builder... but wimped out...

abankerbutnotafatcat

mundibananas wrote: »

My Bovis Home has a fantastic layout ! Ground floor - open plan kitchen (with understairs storage cupboard) and family room (eg combined dining room/sofa and tv) opening out onto decking and garden. First floor has lounge with understairs storage cupboard, bedroom 2 which is double with fitted wardbrobes. Second floor has good size bathroom, 3rd bedroom with fitted wardbrobes (could squeeze a double in it but I use it as a combined office/single guestroom) and finally my master bedroom with fitted wardrobes and ensuite. http://www.bovishomes.co.uk/Development-Files/w/wpfob/wpfob_sw3022_fp.pdf

Hi mundibananas, my house is almost exactly the same as yours except it's 2 bed (now) and has the bathroom on the middle floor where you have bedroom 2. Originally, I think it was built as a 3 bed with no inside bathroom - it's 1901 and you and I both love this design so as you say 'horses for courses' but for us it's a classic design!!!

sonastin

I saw one relatively-new build when I was buying. It was a really small 2-bed house - downstairs was small lounge, small kitchen, nowhere to put in any sort of dining table. Upstairs the second bedroom was slightly bigger than the Abbey homes one in this thread (probably enough to add a wardrobe with the single bed, but that's about it), a "family" bathroom, and a master bedroom with an en-suite! Now forgive me, but if the occupiers of the master bedroom are using the ensuite, who's going to be using the family bathroom? The kid who needs parental supervision to use the bathroom anyway? - anyone bigger wouldn't fit in the second bedroom! There were fitted wardrobes beside/over the double bed, a dressing table in an alcove and a path about 2ft wide all round the bed in the master bedroom. The "ensuite" space would have served much better as cat-swinging space in the main bedroom!

twirlypinky

What made me laugh was that the shower was at one end of the ensuite, in the corner, there was a space down the side of it, between it and the wall, about 1 foot wide. What on earth is the point in that space? What are you going to keep in there apart from dust? What stupid design. They could've used the whole space and made a shower big enough for two but no, keep it skinny with a silly pointless gap to the side.

Wobblydeb

Hey, they do their marketing - they design what sells, and people want en-suites, downstairs toilet and a small room to use as an office.

ILW

twirlypinky wrote: »

We're a young couple wanting to start a family and we just laughed at that house. No way would we buy that to start a family in.

The walls are too thin
the rooms are too small
the ceilings are too low
the loft is too small (especially if you wanted the option of extending into it)
the garens are miniscule, forget the garden if you want a conservatory
they're regularly lounge-diner which i detest
there aren't enough parking spaces, most families have two cars, the roads are never wide enough to be littered with cars
the build qualitity is often poor, and getting the builders back to fix the items on your snag list is impossible
they depreciate in the first two years
they're overpriced in the first place
you'll need a 20% deposit if you want to get a mortgage on one
they're too close together


I could probably go on.

Why did you even bother viewing the place?

twirlypinky

It's round the corner from where we're selling ours, we were checking out the competition...

SilverSix

twirlypinky wrote: »

Perhaps Taylor Wimpey are starting to take note then, because Abbey Homes aren't. How they expect a family to live in some of those i don't know.

And why oh why do all these places build so many apartments. I know they think they can make more money from them, but there is a distint lack of decent 2 bed houses around here, they should be building those!

I was really impressed. One particular build had the most enormous under stairs cupboard I've ever seen, could easily fit several children in there :rotfl:It did happen to have a smallish third bedroom but would make do for a baby/toddler or home office .

These are the floor plans to my build which completes in about 10-12 weeks time Downstairs kitchen & living room are around 11ftx19ft so by no means small. Quite a lot there.

https://img.skitch.com/20110221-83nhd83fywh385ebx8anmx7daa.jpg

https://img.skitch.com/20110221-kfcs6y442qc93kg2g2dskkqfaw.jpg

https://img.skitch.com/20110222-c1m4wuuhwntu3ubsep9a39s934.jpg

Mrs.W_2

Looking through the brochure, all the houses have a strangely 'institutional' appearance.

http://www.abbeynewhomes.co.uk/WATLING%20PLACE/Resources/Sittingbourne-Brochure.pdf

Running_Horse

We looked in that area of Sittingbourne in 2006, and were accepted for a part buy four bed terrace, despite having no connections to the area. The bedrooms were quite large, but the garden tiny, and overlooking the public space. Not proceeding was one of our better decisions. All those new builds will keep Sittingbourne cheap for years to come.

Incidentally, the area we moved, the 1990s estate had similar sized rooms to the Victorian terraces. It will remain so until government intervenes.

stu20vt

poppysarah wrote: »

I love detached new builds.
You could hold hands with someone in the next one along almost if there was a hole in the wall.

At least with a new build detached you will still be further from your neighbour than with an old semi-detached house. Indeed, as you mention, with an old semi you could knock a hole though the wall to shake hands
PS new build detached are similar price to old semi's in this area. Having lived in both I'll take the detached thank you.