Why do people buy new builds??

Building_Surveyor

Moral of the story, if you don't like a new build don't buy one... If you don't want an old property buy a new one. I'm sure everyone is more than capable of buying a property suitable for them, which may not be suitable to another.... The end!

AndrewRyan

All,

This has been a very interesting discussion indeed, and I feel rather obliged to reply.

A bit of a background might help.

Am 31, born and lived for 18 yrs in a lovely large home with a huge garden and flower pots and plants and what not. Then have been to all lovely places in the world. Currently looking to buy in south east, welling to Dartford Strech.

My issues with old houses,

>>> Maintenance does cost a lot over the period, just to make sure the house stays liveable and sellable in the future

>>> Walls: Well Anyone with basic structural engineering knowledge knows that its not about thin/thick. Its about the material and layout of the pieces and the joints and acoustics and the sound proofing and the heat insulation and let me add repair-ability. With most old houses you know who's doing what upstairs and downstairs and about the neighbours coughing.

>>> Unless someone has at least half a million, these houses how ever much character/period features it has are not built for partying, or Home sound systems or even a 50 Inch TV.
>>> The acoustics are really really bad..
>>> Huge Gardens - Well I do love them, but I just cant be bothered to make sure they are maintained and look nice. And it is a lot of work..
>>> Dampness - Its fundamental of a much deeper structural issue. If you want to live for 25 yrs, have a real hard think about how much it might cost you. And I hate when people keep re-platersing walls to hide the dampness.
>>> no of Toilets..
1. One toilet? Who in the world wants to climb up/down the stiars to wee? What about older people and babies.
2. Two toilets? OK there are 3 bedrooms upstairs? I've got guests so we share? If we do then where does the family and guests take bath? Or Shall I send guests downstairs to take a bath?

I don't need 3, but its optimum

>>> Re-modelled, extended - Well some houses can be nice, but its mostly trying to squeeze in rather unnatural room shapes, flows attached to existing ones. (e.g no direct entry to Lounge, huge lounge with dinner space but kitceh hob is far from dinner table) etc etc, all pretty small things, but if one would design a house today, they would not be doing that way. The word is force-fitting, un-natural and inconvenient.

>>> Odd shapes. A majority of houses have Angled walls, protruding wall columns, semi circular shapes, triangular/angled roofs etc.... in bedrooms or kitchen or somewhere else. Well that's just irritating for me. Again not good for anything at all. Its just a compromise to get a bigger room/extra space, in many ways.

>>> Wiring/plumbing - its such a hassle and even risky to get this done in some houses. Try getting sky TV wiring done to all your bedrooms. Not so lucky sometimes.

>>> too high a ceiling(sometimes) - Well what's the need/logic behind it (we don't have/use big fireplaces or large chandeliers any more- Heating cost apart, its just a pain to wait for rooms to get heated)

>>> History - Well My House is My House is My House. Anyway I also have issues with the fundamentals of history argument. No body searches for houses which fit a specific history. And no body decides not to buy a house because some people died in it ages ago. (well mostly anyway), At best history of the house is a perky/quirky thing. The same's true about the neighbourhood

>>> Character -Nothing beats uniqueness of a house. Old houses are brilliant on this level. Unless once has enough bucks to commission a interoir designer or landscape artist. But
some old houses just don't look nice at all with modern kitchens and tiles and wood and what not

>>> Most old houses without the maintenance will just become unliveable pretty soon.


Most new houses which are useless, are because of builders. Ever wonder why you might not have similar problems in New Builds of NewYork or Sydney or Sao Palo or Mumbai. Or why your neighbours in the same development do not have some or all your problems..

I might still buy an older house, down to cost and location and school and travel etc.. But given the choice I would not have all the problems with old houses. And given enough money I would either

The Litmus test: What would one do if they had lots of cash
1. Buy and old house and spend loads of cash in fully cleaning it up and re-designing it
2. Commission a modern build - with Architect and landscape designer..

Ciao

urbanmyth

Apples and pears

We live in a now five-year old new build flat.

The rooms are big, in fact our bedroom is so big we've really struggled to find anything close to this size in older properties. We've resorted to assigning one room in our next, 1930s built house, to a walk-I'm wardrobe to accommodate everything that is currently stored in the four double wardrobes that fit comfortably in our new build bedroom (along with a king bed, two drawers and bedside tables!).

We've had no maintenance issues to worry about and the only thing we do each year is give the walls a lick of paint. It's allowed us to get on with enjoying our home without the constant hassle of fixing and repairing.

When we move we are setting aside a 'sinking fund' equivalent to double the service charge we currently pay on the flat just to deal with any issues that might crop up, of which I'm sure there will be many. Add to that, we're useless at DIY so we'll have to pay someone to fix anything that's more than just a little cosmetic.

If we had it our way we probably would have bought another new build and that's what we were searching for for quite a while, but the new area won us over and so an 'old build' it is. The house is no bigger than the new builds we have seen, and the price is comparable too, it's just that there are no new builds in that area. That's just the way the cookie crumbles.

I will say that the chain hassle of buying a used property is so stressful that we've almost had second thoughts a few times! :mad:

bylromarha

We've bought 2 since 2001.

First builders paid our 5% deposit, offered us a washing machine or fridge freezer, plus turfed the garden and gave us cashback on completion. We got a 95% FTB mortgage from Northern Rock (no application fee), who also paid our solicitors fee, valuation fee and gave us more cashback on completion. The mortgage was £100 cheaper pm than our rent on a smaller house. For that move we paid £65 in total - that was the van hire costs to move our few bits on.

You find me a older property that can make that happen!

We'd never have got on the housing ladder had it not been the builder paying the deposit.

System

Why I bought a new build over pre-owned properties:
. New everything

. More energy efficient as mine has a Energy Efficiency Rating of 91 (top end of grade plus it has an eco heatsource pump. I don't have gas connected to my property. My electricity usage was c£520 a year and that is for heating, cooking, lighting and entertainment (laptop, tv etc) for a 2 bed house.

. Neutral canvas. For the first three years, I did not decorate as the walls were cream. If I moved into a pre owned property which had wild colours and/or feature wall(s) with wallpaper with huge flower designs - I hate them (they will be outdated like rag rolling and borders soon), I would have to decorate ASAP!


I was selective to what I bought. My house is larger than average 2 bed terraced as I have bedrooms which had recesses designed to put wardrobes - either freestanding or fitted and it does not feel boxy.

Plus I don't like huge housing estates with no amenities. My property was built with 35-38 others and houses where you are overlooked by at least 3 others.

If I bought an old property, I had to replace at least 2 of the following ktichen, bathroom, electrics, windows and boiler and my energy bills would be doubled as my friend lives in a 1910s terrace and her gas/elec bill is £1000 pa.

ukcarper

Are old houses all big the smallest house I have lived in was built in 1800s. 2up 2down front door straight into lounge back door straight into kitchen.

Contessa

I'm intending to move several hundred miles away (when I sell my house!) and don't know if I'll buy new or old. My present house was new when we bought it nearly thirty years ago from a small local builder. I love it-solid walls, large rooms, good sized garden (but too much for me now), good storage, nice views and not overlooked.

I know I won't be able to afford anything similar in the new area so will have to compromise. I really don't like stud walls but may have to accept them as even a 90's built house had them.

It may well be head not heart time. This will probably be the last house I buy and I'll have to get tradesmen in to fix things so a new house has some advantages, at least for a few years.