New Builds - Any Pitfalls?

Davesnave

buggy_boy wrote: »

I think you have miss read my post, I started a new paragraph when I said new houses come with a 10 year guarantee, the previous paragraph about the pipes was a personal example of how new builds can be of poor quality... In no way was I trying to say the NHBC guarantee would cover things like pipes, as I said in the post the house was 13yrs old at the time so would not be covered anyway...

The Guarantee does actually cover more than just if the house falls down but like any guarantee before giving over your money make sure you fully understand what is and what is not covered so you dont get a nasty surprise.

I didn't interpret your post in that way. As you didn't define what guarantees like the NHBC one cover, I just used the pipes as a convenient example of something fairly minor and beyond their scope. It wasn't a reflection on your knowledge; more an indication to others that these guarantees are concerned with large components that make up a house.

My comment about the house 'falling down' should also not be taken too literally, since I don't believe there have been many instances of that! I just meant that the guarantee covers stuff that should never happen if professionals do their job correctly and use sound materials.

GreenSnake

Crashy_Time wrote: »

So rising interest rates will have no bearing on someone buying a new-build? Interesting, can you expand on this please?

What cause do you see for interest rate rises?
Oil spike? Why would US shale producers not come online to increase supply?
UK government has proved it wants to trash Sterling. How else is it going to pay its debt?

Pent up currency supply from QE moving out of commodities, causing hyperinflation?

Black Swan? Maybe, as always.

troffasky

hammy1988 wrote: »

I was told all new builds come with fibre where possible as standard, I'm quoting Openreach and BT, not myself.

Look a little closer, that will only happen if the developer registers the development with Openreach, and the "where possible" clause renders that promise meaningless. I would say "do your research" but I don't actually know if you can find out from Openreach if a given development has been registered.

This highlights a fundamental difference between new-build and old-build: with new-build you only have promises and shiny brochures to go on. With old-build, what you see is what you get.

lincroft1710

Carrot007 wrote: »

And as far as I am concerned detached should mean 4 metres at least between properties not some ridiculous 2 foot gap.

Unless they were very rural or very large/expensive, few detached properties had 4m between them and both neighbours, the majority since the 1930s would have 2ft or less. 8m is sufficient width for one house so why waste a plot every 2 houses?

BeckyAP

My partner and I bought our first home, a new build 6 months ago now.
It's a terraced house but we've had no problems with noise from the neighbors.
I know some say they come at a premium for being brand new and then drop as soon as the front door is opened, but for us, it wasn't an investment opportunity. We bought something that was going to be our home and something we could spend a good few years in.
We've been lucky in that issues within the house have often be resolved by the builder.
It all depends on what you are looking for, if you're looking to make a quick buck, you won't do that when buying a new build.

NeilCr

I’ve bought two new builds. Neither as an investment but both of them have grown in value. I have been extremely happy with them.

I’m inclined to agree with an earlier poster about buying from “small” builders - as opposed to the big boys