House prices rose 7.3% this year, average now almost £250k

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FoxEye said:
Talking of new builds, there was a small brown-fields site a mile or two away from us (I often find myself browsing the planning permission site to see how this town is changing).

Now, a developer submitted a plan for something like 12 houses on the site, many detached or semi-detached. Nice places with gardens. Nothing was built.

The developer then submitted a new plan for 24 houses, now mostly terraced. Gardens were smaller, as were the houses. Nothing was built.

A little while later the developer submitted a plan for 40 houses (this is a fairly small site btw), tiny houses, no gardens, not even any parking. Like the previous submissions, outline planning was granted.

But it really hammered home to me what house building is currently about. *Especially* now the central govt is actively overriding local planning authorities, with a "grant everything" approach now adopted (seriously, local planning auths might as well not exist any more. Everything is approved on appeal).

What it's all about now is putting the most buildings (I won't say homes or even houses) on a single site as possible. Quality of life is not a factor. Just cram them in.
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I don't see what the issue is.

Surely these smaller houses would be cheaper to buy otherwise I'd just buy a non new build across the road.

Your complaining about a shortage of homes then complaining when they try and build as many as possible.

Would you rather they build 5 homes or 40 on the plot?

Because once you build 5 thats it the other 35 are off the table.
 
TheOracle said:
Well one good thing about the walls is that it's easy to wall mount TVs and hide the cables :D
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I have done some prep-work in that regard, but I have a set of drawers in the bedroom that perfectly hold the TV so it's hard to justify the effort of putting the TV on the wall. I did make sure that it has power/ethernet in the wall though ready for it if I change my mind.

Main TV downstairs I am considering as well as the TV unit is too small for the TV, but I still need one due to consoles, central speaker, AVR etc. Might wall mount it one day but it's OK'ish as it is for now as well :)
 
HungryHippos said:
Haha that's so true, I'm actually on my 3rd new build in 3 houses.

First was TW, then Linden Homes (do not recommend them, they are now rebranded Vistry), and back to TW again.

This house was built like 8-9 years ago now so it's not new new, but as far as construction goes it still seems to be holding up pretty well.

I ripped out the Roca toilets and such, and revamped the internals.

What I am left with is pretty good, thin walls is probably the main complaint I could have but it's a detached house, and I don't live with anyone else at the moment, so that is not an issue for me personally. Structurally speaking though no major gotchas discovered.

My Linden house had walls and floors that had never heard of a spirit level. The vinyl they put in the bathrooms was laid over this topsy-turvy floor. They had to come back and sand the hell out of it, then use levelling compound and relay new flooring.
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In fairness your last sentence may well be part of the reason. We rented a new build build and it had all sorts of issues but they all got sorted.

We recently bought a 1910 house and that also has a bunch of issues which I'm now paying for.

We bought it because it's got a decent sized garden and some character but I certainly enjoyed the hassle free element of everything being brand new and snagged/repaired promptly/knowing any dirt was our dirt etc.
 
matt100 said:
In fairness your last sentence may well be part of the reason. We rented a new build build and it had all sorts of issues but they all got sorted.

We recently bought a 1910 house and that also has a bunch of issues which I'm now paying for.

We bought it because it's got a decent sized garden and some character but I certainly enjoyed the hassle free element of everything being brand new and snagged/repaired promptly/knowing any dirt was our dirt etc.
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Indeed it's true new stuff is pretty nice, previous owners on mine seemed to have a slight sense of neglect though. Condition wasn't terrible but I thought they had some funny taste, everyone room having a "feature wall" among them. I don't mind a feature wall but it's not needed in every single room!

Some before and afters on mine if interested: https://imgur.com/a/sUv6y0p

I like low maintenance and low hassle, still got a bit of work to do on this one when the weather warms up a bit. All of the windows are absolutely filthy inside the frames and a couple of panes have blown so need replacing.

Biggest thing I think was it just seemed they didn't do much in the way of cleaning and keeping things nice. It's possible to put stuff into a house on day 1 and for it to be about as good as new 10 years down the line, just means a bit of maintenance/cleaning every now and then.

Edit - I am actually a bit sick of the roman blinds I got for the two rear windows in the lounge. They are manually operated and take forever to open/close, such that I rarely bother. I'm quite keen to look at getting some battery operated ones or something to replace them with that can be opened with a smart remote or a controller.
 
HungryHippos said:
Indeed it's true new stuff is pretty nice, previous owners on mine seemed to have a slight sense of neglect though. Condition wasn't terrible but I thought they had some funny taste, everyone room having a "feature wall" among them. I don't mind a feature wall but it's not needed in every single room!

Some before and afters on mine if interested: https://imgur.com/a/sUv6y0p

I like low maintenance and low hassle, still got a bit of work to do on this one when the weather warms up a bit. All of the windows are absolutely filthy inside the frames and a couple of panes have blown so need replacing.

