New Builds Vs Old Builds

Davesnave

Fixed that for them....

lookstraightahead

I'm just about to buy an 1850s house. Little cottage where there might be an issue with the walls which might be a deal breaker. However, I would feel much more worried about a new build.
one thing that took me by surprise was how my 2.5 bed cottage has more floor space than a new 3 floor townhouse, on for £100000 more near me. And some new build semis are half the floor space. And it appears you reach them by boat.

FreeBear

Doozergirl said:

bery_451 said:

Okay with all the flood news coming on TV, shall we assume all new homes are not built in a flood risk area?

Designed for living, not 'modern living'. 

In fairness to the developer, this particular area of the site has been left undeveloped specifically for the purpose of storing flood water in the event of extreme weather. This image shows (according to Russell Homes) that the plan is working..

lookstraightahead

RelievedSheff said:

NaughtiusMaximus said:

RelievedSheff said:

Davesnave said:

I'm not sure what this 'modern living' might be. Is it code for something radical, like having a kitchen/diner and a loo off the hallway? Or what?

It's not having a useless lounge diner and a tiny little kitchen that is no use to man nor beast.

I would prefer, and currently have, a decent sized kitchen AND a lounge/diner. Far more useful and practical than the alternative of a smaller lounge and larger kitchen/diner.

Not all houses have that though. In general the generic 3 bed 1950/60's semis have a tiny kitchen for the size of the house and a useless lounge diner. They also tend to have two decent sized bedrooms but then the third bedroom really is a box room.

We have a good sized kitchen diner and a good sized lounge that are both the same size but on opposite sides of the hallway. And our third bedroom is a good sized single bedroom that has room for a single bed and wardrobes.

You can move most of the internal walls in most houses. Ok might cost, but not as much as the depreciation and initial overprice of a new build.
i think all of the 'incentives' with new builds make it a very expensive option. I liken it to cars. Some people will only buy new, some will never buy new. Some can only 'afford' new builds because of the incentives. 

teachfast

Every purchase is a compromise of some kind.  You get a bigger kitchen, you may end up with a smaller front room etc.
Some may not mind if neighbours are close, while others may want to see nobody for a mile around them.  For some reliable, fast internet is not just nice but essential - and networked homes.  For others they couldn't care two hoots.  Big garden matters to some (often those with kids and pets) and not much to others, who would rather compromise there and have more {Insert something else}.

Luckily, we're all different and there's massive variety.  The more money you have, the fewer compromises you have to make.

This is 9 pages of people expressing their preferences - most of which have nothing to do with whether new builds are better than old builds.

Two other things:

1) Most of the ropey old builds have fallen down or been demolished, so those that are left standing must be robust, by default!

2) Whatever you buy, you can bet your bottom dollar that your solicitor will be overworked (if working 4 hours per day, 5 days per week counts as overworked) and will completely fail in effective, professional communication with you.

lookstraightahead

teachfast said:

Every purchase is a compromise of some kind.  You get a bigger kitchen, you may end up with a smaller front room etc.
Some may not mind if neighbours are close, while others may want to see nobody for a mile around them.  For some reliable, fast internet is not just nice but essential - and networked homes.  For others they couldn't care two hoots.  Big garden matters to some (often those with kids and pets) and not much to others, who would rather compromise there and have more {Insert something else}.

Luckily, we're all different and there's massive variety.  The more money you have, the fewer compromises you have to make.

This is 9 pages of people expressing their preferences - most of which have nothing to do with whether new builds are better than old builds.

Two other things:

1) Most of the ropey old builds have fallen down or been demolished, so those that are left standing must be robust, by default!

2) Whatever you buy, you can bet your bottom dollar that your solicitor will be overworked (if working 4 hours per day, 5 days per week counts as overworked) and will completely fail in effective, professional communication with you.

My solicitor is exceptional, but I get your point about everyone wanting something different.
as my 1850s house I'm just about to purchase is still standing, it's a fairly good bet then 😂

bery_451

Doozergirl said:

bery_451 said:

Okay with all the flood news coming on TV, shall we assume all new homes are not built in a flood risk area?

Designed for living, not 'modern living'. 

That's great, new builds come with a open communal swimming pool and instead of using a car to get around best to use a rowing boat!
I don't understand, don't these new build companies/corporations carry out a 'risk assessment' before building real estate properties that are worth £millions together. Or these companies just take the risk of finishing building, selling them all to unsuspected buyers before a flood strikes?

bery_451

Davesnave said:

bery_451 said:

Okay with all the flood news coming on TV, shall we assume all new homes are not built in a flood risk area?

 People should never assume anything in relation to buying property.

 There are flood risk maps available on the Environment Agency web site which will provide a starting point for personal research.

Would you like to share the link on this thread so potential buyers reading this thread can make a decision when buying in a flood risk area. Also is this link the best official link for reliable updated flood risk areas/maps in the UK? On the TV news right now it always showing global warming and melting ice caps that can cause higher sea levels, more rain & more flooding.

Shall we assume houses in flood risk areas are cheaper than the average house price because in any market that makes economical sense that is higher risk = cheaper prices. Finally high block apartments are not affected by flooding or can damp reach up to those high up apartments on the 100th floor lets say for example?

Davesnave

bery_451 said:

Davesnave said:

bery_451 said:

Okay with all the flood news coming on TV, shall we assume all new homes are not built in a flood risk area?

 People should never assume anything in relation to buying property.

 There are flood risk maps available on the Environment Agency web site which will provide a starting point for personal research.

Would you like to share the link on this thread so potential buyers reading this thread can make a decision when buying in a flood risk area.

Surely you have enough posts to put links up yourself?

RelievedSheff

bery_451 said:

Doozergirl said:

bery_451 said:

Okay with all the flood news coming on TV, shall we assume all new homes are not built in a flood risk area?

Designed for living, not 'modern living'. 

That's great, new builds come with a open communal swimming pool and instead of using a car to get around best to use a rowing boat!
I don't understand, don't these new build companies/corporations carry out a 'risk assessment' before building real estate properties that are worth £millions together. Or these companies just take the risk of finishing building, selling them all to unsuspected buyers before a flood strikes?

Yes they do. Hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent at planning stage to provide reports on flooding amongst other subjects to the local authorities.