New Build or Older Home?

cloo

I personally have never heard anything good of new build, and I find the rooms in them way too small and lacking in storage, but if you see one you like I agree with other posters that you should ask people living in the same development (if they're there already) if you can. If one place has an issue, it's quite likely others on the same development have it.

todayisagreatday

At the same time we bought our 1970's house sister in law bought a new build 20k less. Everything shiny and new, grey, smelling of new carpets and paint. They moved in on the day, to an immaculate house with nothing to do.

We were ripping up dog sh-t carpets, wearing white paper suits and masks and spending more than any normal person would on cleaning products, ripping wallpaper off where dogs had weed up it and painting everything white just to feel clean.

4 months on, they have a huge snagging list, are complaining they can't sit in the garden without being overlooked all angles as more houses have been added to the estate and their new sparkly house isn't as sparkly. Our house is clean, but it's a long term project, we are adjacent to the canal, have half an acre and architects planning a long term design and extension.

I don't care for new builds but it does depend on what you want. For my sister in law, the estate was family orientated, a school is being built along with a coop, park etc so it meets their needs in terms of a family home with other families. My ideal of hell but then we don't have kids, don't need to be in catchment areas and want a project.

I'd definitely compare the price of a new build with others in the area. Oh and I agree with the comment about studded walls. Sister in law has to use special wall plugs to hang anything as walls that thin. By contrast ours are solid and need a hammer drill to get through them!

Doozergirl

FreeBear wrote: »

Photos please or it didn't happen

I'm sure others would be interested in how the build goes, as would I.

I was nervous to start a thread on the In my Home board!

I thought I'd try and engage ProDave to see if he/she fancied sharing one. Someone's got to start it though.

Watch this space.

Silvertabby

We bought our house as a new build in the early 1990s. It isn't by one of the 'usual suspects', though, it was built by a small local firm.

We only had 4 'snags', which were quickly dealt with - and we've been 'happy ever after'.

That said, we had a look round a couple of big name show houses recently (purely out of curiosity) and were NOT impressed by the build quality or finishing touches.

Sapphire

Old place any day for me. I would never buy a new-build flat (called 'luxury apartment by developers) or house. I prefer the quality of the build of old houses, and their character, and don't mind fixing issues (must say, I've had few of those in the properties I've lived in). Can't stand the look of the modern blocks in London, and feel they've been flung up as cheaply as possible to make as much money as possible for developers, estate agents, tax avoiders, and the like. The only new-build flat I've ever been in had tiny rooms and absolutely no character – as if it were composed of boxes. I also wouldn't like to experience all the 'add-ons' that occupants have to pay for.

Durham_andrew

We purchased at 20 year old house around 5 months ago and we have had no problems with it the kitchen and the downstairs toilet are both original. Also my brother baught a new build and his master bedroom is about the same size as my 4th bedroom but we payed 85k more

Silvertabby

Durham_andrew wrote: »

We purchased at 20 year old house around 5 months ago and we have had no problems with it the kitchen and the downstairs toilet are both original. Also my brother baught a new build and his master bedroom is about the same size as my 4th bedroom but we payed 85k more

Each of the 4 bedrooms in our 1990s 'new build' will easily take a double bed. That's very rare with current new builds.

YoungBlueEyes

I've been house hunting for a wee while now, and it never occurred to me to even look at a new build.

I grew up in a huge Irish farmhouse. Father retired, we moved to Staffordshire into a big old cottage. We're now in a large Victorian terrace. I can walk into town in a couple of minutes. My bedroom now is the smallest I've ever had and it's 16ftx14ft. I can lay down and fully stretch out in my big old bath

Why would I go from this to a house with spit-thin walls, a small over-looked garden, and pay way over the odds for the privilege?

Old house for me, every single time.

walwyn1978

Lived in since getting together with partner: new build flat (built 2000, moved in 2001), an 19th century terrace, a house built in 2006 that we rented 2010-2014 and now a house originally built as a bungalow in 1952 but since converted out and up.

Of the four places, I much prefer the older ones: more outdoor space ( we have much bigger gardens in our 1950’s estate than the 2000’s estate nearby), in my view better build quality - thicker walls, harder woods used for door trim etc, houses with that hard to define ‘character’, bigger rooms, a garage in our current house that actually you can park (2) cars in, rather than modern garages which are just large cupboards and you can’t get the car in. But the trade off for that is things going wrong as they age so higher maintenance and upkeep, and thus the need to keep a decent savings pot to cope with this. Plus everything isn’t shiny and new. I like that aspect, but accept it’s not to everyone’s taste..

Whatever you decide to do, OP, if you’re happy in a new build or switch to an older property and are happy, then that’s the right choice to make. Good luck :-)

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I was nervous to start a thread on the In my Home board!

If you have (dare I say it) the balls to do a self build from the ground up, the "In My Home" board should be a breeze. You've already laid the tantalising foundations of a thread.