Biggest thing I think was it just seemed they didn't do much in the way of cleaning and keeping things nice. It's possible to put stuff into a house on day 1 and for it to be about as good as new 10 years down the line, just means a bit of maintenance/cleaning every now and then.

Edit - I am actually a bit sick of the roman blinds I got for the two rear windows in the lounge. They are manually operated and take forever to open/close, such that I rarely bother. I'm quite keen to look at getting some battery operated ones or something to replace them with that can be opened with a smart remote or a controller.
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Very nicely done!
 
HungryHippos said:
Indeed it's true new stuff is pretty nice, previous owners on mine seemed to have a slight sense of neglect though. Condition wasn't terrible but I thought they had some funny taste, everyone room having a "feature wall" among them. I don't mind a feature wall but it's not needed in every single room!

Some before and afters on mine if interested: https://imgur.com/a/sUv6y0p

I like low maintenance and low hassle, still got a bit of work to do on this one when the weather warms up a bit. All of the windows are absolutely filthy inside the frames and a couple of panes have blown so need replacing.

Biggest thing I think was it just seemed they didn't do much in the way of cleaning and keeping things nice. It's possible to put stuff into a house on day 1 and for it to be about as good as new 10 years down the line, just means a bit of maintenance/cleaning every now and then.

Edit - I am actually a bit sick of the roman blinds I got for the two rear windows in the lounge. They are manually operated and take forever to open/close, such that I rarely bother. I'm quite keen to look at getting some battery operated ones or something to replace them with that can be opened with a smart remote or a controller.
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From characterful and homely to Oak Furniture Land catalogue :p

Edit: Why is your bin plugged in?
 
HungryHippos said:
Indeed it's true new stuff is pretty nice, previous owners on mine seemed to have a slight sense of neglect though. Condition wasn't terrible but I thought they had some funny taste, everyone room having a "feature wall" among them. I don't mind a feature wall but it's not needed in every single room!

Some before and afters on mine if interested: https://imgur.com/a/sUv6y0p

I like low maintenance and low hassle, still got a bit of work to do on this one when the weather warms up a bit. All of the windows are absolutely filthy inside the frames and a couple of panes have blown so need replacing.

Biggest thing I think was it just seemed they didn't do much in the way of cleaning and keeping things nice. It's possible to put stuff into a house on day 1 and for it to be about as good as new 10 years down the line, just means a bit of maintenance/cleaning every now and then.

Edit - I am actually a bit sick of the roman blinds I got for the two rear windows in the lounge. They are manually operated and take forever to open/close, such that I rarely bother. I'm quite keen to look at getting some battery operated ones or something to replace them with that can be opened with a smart remote or a controller.
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Is that a 3.0.2 set-up or are we missing another 2 speakers and a sub from the pics?
 
dLockers said:
From characterful and homely to Oak Furniture Land catalogue :p

Edit: Why is your bin plugged in?
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Thanks, glad you like it! :D

Bin is not plugged in, it's for the fridge/freezer, I could probably do with moving the socket sometime or spurring off another one.

The pics of the before ones make it look better than it was in reality tbh. Even so nothing can persuade me that brown/orange carpets are nice to have!
 
HungryHippos said:
Thanks, glad you like it! :D

Bin is not plugged in, it's for the fridge/freezer, I could probably do with moving the socket sometime or spurring off another one.

The pics of the before ones make it look better than it was in reality tbh. Even so nothing can persuade me that brown/orange carpets are nice to have!
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Haha, just being mean. I like the new style better too but it is worryingly close to what I have (and I suppose what is in vogue). More of a reality check for myself!

As long as you don't go for grey windows...
 
I want to do something to break up the whites a bit, I don't mind white walls and stuff as I find it's quite neutral and everything goes with it, possible to overdo it though.

I think in time I'll add some more bits and pieces, pictures and stuff to add some colour back in.

Just prioritising stuff as I need to sort the garden out next really!
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I don't see what the issue is.

Surely these smaller houses would be cheaper to buy otherwise I'd just buy a non new build across the road.

Your complaining about a shortage of homes then complaining when they try and build as many as possible.

Would you rather they build 5 homes or 40 on the plot?

Because once you build 5 thats it the other 35 are off the table.
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Nah, in this neck of the woods all the new builds are £300k+ regardless of how small/cramped and lacking garden or parking or whatever else. If I wasn't living with parent there's no way I'd be living in this town. I'd have to do what all the plebs do, move to Redruth (abandon all hope ye who enter).

