The nervous wait to exchange....

[MatsyLR]

What do you define as issues with new builds? Don't write new-builds off with researching them first

I'm actually in the process of buying a new build (not started building yet just in the early phase, yet to have my first meeting with them about options etc)
Issues that I am referring too are including but not limited to

• New houses are generally overpriced for what they are
• Cheap materials and low standards compared to older houses (this depends on the company/development but you get the idea they are all as bad as each other). The developer I am going with has a horrible reputation, but so do the rest of the "budget" ones.
• Options/Finishing touches are EXPENSIVE, the house I'm trying for only comes with cooker, extractor fan and gas hob as standard, you are buying a skeleton. Everything else including the back garden grass, flooring inside etc is extra, it can add up quickly (I would be getting my own company doing the flooring for half the cost). Something as simple as having a tiled bathroom isn't standard and has to be paid for. I have the options brochure and my god its frightening how much they can charge for a simple integrated fridge and something as simple as putting downlights in/extra sockets. I'm expecting a big shock when I have my options meeting along with trying my best to get stuff thrown in for free.
• Estate management fees (clean up, maintenance etc) that they often hide away from people (depending on the development)
• Shrinkage and cracks with the house settling along with other snags you need to be on the look out for during the process and after

I've been searching for months upon months for something reasonable and I keep getting outbid on properties where they are going for a stupid amount of money for what you get. Eventually settled on a new house instead that has been reserved to me if I choose to go ahead with it. Been to see the build I chose that was almost complete for a different customer and its lovely size and from what I could tell had been finished to a decent standard couldn't see a fault in the plastering, the sealing no damage anywhere I could find (I had a good inspection as the guy let me walk around freely while he was busy)

Its just a stressful time!

 

[spenncerr]

I'm actually in the process of buying a new build (not started building yet just in the early phase, yet to have my first meeting with them about options etc)
Issues that I am referring too are including but not limited to

• New houses are generally overpriced for what they are
• Cheap materials and low standards compared to older houses (this depends on the company/development but you get the idea they are all as bad as each other). The developer I am going with has a horrible reputation, but so do the rest of the "budget" ones.
• Options/Finishing touches are EXPENSIVE, the house I'm trying for only comes with cooker, extractor fan and gas hob as standard, you are buying a skeleton. Everything else including the back garden grass, flooring inside etc is extra, it can add up quickly (I would be getting my own company doing the flooring for half the cost). Something as simple as having a tiled bathroom isn't standard and has to be paid for. I have the options brochure and my god its frightening how much they can charge for a simple integrated fridge and something as simple as putting downlights in/extra sockets. I'm expecting a big shock when I have my options meeting along with trying my best to get stuff thrown in for free.
• Estate management fees (clean up, maintenance etc) that they often hide away from people (depending on the development)
• Shrinkage and cracks with the house settling along with other snags you need to be on the look out for during the process and after

I've been searching for months upon months for something reasonable and I keep getting outbid on properties where they are going for a stupid amount of money for what you get. Eventually settled on a new house instead that has been reserved to me if I choose to go ahead with it. Been to see the build I chose that was almost complete for a different customer and its lovely size and from what I could tell had been finished to a decent standard couldn't see a fault in the plastering, the sealing no damage anywhere I could find (I had a good inspection as the guy let me walk around freely while he was busy)

Its just a stressful time!

Is there a reason you've gone for a new build? We've been looking at one as first time buyers because of the incentives but they are all just ghastly looking. Absolutely no character and generally just so poorly built.

 

[MatsyLR]

Is there a reason you've gone for a new build? We've been looking at one as first time buyers because of the incentives but they are all just ghastly looking. Absolutely no character and generally just so poorly built.

Id quite happily live in a box. I want square rooms I hate cutouts in rooms and fireplaces just a waste of space.

Its mainly the fact of looking for used builds and getting outbid all the time. Just got back from seeing another but the guy is asking far too much for what it is but has multiple viewings booked in all week so he's going to get the asking price and probably even more. Its just mad. The new build is going to depend on what I can get for free and estate management fees.

 

[a1ex2001]

We have keys but an outbreak of COVID in the household means we have only briefly popped round for essential security reasons what an annoying piece of timing!

