Considering a new build but feeling confused!

kixxb

Our property is currently on the market and we have decidedto relocate about 35 miles to the village that my partner grew up in.


The original village is small with low turnover so althoughmy preference remains to buy an older home, the chances of that are pretty slimas very few become available and those that do, tend to be smaller than what weare looking for.

However, a massive new development is underway with over2500 new homes being built within the area over the next 12 years and additional schools, motorway links and shops being created to support this. There are 4 different builders currentlydeveloping and houses are selling like hot cakes as it’s such a desirable area –at the moment, there is an average 12 month wait from reservation to move indate for Taylor Wimpey homes– they are building at a rate of 48 homes per yearwhich is a significant increase on their usual 30 per year figure (which makes me question thequality).

The other builders are Cala, Charles Church (both of whichare out of our price range) and Persimmon.

TW is our preferred choice due to price, house style andalso advice from friends who have bad experience of Persimmon.

My biggest concern is around build quality – I’d rather pay£40 – 60k less for an older home and pay to decorate it - that will remain my first intention but ifthat doesn’t work out, then it looks like a new build is the only option.

Now, I’ve read several online reviews about TW horrorstories but at the same time, I have several friends who have purchased TW newbuilds (and other new builds from the likes of Bellway and Keir homes). None of them have had a single issue beyondthe initial minor snagging issues. Afriend of mine who has experience in house building & property developmentthinks quite highly of TW as a builder and is one of the ones she’d be morelikely to recommend although she doesn’t have any firsthand experience.

I’m left to wonder, have my friends just been lucky? Or in the majority of cases, are TW new buildsactually of a good standard but those with issues shout very loudly (forobvious and understandable reasons).

Does the build quality differ significantly from site tosite? My partner is friends with one of thecontractors on this current site and thinks very highly of his workmanship.

Would the fact that this is a long term development make itless likely for the builder cut corners – I imagine it could be very difficultto sell future plots if there is an angry mob outside the sales office?

Thoughts/views or firsthand experiences welcome although Ido think that there may be a skew towards negative experiences due to thenature of this site and according to the quote “For every good experience you have, you may tell 1 person. For every bad experience, you will tell 10 people!"

hlou

http://www.in-deed.net/conveyancing/conveyancing-articles/buying-a-new-build-house#pros

this is quite a useful website for outlining the pros and cons

andybaird

Sounds like dargavel village in Bishopton

If so we are considering moving there next year. Just want to try and save 10-12k before end of year for legal fees, stamp duty, extras etc

We are thinking Taylor Wimpey as well

The Hume or the Munro

edit to add : If it is a 12 year plan the houses wont sell out, bide your time and don't listen to the sales chat, that's what we are doing

kixxb

Thanks hlou - very useful reading!

Yes Andy it's Dargavel - my OH is from there and wants to return to the motherland!

Yeah I'm pretty confident that we'll get something - the issue is timescales - I think we are going to have to wait a while to move into our new home which will mean renting/staying with parents. Our friends have bought there and had to wait 12 months between reservation and move date.

They are also putting the prices up with each release which is frustrating - surely by saturating the market the value of one of these homes should be lower!!

I'm hoping that someone like Barratt comes in and buys up some of the remaining land to give TW a bit of a run for their money!

We are looking at the Forsyth or Geddes - don't like the separate dining room in the Hume or Maxwell!

kixxb

Anyone have any other thoughts on this?

What about a more general Persimmon vs.. Taylor Wimpey comparison?


It seems that neither have a great reputation but that you get more space for your money with Persimmon and there was also less glossy marketing and sales material to hide behind?

andybaird

A wee update for anyone considering bishopton (like myself)

The prices are jumping up quite rapidly.

House style the Wallace -

When we looked about 6 months back it would cost you circa 315k

3 months ago it was 325k

I got a text today to say its now up to 336k!

Thats 21k in 6 months or so! In Scotland! Crazy money driven by the demand in that area - Our deposit just isnt getting saved fast enough for jumps that big!

dgtazzman

Persimmon and Charles Church are one and the same company, just aimed at different market segments (CC is supposedly for the higher end market, though they use the same suppliers etc. for both). Seem to be a lot of mixed views on them, though probably the majority are negative. TW seems more highly regarded.

48 houses a year seems like nothing, the Persimmon/CC development behind us has probably done double that in the last 4/5 months.

The build quality is fully up to the site staff and I don't think any new build is going to be perfect, it's more about how problems that do come up are handled, and what I gather this is where Persimmon/CC fall short.

We had the same with Barratt's vs Keepmoat. We were going to buy a Barratt house first, but the mortgage valuation came up short, found them completely unwilling to assist, weren't working with us to find a solution, just totally fobbed us off, so we dropped out and are now moving into a Keepmoat house next month. Keepmoat doesn't seem to have much of an online presence yet as far as reviews are concerned and the few I could find were mostly not so flattering, but their sales staff on site have been nice to deal with, actually answer questions and have been more than happy to work with us to get things how we want them, without charging us extra for it. Always get a warm welcome when I pop into their office unannounced, which makes a nice difference to the 'what do you want this time' looks we had a few times when dealing with Barratt's.

I'd say, go to the sales offices, have a talk with the staff and see what gives the best feeling. Ask some questions and see if they actually give you answers, or just sales patter around them.

P.S. The Barratt house is now still for sale, 7 months later and they've delayed finishing it till July now, while it was supposed to be completed in January ^^

bubbles29

We are just about to reserve at taylor wimpey bishopton and I'm interested to know what your experiences were like , did u manage to get things like carpets and turf thrown in ?
Any issues ?

Dpop

bubbles29 wrote: »

We are just about to reserve at taylor wimpey bishopton and I'm interested to know what your experiences were like , did u manage to get things like carpets and turf thrown in ?
Any issues ?

andybaird wrote: »

Sounds like dargavel village in Bishopton

If so we are considering moving there next year. Just want to try and save 10-12k before end of year for legal fees, stamp duty, extras etc

We are thinking Taylor Wimpey as well

The Hume or the Munro

edit to add : If it is a 12 year plan the houses wont sell out, bide your time and don't listen to the sales chat, that's what we are doing

Hi Andy ,

We're also considering the Hume at dargavel. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks,
D:beer:

ethank

I think Taylor Wimpey are generally pretty good!