Oddly as someone else mentioned there are people queuing up to buy these new builds, regardless, at £300k+. Which makes it doubly odd that other developers here are sitting on land and doing nothing with it. Those that do build are having no problems selling. Surely there's got to be plenty of profit making a tiny, terraced box and selling it on for £300k. How much profit do they want... And yet, less than 5 miles away, is an approved development of approx 3,000 houses, which the developers sat on for years until the council took it out of their hands (at least part of the holdup was that they wanted the council to subsidise the development, lol).

Anyway, it makes little difference to me whether they're £300k or £5 million. Neither is affordable :p It's just a shame to see that new houses are a fraction of the size of older housing stock, built to the lowest possible standards, and still sells instantly for stupid prices.

It's a huge shame because increasingly we're just behaving like ants. Nobody cares about quality of life, just pack the worker drones in as efficiently as possible, with the least amount of effort, and the maximum amount of profit.

That's your unrestrained capitalism at work. Peppering the place with the most ***** housing and not giving a damn. I bet none of the developers would want to live in the absolute garbage they are churning out. Certainly none of the builders would...

You might choose not to see the common thread with my other posts. I'll spell it out. The common thread is unrestrained capitalism being the only driver for the housing market. Not only are houses increasingly unaffordable for many, but also the new housing stock being built is appalling. Everything for profit, and as much as possible. I know that's your ideal society - Mr. "people should be able to do what they want; regulation is communism" - but it's not mine.
 
I'm just saying if I had to choose between your £300k tiny new build and a house around the corner which was bigger for the same price i know which one I would choose.

If they are selling then why should they price them lower or make them bigger?
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I'm just saying if I had to choose between your £300k tiny new build and a house around the corner which was bigger for the same price i know which one I would choose.

If they are selling then why should they price them lower or make them bigger?
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Why should we do anything for any other motivation than making the most money possible? Why should we consider things like mental health or quality of life. Why should we consider stupid things like the landscape, or aesthetics, or sympathetic building, or any of that nonsense. It means less money for developers!

Why should we protect the green belt? Developers want to build on it and it's more profitable than other sites. Surely let's just tear up the regulation and let the developers "do what they want". We just want people to make the most money possible from every situation, right? That's literally the only thing that matters?

I mean, seriously, in your world, is there any consideration that should be more important than letting people make the profit margin they feel entitled to? Some people could make so much more profit if we tore up the communist regulations which erode their profit margins.
 
FoxEye said:
Why should we do anything for any other motivation than making the most money possible? Why should we consider things like mental health or quality of life. Why should we consider stupid things like the landscape, or aesthetics, or sympathetic building, or any of that nonsense. It means less money for developers!

Why should we protect the green belt? Developers want to build on it and it's more profitable than other sites. Surely let's just tear up the regulation and let the developers "do what they want". We just want people to make the most money possible from every situation, right? That's literally the only thing that matters?

I mean, seriously, in your world, is there any consideration that should be more important than letting people make the profit margin they feel entitled to? Some people could make so much more profit if we tore up the communist regulations which erode their profit margins.
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Like I said before do you buy stuff made in Asia or China?

Because if you do your still a part of the problem not the solution.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Like I said before do you buy stuff made in Asia or China?

Because if you do your still a part of the problem not the solution.
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Have you asked any of the developers if they'd want to live in the crap they're churning out? Have you asked any of the builders if they'd live in them?

If you do, you'll find many will laugh or just flat out say, "No thanks!"

This lovely unrestrained capitalist approach to housing is producing a ton of **** that the people building it quite openly admit is ****.
 
FoxEye said:
Have you asked any of the developers if they'd want to live in the crap they're churning out? Have you asked any of the builders if they'd live in them?

If you do, you'll find many will laugh or just flat out say, "No thanks!"

This lovely unrestrained capitalist approach to housing is producing a ton of **** that the people building it quite openly admit is ****.
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Didn't your generation bless us with poorly built high rise flats?
 
FoxEye said:
Have you asked any of the developers if they'd want to live in the crap they're churning out? Have you asked any of the builders if they'd live in them?

If you do, you'll find many will laugh or just flat out say, "No thanks!"

This lovely unrestrained capitalist approach to housing is producing a ton of **** that the people building it quite openly admit is ****.
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My parents bought a new build literally 4-5 years ago.

Guess what I'd take that home at the drop of a hat. It's not small by any means and build quality seems pretty decent to me. The only issue they had was with smoke detectors which they replaced with better versions and they replaced the island worktop as it had an issue.

Not all builders are churning out crap. It all comes down to the specific contractor that is building your specific home.

You could have 2 homes right next to each other and one had a cowboy working on it and the other a seasoned professional who takes pride in their work. The bigger better builders tend to hold more power and hold money back from contractors so it's in the contractors best interest to do the job right and on time.

Again it's mass sweeping generalisations from you.

All landlords are bad.
All builders are bad.
Taxes are good.
Prices going up all the time for everything is bad.

Reckon we have got to the end of this course time to shut down the thread.
 
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