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Id quite happily live in a box. I want square rooms I hate cutouts in rooms and fireplaces just a waste of space.

Its mainly the fact of looking for used builds and getting outbid all the time. Just got back from seeing another but the guy is asking far too much for what it is but has multiple viewings booked in all week so he's going to get the asking price and probably even more. Its just mad. The new build is going to depend on what I can get for free and estate management fees.

It seems pretty uncommon to have an asking price now with most being Offers Over or Offer above, we watched the market a little and decided to sell just befpre Xmas.
Best and final offers were yesterday with the "winner" being notably above the price we listed at (offers over) Id expect any property in a resonably decent state to go for at least 10% more than the list price

Were going for a new build on a local development (if we get the plot we want) developer is Storey Homes and they seem massively ahead of the other newbuils we looked at build, layout and quality wise

 

[ci_newman]

Is there a reason you've gone for a new build? We've been looking at one as first time buyers because of the incentives but they are all just ghastly looking. Absolutely no character and generally just so poorly built.

New builds are like cars, some are built at the cheaper end of the scale with mass-production, others are built by smaller builders that have a better reputation for build quality.

I bought a new build last year, build quality has been excellent and the handfull of small issues we've had have been resolved in a matter of days. (My house builder was Croudace for a point of reference). On price per sqm, it actually worked out cheaper than most of the local second hand homes due to the absurd house price increases in 2020/2021, whereas our builder kept their prices at the same cost since the development started in 2019.

 

[dlockers]

Mine is going on the market tomorrow at +100k from when I bought it in April 2019. I've got my eyes on one that was listed at 800k but then reduced to 700k due to the work required. I've put in a cheeky offer at 670k. Fingers crossed mine goes quickly, it seems well priced given the neighbors has gone up with a lot of work required (525k) and one on the main road in pristine/extended condition is 600k.

Fingers crossed.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Aye were hoping that these new builds aren't gouged to **** price wise

We've guessed an approximate price based on their other developments and are very happy with the slight smaller (by about 100sqm) 5 bed.
We viewed them both and the larger one wasn't really worth the extra they're asking in either of our eyes.

We know the site/area and would like to stay here, all we know at the moment is they're opening the site/reservations in Feb atm got our eyes on a couple of plots that we would like just hope someone doesn't beat us to the plot

 

[squerble]

Aye were hoping that these new builds aren't gouged to **** price wise

We've guessed an approximate price based on their other developments and are very happy with the slight smaller (by about 100sqm) 5 bed.
We viewed them both and the larger one wasn't really worth the extra they're asking in either of our eyes.

We know the site/area and would like to stay here, all we know at the moment is they're opening the site/reservations in Feb atm got our eyes on a couple of plots that we would like just hope someone doesn't beat us to the plot

I hope you meant either 100 sq.ft or 10sq.m here, as 100sq.m is nothing I'd call "slight" I think the house we're offering on is less than 100sq.m in total!

 

[Itchytrigg]

With the lack of stock I think prices in my area will rise beyond what we can mortgage now and I can’t save as quickly as the gap is increasing.

What winds me up is a max mortgage is about £200 less a month than I pay for rent (which will likely increase soon too).

 

[silversurfer]

Rates can go up 10x from here in theory though hopefully not, thats why theres all the stress testing with a lot of leeway.

back garden grass

I would rather it not be covered anyway so I know the quality of the ground and its not a lot of broken bricks lying in the dirt underneath

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

I hope you meant either 100 sq.ft or 10sq.m here, as 100sq.m is nothing I'd call "slight" I think the house we're offering on is less than 100sq.m in total!

LMAO! oops aye sqft 1803 sqft versus 1905 sqft

The only notable omission is a dressing room but we much prefer the layout of the smaller one

 

[dlockers]

Mine is going on the market tomorrow at +100k from when I bought it in April 2019. I've got my eyes on one that was listed at 800k but then reduced to 700k due to the work required. I've put in a cheeky offer at 670k. Fingers crossed mine goes quickly, it seems well priced given the neighbors has gone up with a lot of work required (525k) and one on the main road in pristine/extended condition is 600k.

Fingers crossed.

