New build - who is very happy with theirs?

ShinyStarlight1

I like the idea of a new build house but am put off by stories about poor build quality.

Is anyone very happy with their new build? If so, why and who built it?

UnsureAboutthis

Hi
I've never lived in a new build but have lived in pre-1900 houses in London -  very solid 4 bed houses but lacking good foundations and damp problems, otherwise well built.

The best houses I've lived in were those built from about 1930's to the early 50's semi's and detached, often these had a box room as a bedroom ie thrid rook and often one bathroom and or a seprate toilet - a through lounge was typicaly 24/26 feet but the one i lived in was 31 feet ie no extension. Very solid places, with ours, there was what looked like a slate dam-proof course. - solid ablonf roof tiles etc.

We have also lived in houses/bungalows built between 1960 and 1968, very soild, lots of light, relatively big gardens front and back, wider roads in front of houses when compared with new build

Re new build, it depends which estate you buy on and -or if its an "executive" house or not

One sis bout a a detached place built in the mid 1980-s - most houses were semis, the others were detached a two rows of 4 - gardens overlooked, build quilty not bad

I've visited new builds ie when visiting my customers, when i worked and the houses were paper-thin, the ceilings were lower in some and rooms smaller - much smaller front and back gardens, narrow roads but newer houses appear to be more cost-effective when heating but sound travels.

Be aware of an estate that is not complete, as it may never be completed. Be aware of the empty plot behind the garndes as you can expect flats.

Look at the quality of the fitting - kitchens often lack cupboard space as do bedrooms

So, it depends on the estate you buy on and whom it was build by, along with the calibre of the house, eg, executive or not  - just like a car - often same bricks etc used but tarted up -  so look at which company takes pride in their new builds.

A family member of mine knocked down a massive det house from the 1920 - and built a 7-bed house - if he'd used cheaper bricks, roof tiles, joists, floorboard, the build would have be tens of thousands less. Therefore, its the quality and the spec of the meatrial as well

Section62

ShinyStarlight1 said:

I like the idea of a new build house but am put off by stories about poor build quality.

Is anyone very happy with their new build? If so, why and who built it?

Except for some of the smaller companies, most house construction work is subbed-out, and then likely subbed again to smaller companies or individuals.

So even if 'Fred Bloggs Exclusive Developments' has an outstanding reputation, the next house they build could be a lemon, perhaps because this time Messrs Bodgitt & Run won the tender with the lowest price.

One person's experience of new home buying is unlikely to be the same as the next person's - and generally what really counts is how good the company you have the contract with are at dealing with post-sale issues.  And that, unfortunately, often comes down to the quality of the site manager/sales staff on each site.

DE_612183

The difficulty with new builds is a lot of the work is carried out by contractors - so a Redrow home is South Wales may be really good, but one in Liverpool may be pants.

The best thing to do is wait and see when a few are built and have a look at the finish etc in then - not show homes.

Also worthwhile is finding out who are the contractors ( plumbers / electricians etc ) you can normally tell by the vans on site and see what these firms reputations are.

MyRealNameToo

ShinyStarlight1 said:

I like the idea of a new build house but am put off by stories about poor build quality.

Is anyone very happy with their new build? If so, why and who built it?

Have lived in 3 new builds as an adult but each were rentals... first parents had bought for daughter to go to uni but then she decided not to go, second was a repossession when the builders went bust and the third was an intentional buy to let. 

In each case was there for a few years which may not have been long enough for anything major to show up. None had anything major wrong with them but plenty of little niggles... 

In the repossession neither toilet would flush on day 1, the first one had been done properly with an access area to the concealed cistern but the other had been fully sealed in. Both were just full of crud that blocked the system but whilst the top was off the void in the false wall was absolutely full of rubbish, mainly plastic sheeting but some broken tiles,  bent screws, a set of pliers plus one trainer. 

The first flat one of the gas hobs failed in the first week and it developed some form of wet patch on the outside of the wall to the ensuite but it was behind the landlords freestanding wardrobes so didnt spot it until clearing out to leave. 

