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brit1234
Posts: 5,385 Forumite
Big debate on quality issues on newbuild properties and the weakness of warranty on Victoria Derbyshire show today.
The new homes 'uninhabitable' after less than a year
Gas leaks, damp, holes in the floor and cracks in the walls - for some, their new homes have become "uninhabitable" less than a year after moving in.
"Slugs, worms, beetles, spiders - they have their own personal entrance and exit route into our house," Karen Stacey-Pope tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42396938
:exclamatiScams - Shared Equity, Shared Ownership, Newbuy, Firstbuy and Help to Buy.
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I'd never buy a new build. I haven't been in one yet which has had anything like the quality of most older houses and this includes budget new builds all the way up to "prestige ones". Thrown together on a budget, I'll stick to my solid 30's semi.0
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We've just bought a 10 year old place just out of warranty. Previous owners moved in from new and never had to exercise a guarantee in that time. But this is a one off build on the site of land sold from neighbours garden. It's in a Victorian conservation area so sympathetic in style and materials to neighbouring houses.
We'd sworn off new builds too until we saw this. We've not been here long but can already see positives too versus the 1950s we moved from. Socket and cable points designed for modern living; retains heat brilliantly; layout suited to modern living; superb use of space.
That said, the previous owners also made significant spec improvements to all the bathrooms and the kitchen/breakfast/utility, plus both gardens, and entirely re-floored the downstairs with wood and stone tiling.
We're not planning to move again but if we did it would still only be to 'nearly new' and probably not on an estate.0 -
Doesn’t surprise me I have friends that have bought a £300,000 Home (very pricey for our area) and as a plumber I look in the bathrooms and the fittings they have used pronably amount to less then £300 it’s basically a budget bathroom that i would recommend to someone if they where skint but urgently needed a bathroom0
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I’ve bought two new builds (this one was two years old but never lived in) and have had no problems at all.
The first was a two bedroom flat in Lewisham - the second one a two bed house here on the Kent coast. I live by myself and don’t need anything huge. Both had/have designated parking spaces - invaluable in both locations
Both have gone up in value - the sale of the flat neatly paid off my mortgage - and have worked really well for me and my best friend. He bought the flat off me and the likely profit is very good indeed
This is all horses for courses and your own experience but, personally, I think it’s wrong to blindly write off all new builds as not good0 -
Typical lazy journalism by the BBC - it's certainly the case that quality on some sites is much lower than it used to be, but there are also many other sites that are much better than the older housing stock. You can't put all contractors in the same pigeon hole.
People need to be educated on how buildings work, and what the appropriate process for snagging and identifying faults is - there are so many threads on this forum alone that would have benefited from a professional inspection service prior to occupation.
I also think that there should be a minimum 7 days between practical completion of a property and occupation, so that detailed inspections and surveys can take place before the occupants move in. The developer should then be liable for any temporary accommodation costs until the property is fully completed - most problems I've seen are caused by developers rushing to get completion with unrealistic dates, and once the occupants are in the developer doesn't want to know.0 -
Typical lazy journalism by the BBC - it's certainly the case that quality on some sites is much lower than it used to be, but there are also many other sites that are much better than the older housing stock. You can't put all contractors in the same pigeon hole.
People need to be educated on how buildings work, and what the appropriate process for snagging and identifying faults is - there are so many threads on this forum alone that would have benefited from a professional inspection service prior to occupation.
I also think that there should be a minimum 7 days between practical completion of a property and occupation, so that detailed inspections and surveys can take place before the occupants move in. The developer should then be liable for any temporary accommodation costs until the property is fully completed - most problems I've seen are caused by developers rushing to get completion with unrealistic dates, and once the occupants are in the developer doesn't want to know.
Excellent post. Agree 100% especially the last paragraph concerning completion.0 -
On the Victoria Derbyshire show they suggested that new build owners keep 10% of the properties costs till they are happy all the issueshave been fixed. That wayit would force the builders to fix the problems promptly.
Do you think this is a good idea?:exclamatiScams - Shared Equity, Shared Ownership, Newbuy, Firstbuy and Help to Buy.
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Piffle. We have a new build and it's been great. The only problems we had were aesthetic.. bannister needed sanding, and a few knocks and bumps oh and the wrong kitchen being installed before we moved in but that was quickly fixed.
We had a 5 year guarantee so any issues that did crop up a bit later have been fixed. Such as a small leak caused by settling and they even filled in the cracks in plaster that happens in new build.
Trouble is you only really hear of horror stories.
Sound insulation really good. We could hold a rave and neighbours wouldn't know it. House is really warm and lots of storage which is a whole lot different compared to the older houses we have seen.
My mum's 1960's house has no sound insulation between walls and is freezing in the winter. Wall insulation retrospectively done caused mould.
My grandma's old 30s house bloody freezing too.
Rooms not a great deal bigger.
Would we go for a new build again? Not for the current prices but yeah otherwise we would.
My brother, a surveyor came around to look and said structure wise it was fine. A few nit picks and perfectionism mainly anesthetics that he as a builder (trained as before becoming a surveyor) said that in the past would have been picked up on.
So yeah... Long as you do your research of course be build are ok to live in just hugely overpriced even with help to buy and ask the other FTB "aids". I mean the ones around here are going for quite a bit more than other older homes at the moment.0 -
GrumpySO&SO wrote: »
My brother, a surveyor came around to look and said structure wise it was fine. A few nit picks and perfectionism mainly anesthetics that he as a builder (trained as before becoming a surveyor) said that in the past would have been picked up on.
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Nothing worth knocking yourself out over then?
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On the Victoria Derbyshire show they suggested that new build owners keep 10% of the properties costs till they are happy all the issueshave been fixed. That wayit would force the builders to fix the problems promptly.
Do you think this is a good idea?
Well, the concept of a retention is everywhere in construction so in principle it seems like a decent idea. Percentage and retention period would need to be carefully considered along with a long stop date when the money could be released to the owner if works had not been completed.
The builders would have to be sure the money was set aside and held securely by a third party though.0
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