So since this post my house had only been up for 4 hours and it has 7 viewings on Saturday. Fingers crossed someone is serious. Unfortunately the 670k on the fixer upper has been rejected and they want 700k. 700k is affordable but it really needs a lot of work... How flippant are folk with spanking 30k to win the property? There is literally nothing similar nearby...

 

[squerble]

So since this post my house had only been up for 4 hours and it has 7 viewings on Saturday. Fingers crossed someone is serious. Unfortunately the 670k on the fixer upper has been rejected and they want 700k. 700k is affordable but it really needs a lot of work... How flippant are folk with spanking 30k to win the property? There is literally nothing similar nearby...

When we were offering on properties last year, it became almost expected that you'd offer asking price, knowing it would then go to sealed bids/best-and-final offer. So we'd look at houses listed at £220k, offer that, and then know we'd need to be offering another £10k+ on top in order to be in with a shout. I can't see that madness ending just yet.

When my girlfriend sold her property, she had 2 blind offers over asking the day it was listed. It was absolutely crazy.

 

[Buffman]

So since this post my house had only been up for 4 hours and it has 7 viewings on Saturday. Fingers crossed someone is serious. Unfortunately the 670k on the fixer upper has been rejected and they want 700k. 700k is affordable but it really needs a lot of work... How flippant are folk with spanking 30k to win the property? There is literally nothing similar nearby...

They won't accept your offer regardless as you're not in a proceedable position I.e. Sold. Likely they'll just use your offer to tell other buyers "there has been an offer" if anyone shows interest and make them more likely to pay more.

As to how much people are likely to pay for that specific house, it depends entirely on the area. If you can't get similar for 700k then likely it'll go for 700k (even if it needs work. The only thing I'd highlight is dont underestimate the cost of renovation. What are you currently thinking is required/share the link? I'd say it's worth having double the cash to hand

 

[dlockers]

They won't accept your offer regardless as you're not in a proceedable position I.e. Sold. Likely they'll just use your offer to tell other buyers "there has been an offer" if anyone shows interest and make them more likely to pay more.

As to how much people are likely to pay for that specific house, it depends entirely on the area. If you can't get similar for 700k then likely it'll go for 700k (even if it needs work. The only thing I'd highlight is dont underestimate the cost of renovation. What are you currently thinking is required/share the link? I'd say it's worth having double the cash to hand

Useful thanks. I'd considered the being able to proceed thing as step 2 but had come around it was indeed step 1. Fingers crossed the weekend goes well for us.

Reno wise it's identical to what I did to this place - new kitchen, bathrooms; with the exception that one wall would ideally be removed. I'm hoping most folk viewing are totally turned off as they'd be paying trades to come in, and around here they're mega mega mega expensive.

The main thing is it's totally liveable and has a new boiler, so I'm under no rush to get it done.

 

[Buffman]

Useful thanks. I'd considered the being able to proceed thing as step 2 but had come around it was indeed step 1. Fingers crossed the weekend goes well for us.

Reno wise it's identical to what I did to this place - new kitchen, bathrooms; with the exception that one wall would ideally be removed. I'm hoping most folk viewing are totally turned off as they'd be paying trades to come in, and around here they're mega mega mega expensive.

The main thing is it's totally liveable and has a new boiler, so I'm under no rush to get it done.

Aye i think it's surprising the amount of people who are willing to throw 600+k at houses that need a lot of renovation in particularly popular areas, I know it's going mad around me.

I guess it aligns with me getting something thats cosmetically hideous but can be renovated

 

[dlockers]

Aye i think it's surprising the amount of people who are willing to throw 600+k at houses that need a lot of renovation in particularly popular areas, I know it's going mad around me.

I guess it aligns with me getting something thats cosmetically hideous but can be renovated

Yeah between the two of us I think we'll owe @200sols a pint.

 

[bobbarley]

I finally completed on my house Wednesday just gone. After a bitter two year divorce it feels so good to own my own place. Never going to make the mistake of relying on anyone again!

 

[shiver]

I finally completed on my house Wednesday just gone. After a bitter two year divorce it feels so good to own my own place. Never going to make the mistake of relying on anyone again!

Congrats!