Opinions on new builds

Alligg

We have been in our new build since Sept 2013 and love it.we have had our 12 month settling period snag done with all cracks etc filled and painted.
It does depend on the design of the house and if it fits your lifestyle, we bought off plan and had lots of imput and we were able to plan our kitchen and say where we wanted sockets and switches etc so we have the house that we want.
We are quite lucky and have good size/shape rooms and the smaller garden is perfect.we have a parking space and a lovely green space outside our front door.
Consider which plot you want carefully and make a list of what you want in a house and decide if the new build ticks enough of the boxes.
A few years ago I would never have dared buy off plan but with the right builders it can go smoothly.
Good luck

patman99

Interesting comment re: layout.
In Colchester they built a large extension to Highwoods and as part of the PP, it was required that a bus route was to be run through the estate.
Trouble is, someone forgot to tell the architect.
End result was that the roads are so narrow, 2 busses cannot pass at certain points and if someone parks on any part of the road near to a bend, the bus can't get through so just sits there waiting for the car/van/truck owner to appear and move it.

A lot of these estates are built with narrow, windy roads with little thought as to how dust carts and emergency services vehicles can get through when the houses are occupied and there are cars on the road outside them.

As for HA houses, the developers hate building them as they ahve to comply with minimum room sizes (which are around 10% bigger than those of the non-HA houses). So to make the rooms look smaller from the outside, they fit 2 small windows instead of the 1 big one they fit in the built-for-sale properties.

globalds

If your new build has a place for all the different wheelie and recycling bins to live ..It is probably thoughtfully designed.

silvercar

People buy new builds thinking low maintenance, but often they need fitted bedroom furniture and blinds/ curtain rails straight away.

Also often have open plan living with a lack of hall. Not everyone likes opening the front door into the lounge.

Garden size and on larger developments the social housing being sold for half the price next door are issues.

GwylimT

We live in a 1200 ft2 (can't move the 2 on my phone) two bedroom ground floor new build flat, we have a garden that is L shaped and so goes around our entire flat, it is 8m in depth on one side and 9m on the other, so a fairly decent size. We have two parking spaces in the communal underground car park, as the ground floor flats have their own front doors we also have a bay next to our garden which we tend to leave empty for visitors.

Our living area is open plan as this was more convenient for my wife's mobility, the bedrooms are both large doubles, ours is slightly larger, we have a king size bed, two built in wardrobes, two sets of dreamers and a dressing table, there is still plenty space for my wife to get around without hitting walls/furniture. We have a main bathroom and the other bedroom is ensuite, the main bathroom is a wet room.

We looked at lots of flats and adapted houses before we chose this, the older houses were often nice, but bedrooms were very small as we're living rooms, the lack of downstairs bathrooms was also an issue for us, where they did have them they weren't accessible for my wife. We had similar issues with older purpose built flats, plus they were often very ugly on the outside.

Two of my three siblings also live in new buildings, idiot brother lives in a Barrett house, his rooms are awkwardly shaped, walls are paper thin, his car parking space is also between two walls and so narrow that his focus fits in the space but you can't open the door!

My sister lives in, ah I don't think I can remember the building, it isn't a large chain, but anyway, she lives in a 2010 built semi-detached four bed and it's huge, front and back garden are very generous, but besr of all the internal walls are made from this thing called brick and the roads are not only complete they are also straight!

The age of a house really isn't the issue, it is the build quality, I've lived in a few horrendously built 1940's houses, so I wouldn't bash or prefer either on age.

Vampgirl

We've been in our new build for 3 months now, and I am very happy with it. Yes, we have had some snags (which are gradually being sorted) but nothing too major so far.

The things I like: really good size rooms - especially the kitchen and lounge. Good layout - the house just "flows" really nicely with a proper hallway. Attached garage with light/electrics and plenty of parking - the driveway was sold to us as space for 2 cars, but actually you can easily get 3 on it. Decent size garden - almost 150sqm which is more than enough for us, especially as its not overlooked at the back. Low running costs - house is well insulated with LED lighting throughout.

In terms of price, we paid full asking and didn't get any extras included. But we do live in a popular area and the development is selling fast - looking at the land registry data pretty much every house has sold for asking price. But whilst we didn't get any discount, we still paid less than older 4 bed detached houses of a similar size in the area so I don't think we paid over the odds.

Do watch out for service charges though - they seems to be a feature of new developments so check how much this will be. Also check whether there is a residents association to represent the residents wants/needs.

The other thing I really like (and which was totally unexpected) is that because you are all in the same boat having just bought a brand new house and are having to deal with similar issues, there is a real community feel and the neighbours are almost without exception incredibly friendly and happy to help each other out.

I don't get why people are so bothered about the HA houses - we have some in our road and they are occupied by perfectly nice, normal people. I get that the tenants may change over the years - but that is true of privately rented or owner occupied houses too - its just luck of the draw.

GoldenShadow

Interesting thread to read.

I'm not keen on new builds, but mostly because I don't like feeling hemmed in or like I live in a concrete jungle. I'm a country outdoorsy I like my space kind of person and they seem really good at building claustrophobic little estates of new builds round my way. Doesn't help we are somewhere that a lot of London commuters live, ie. they aren't too bothered about being jam packed together because it is still a fair bit cheaper (and some may say nicer) than being in London.

I don't think I could deal with allocated parking or service charges. I would want my own driveway not wedged under my house and right next to someone else's. One of our newish build places has such narrow driveways the driver and passenger can't both get out once they pull in. I moan about our drive being narrow, but that's because the house was built in 1930's and cars have gotten bigger, not due to mass houses on minimum space.

onlyroz

Aren't a lot of new build estates pretty soulless? No shops, pubs, cafes, libraries, schools, parks? Sure they might arrive eventually but it takes many years for a proper community to establish.

silvercar

A couple of new threads today talking of problems with flooding gardens on new builds.

Tigsteroonie

Personally I don't think the OP should decide whether to buy a house on the basis of "it's a new build" or "it's not a new build" - after six months, it's no longer a new build

It sounds as though there are other things to take into account - she's mentioned her daughter's schooling, family safety, time/money to decorate - and there are no doubt many other factors too. I think the OP should think in terms of buying the right home for their family, regardless of the age of the building itself.