Anyone Happy with their New Build?

caeler

I'm onto my second new build with Charles Church. Really pleased with mine. Plenty of snags, 32 so far, 90% of which are minor the rest a little bit more significant. The aftercare has been very good. Just recently there have been some fun and games (excuse the pun) with the developer changing plans and getting planning for additional playgrounds on space which was to remain open which has upset some residents.

I think there is some good advice on this thread so I won't repeat any of it. Ultimately as long as you know what your getting into you won't be disappointed.

rosehip

I'm in a Crest Nicholson new build apartment. I'm happy with the quality, I find the flat blissfully quiet, although am on the top floor so have no one above me, and incredibly energy efficient. There were minor snagging issues but CN were very good at sorting them out. Having been used to bricks and mortar I still haven't got used to the strange wall fixings that are necessary in new builds but I would happily buy a new build again

okborednow

Chlorine7 wrote: »

Thanks for ALL the replies, they've been a great help.

I don't think I'll be trusting Barratts home anytime soon but once I seriously start looking I'll know I'll have to really keep my eyes open if a new build is all I can afford.

I wouldn't necessarily say tat you shouldn't go with Barratts as i'm not sure when the people who made the comments bought their homes. Barratt had a HORRENDOUS reputation til a few years ago when it seems they decided to clean up their act. Since then they've come top in the pride in the job and seal of excellence awards the last three years running.

Last year for example Barratt built 12,673 homes and won 96 awards whereas Persimmon built 9903 home but only got 13 awards. Quite a big difference really.

I'm buying a new build so i've been doing lots of research especially using this site http://forum.snagging.org and Persimmon seems to be where it's at for complaints at the moment.

lord_tyrannus

I would second checking out snagging.org and also having the property professional snagged. I'm in the process of buying a taylor wimpey new build at the moment and I think you really have to go in it expecting there to be snags because there will be. I get the impression people seem to think anything non new build was built in a golden age of house construction in which every house was perfect which certainly is not the case!

Also never use the developers recommended solicitor's as this is a potentially a massive conflict of interest in that they do loads of work for the developers who has also probably squeezed them on the price like they do all there other trades so they will want to get it done as quickly as possible. When we looked into the solicitors recommended to us half of them use to work for the developer at some point!

As for barratt we did try and buy at the new central development in woking but they wanted 265k for a two bed flat which was over the stamp duty threshold and way overpriced and they wouldn't budge on price at all even after i'd been on the land registry and downloaded the title deeds for other similar units in the development and seen they'd been giving out massive discounts in some cases so I guess we dodged a bullet there as the flats were the size of rabbit hutches!

Georgesmum79

Sorry but I do not agree with not going with the builder recommended solicitor. I have bought a Crest and a CC house, and both times they recommended Foot Anstey, and paid towards the fees. There is not way the FA we acting for anyone's interest but mine, and they provided extra clauses for my safety and peace of mind into the contract. I think this is just old wives' tales that the solicitor will somehow secretly be working against you, and is frankly quite ridiculous. The builders have these relationships with certain firms so that they can get things done quickly and not wait for some lawyer to go on holiday for a month or do!! FA even recommended to me that we REFUSE to exchange until I receive a satisfactory response to one of my queries: which is what happened in the end.
Solicitors can get struck off for unprofessional conduct, you know, and this would include working against their own client.

SuzieSue

Georgesmum79 wrote: »

Solicitors can get struck off for unprofessional conduct, you know, and this would include working against their own client.

But you would have to prove that which would involve a court case and how many people can afford that?

It is very subjective what a solicitor should warn a client about. For example, there a numerous reasons why it is not a good idea to buy a coach house eg the person who owns that garage that the coachhouse sits on might decide to use his gargage as a workshop or store hazardous chemincals in it. I'm sure this would be against the lease but it's a bit late once the chemicals have exploded and you're dead.

I would expect a good solicitor to warn me about this but if the solicitor had a relationship with the builder, they might not as it might put me off buying the coachhouse.

Lord_Baltimore

Holy thread revival Batman!

Th3_Ripper

I have owned two new builds. The first was built by Shepherd Homes and whilst being well built was an uninspiring town house which I subsequently regretted buying.

My current home is a traditional four bedroom detached home which I love. We have been here 8 months and have only recently finished resolving the issues with the house however is location is unbeatable, not over looked by any other building or house, good views of the cathedral from the garden and house.

My advice is to get hold of the construction director regarding any problems and you will be spirited how quickly things move.

[Deleted User]

I've been looking at some new build places near me. They asking ridiculous money for what could generously be described as badly designed rabbit hutches. They use all the tricks - taking off doors, having one moderate sized room at the expense of an unusable bathroom etc. Build quality looks okay but a couple of the houses on the site have already got scaffolding up again. Garages are too small to put a car in. Silly money for stuff that should be standard like solar. Playground is already overgrown and unmaintained.

Jolinar

I've lived in a new build before this house, it was great, never an issue. Loved the reduced fuel bills.
I currently live in a 100 year old house which I've had to spend a fortune on it because things decline over time and need replacing. Roof, boiler, windows etc. Bottom line is home ownership costs money, old builds can have their problems too.
I'm moving back into a new build in September. 10 year NHBC guarantee and a 5 year fixtures and fittings guarantee. Bliss.