New Build Developers Discussion

Dom_Fletch89

Hi everyone,

Myself and my partner are currently looking to buy our first house and we are looking to take advantage of the Help To Buy scheme. We are currently viewing a number of developments from a range of developers and I was just looking to see if anyone has any feedback, good or bad

The developers that we have seen homes from so far and those which we know are building within the area we would like to live are as follows:

- Barratts
- Linden Homes
- Miller Homes
- Persimmon
- Taylor Wimpey
- Bovis Homes
- Bellway
- Redrow
- David Wilson Homes

As I say, it would be good to hear from some of you to see what your experiences have been like so far with any of the above on topics such as;

- The buying process
- Sales staff during and after your purchase
- Extras and upgrades (availability/prices/value)
- Build quality

I know there are lots of horror stories out there and equally positive stories that I've seen from various forums around the web but I thought it would be good to get some feedback from the MSE family.

Thanks in advance guys

ceecee1

Can I direct you to the 'national leasehold campaign' page on Facebook (or just google it)

It involves all the major builders

ComicGeek

You'll want to confirm where you're looking to buy, as this can all vary per region even within each company

Dom_Fletch89

ComicGeek wrote: »

You'll want to confirm where you're looking to buy, as this can all vary per region even within each company

We are ideally looking in and around the Harrogate, North Yorkshire area but are open to other areas of North Yorkshire as well. We have also been to a few sites in and around Leeds so not ruling there out either.

dannyrst

We've just exchanged contracts with Redrow for a proprty in Steeton. It's been abit hit and miss with them, the original member of sales staff didn't give us too much info to go off but the one we had at exchange time and through the nitty gritty bits has been great. Without going into too much detail, they've been very accomodating and we're very happy with what we've got.

We went to look at the Horsforth development and were totally honest with the sales lady that we weren't interesting in buying a house there but wanted to look at the showhome as it was identical downstairs layout to our house and she was more than happy to help, including closing the sales office, whilst we looked around, despite knowing she wasn't going to get a sale.

We found other new build layouts and outside appeareance to lack where Redrow excel, but that's personal opinion and you may feel the opposite to us.

Dom_Fletch89

dannyrst wrote: »

We've just exchanged contracts with Redrow for a proprty in Steeton. It's been abit hit and miss with them, the original member of sales staff didn't give us too much info to go off but the one we had at exchange time and through the nitty gritty bits has been great. Without going into too much detail, they've been very accomodating and we're very happy with what we've got.

We went to look at the Horsforth development and were totally honest with the sales lady that we weren't interesting in buying a house there but wanted to look at the showhome as it was identical downstairs layout to our house and she was more than happy to help, including closing the sales office, whilst we looked around, despite knowing she wasn't going to get a sale.

We found other new build layouts and outside appeareance to lack where Redrow excel, but that's personal opinion and you may feel the opposite to us.

Yes I saw the Steeton development on their website not so long ago. Which house type have you gone for if you don't mind me asking?

What was the Horsforth development like in general? Was it just not viable for you in terms of location? Might be worth going over there to have a look as it's not a million miles away from us.

dannyrst

Dom_Fletch89 wrote: »

Yes I saw the Steeton development on their website not so long ago. Which house type have you gone for if you don't mind me asking?

What was the Horsforth development like in general? Was it just not viable for you in terms of location? Might be worth going over there to have a look as it's not a million miles away from us.

We chose a Stour. We had our heart set on that plot for ages so got our names in early and early birded it as soon as we could.

We didn't really see much of the development in Horsforth to be honest, we went specifically for the purpose of looking at the showhome to get an idea of the size of the house in Steeton. But for reference, the 4 bed house we looked at in Horsforth was around £100,000 cheaper in Steeton (the price you pay for living on the outskirts of Leeds!).

Prairie

ceecee1 wrote: »

Can I direct you to the 'national leasehold campaign' page on Facebook (or just google it)

It involves all the major builders

I second this, there are some real eye-opening reports on there of what many new build developers are up to and how they have trapped unsuspecting buyers of their leasehold and freehold houses/flats.

Chanes

Prairie wrote: »

I second this, there are some real eye-opening reports on there of what many new build developers are up to and how they have trapped unsuspecting buyers of their leasehold and freehold houses/flats.

I'll recommend that Facebook page for information too, it's a horror story for some of those people and new build purchases.

pinkfluffybabe

We bought with Taylor Wimpey (Scotland).

Sales process straightforward as a FTB, plenty of information, meetings, opportunities to select options, to see progress on the building. A bit of messing about with the moving in date due to a last minute garden change but we got there in the end.

After purchase you don't deal with sales staff, you are passed on to customer service. They are terrible by comparison. Getting the snagging done was a real war of attrition, and I've got a damaged drain cover in my garden that they haven't attended to for six months and counting.

Extras are expensive but it will depend on your own preferences and budget. We got all white goods included, but the back garden we had to sort ourselves. We got some money towards extras as part of our negotiation so it's worth asking.

Build quality is good but settlement causes all sort of cracks and bumps. I think the finish outside could have been better.

I'm happy with my house overall, but I'd say that once they have your money, their level of customer service certainly drops off so be prepared.

SuboJvR

From my research, developers vary considerably across the country. So a development in the north, people may have very different experiences to those in the south.

For more established developments - try looking on Facebook, there may be a residents association or community page where you can ask about people's experiences.

We are buying with Taylor Wimpey and experience so far has been good, very friendly, but the proof will be in the pudding! Local residents very happy though. Even on this one site there are two TW sales offices - two different branches dealing with the development! I assume they wanted to increase building rate near the finish.

Options wise we are getting a pretty much complete house for the sale price, the only thing not included is flooring, so will be sourcing that elsewhere. I've seen stories of people paying extra for turf, an outside tap, power and light in garage, appliances. We have all of that and solar panels too (non leased)!

It's exciting but nerve wracking. There's so many stories. But due to our circumstances we would struggle to buy a non new build at this point in our lives, and would really need to wait a couple more years (and pay another £25,000 of someone else's mortgage in the process!)