Final one the landlord had allegedly already done a 100+ snagging fixes before we moved. Other than one window that was difficult to close properly there was nothing significant but it did feel the most flimsy. 

The only old property I lived in was student digs at uni which was a Scottish tenement flat from 1900s. Guess it was a little more solid but then it also slopped into the middle of the building. Childhood home was early 70s (I'm late 70s), a 1950s conversion flat and everything since has been younger than me with our current home being circa 2005

Albermarle

We have also lived in houses/bungalows built between 1960 and 1968, very soild, lots of light, relatively big gardens front and back.
Although newer build estates tend to have smaller gardens, I think historically the size of gardens can vary a lot from area to area,  regardless of the time period.

pinkshoes

My parents have lived in 3 newbuilds. 

First one built 1976 and was a superb house. Well designed, 3 bedrooms, separate dining room with serving hatch. A collection of 15 houses in a cul de sac.

The second one built 1988 buy a small independent builder. Again, another brilliant house, solid bricks and insulation between every room so noise was minimal, 4 double bedrooms, decent size garden (so not cramming several houses on one plot). 

Their third one that they currently live in is on a large estate, but the estate is very well planned; every pavement is double width to include cycle paths, large green areas and parks in-between all the housing areas, houses in each bit built in a completely different style so they all don't look like carbon copies, and plenty of parking. I like their house - very well insulated so heating not needed until December, and the downstairs is designed so that when they are unable to manage stairs, they can live downstairs. The only think I don't like is the stud walls between rooms as you can hear things being plugged into sockets, people moving around. They've had no issues with the house other than a sticking door.

I bought a newbuild flat in Oxford years ago. It was built by an independent builder, very well designed, plenty of space and storage. I loved it. 

A friend of mine has a newbuild, and had to move out a month later as it hadn't been insulated properly. The builder had to pay for a rental for them! Some of the social housing new builds near me were built in the corner of the field that floods really badly, and they all seem to have damp problems. 

I think you just need to do your research on the development, look at the layout of the housing, look for any parking issues (e.g. blocks of flats being built without sufficient parking and visitor parking), and any questions you ask get an answer in writing!

BungalowBel

I owned a new build rental flat on an estate .  I have sold it now. It was built by Persimmon.
The build quality was fine, as far as I am aware, but I hated the closeness of all the houses, the lack of privacy, so overlooked and with tiny gardens and often no front garden.

I can't  understand why anyone would buy a house there to live in. The flats, surprisingly, are more private as they are gated and have dedicated parking at the rear, so although you are looking at a car park, at least you are not looking into someone else's kitchen window or their garden.

I live in a 1930s bungalow with a good front garden and very large back garden, which is very private. Give me that any day.

steadfast123

We bought a new build from Persimmon in Dec last year. We were apprehensive knowing about some horror stories. Someone I knew had moved to the estate 6 months prior, and two of her family members had bought houses so I asked them about their experience which had been positive. Our house has quite a large garden which can be unusual for a new build. We did part exchange and the process couldn’t have been easier or less stress free, compared to buying/selling in the conventional way. We paid for a professional snag report which was very worthwhile as a lot of the issues with the house were outside and things we wouldn’t have picked up on ourselves. Persimmon have been really responsive to our snags and pretty much sorted everything out. We are part of an estate WhatsApp group and some people are unhappy with finishes/snags not being resolved, we maybe got lucky.  

knightstyle

You can employ a surveyor to do the snagging a few days before completion. Much easier to spot problems before all your stuff, carpets etc. go in and hide things.

Herzlos

I assume most people are happy with them because there aren't many complaints. The big problem I have with most of them is how close together they are to each other, near me there's an estate of 7 bedroom mansions, pillar porches and all, but the houses are barely an arms span apart and full length windows facing into each other across the road. If I was spending that kind of money on a giant house I'd at least expect a bit of space and privacy.



What I would recommend about new builds is to pay for an independent snagging inspection and get all of the points addressed before you move in. That should deal with most of the problems and give you more confidence in the house.