New Build (3 years old) Any opinions on New Builds.......

balabooberlies

20 something years ago a friend bought a new build.  Structural problems after a few years.  10 year guarantee not worth the paper it was written on.

My sister in law is now looking at one 3 year old house so my questions are......

Have things changed re guarantee ?

What kind of survey ?  (I would always go for a full one but that is my nature)......

Anyone had experience with New Builds and would like to share ?

many thanks in advance

bala

teachfast

Like asking for opinions on haircuts - they are all different. Some good, some bad and some absolutely criminal.

balabooberlies

Thank you

Am looking for advice on how to sort the wheat from the chaff as you have outlined.

All knowledge/experience would be useful in some way.

I also wondered who is liable if a problem not outlined in a survey occurs.  Subsidence etc...

Is the insurance company, the surveyors ?

bala

teachfast

That would come under the guarantee. Depends which one you have but some have a large excess (£1k).

balabooberlies

Thank you

and you do teach fast !  

bala

Bad_Accountant

balabooberlies said:

20 something years ago a friend bought a new build.  Structural problems after a few years.  10 year guarantee not worth the paper it was written on.

My sister in law is now looking at one 3 year old house so my questions are......

Have things changed re guarantee ?

What kind of survey ?  (I would always go for a full one but that is my nature)......

Anyone had experience with New Builds and would like to share ?

many thanks in advance

bala

I would have a look at this guy's TikTok - he's a professional snagging surveyor and he shows the shocking faults he finds in new builds: https://www.tiktok.com/@newhomequalitycontrol/

Of course he's trying to sell his services so he highlights the most unusual and serious/funny defects, but it is hugely eyeopening about how poor some new builds are.

balabooberlies

Thank you

Am so unsure about New Builds and this will  be their first house

bala

AdrianC

If somebody else has been living in it for the last 3yo, it's not a new build.

It's just a house.

balabooberlies

AdrianC said:

If somebody else has been living in it for the last 3yo, it's not a new build.

It's just a house.

Am sorry but I don't agree

Victorian, Georgian, 1930's build etc have stood the test of time.  A 3 year old is a baby.  But thank you for your input.

AdrianC

No, it really isn't a new build any more. Even those Georgians were new-build once...

A 3yo car isn't a new one, either, any more than a pre-war Austin Seven is...

Section62

AdrianC said:

No, it really isn't a new build any more. Even those Georgians were new-build once...

A 3yo car isn't a new one, either, any more than a pre-war Austin Seven is...

Completely agree.

After 3 years the owners have had plenty of time to do their own damage to the property - possibly voiding any warranty (which is likely not worth the paper it was written on in the first place).

The purchaser's mindset needs be that this is just a (second-hand) house with the potential to contain not only the developer's shortcuts and bad practices, but also an extra layer of owner-inflicted problems.

The only difference vs Victorian, Georgian, 1930's, [1960's] is the kind of problems a knowledgeable buyer is going to expect to see before setting foot in the place.