living with building works?

Tygermoth

Hi all,

We have seen a lovely house. REALLY good price for the area. Its been totally renovated with brand new everything.

So colour me suspicious....

Went to the open day and the house has been done to a excellent standard. Attention to detail and great workmanship was very obvious.

While walking round the agent advised the house had been in the hands of three generations and when bought had no heating, the roof was in poor condition and inside was in a bit of a state... the land to the side was terribly overgrown. Land? said I.

So it turns out the green to the side belonged to this house and the developer has split the plot and will be building a three bed with driveway (on what looks like an impossibly small bit of green)

So i know he's had no offers made on this house so we would be in with a great shot if we went for it... but how much of a nightmare is building works? they are literally going to be putting the house up 'next door'

Work has not started yet due to complete in sept.

moneyistooshorttomention

What about the boundary between this house and its former garden?

Is that clearly marked - with a nice firm wall (rather than a fence) preferably? Walls are unlikely to move - fences might...

Tygermoth

Its a fence. They have emailed us a copy of the house plans for next door and it shows the two side passages with the fence clearly marked. I would say two walk ways wide.

So quite close.

AnotherJoe

If it really finishes in September that's not very long. You'll have big lorries coming and going, skips, lots of different trades and vans parked everywhere, mud on the road, noise early In the morning, but if you really like the house and plan to be there for years then that's worth putting up with for that short time I'd have thought.

I moved into a new estate on one of the first houses done in the road where they were still building just a few houses up and it was tolerable and in the scheme of things bearing in mind how long we stayed there, irrelevant.

moneyistooshorttomention

Tygermoth wrote: »

Its a fence. They have emailed us a copy of the house plans for next door and it shows the two side passages with the fence clearly marked. I would say two walk ways wide.

So quite close.

Is that fence in place now? If not - then is there "something" fixed firmly in place indicating exactly where the boundary is (so that it cant be moved and you found your garden was smaller than you had been told)?

Davesnave

It is normal fo developers to erect fences between already-built properties and the rest of the construction site, both for aesthetic and H&S reasons. Typically, these are closeboarded and therefore not subject to being relocated.

bouicca21

Construction works are likely to put off many potential buyers, so for 6 months of pain you might get a bargain.

I had construction next to me. The worst bit was when they were finishing off the inside. The builders were huge Carpenters fans and somehow found a way of playing their hits over and over and over and over ....

On a more practical note check the plans to make sure you will be happy with what is built. Will it overlook?

franklee

I've rented a new build before where work across the road was still going on. It's not great but wasn't that bad but then it was a large builder who seemed to work mainly during office hours so at least the evenings were quiet. Would need to keep windows shut due to dust etc. which can get hot in summer. I'd suggest getting as much info from the builder as possible, discussing working hours, raise your concerns, use to bargain on price. You would need to photograph your driveway, boundaries etc. so as to prove how things were in case of damage. Ask if scaffolding will need to go on your land which may damage fence and shrubs etc. Get a realistic idea of the time to be taken and the start date. *If* the price is right I'd put up with it.

lincroft1710

If you agreed to buy now, you wouldn't be in the house until July, so only 2 months of aggro

Davesnave

lincroft1710 wrote: »

If you agreed to buy now, you wouldn't be in the house until July, so only 2 months of aggro

.....assuming the other house is constructed on schedule.

I'm watching a new build in my village, which was advertised as 'ready January/February 2016.' They've just tiled the roof, but no interior finishing has begun yet.

Tygermoth

As they haven't cleared the ground yet i would say they are going to overrun.

Its become a moot point anyway. The OH got called out just before the original viewing so couldn't attend - but they were kind enough to let us revisit.

As s diddy person i hadn't noticed the door frames were all a bit low and the stairs had tiny treads. The OH pointed out that ducking all the time and navigating those stairs at night for the loo downstairs was disaster waiting to happen, point was proven when going back down stairs sideways he still managed to slip.

He also pointed out the dog would make it up, but not down so would have to be carried adding to the issues (dog a toy size companion breed so will want to be where you are, upstairs or down)

And back to the drawing board.