Houses

M

MattHall91

Member
 Cheshire
Fiance and I are looking to move soon and have a couple of potential areas/houses we are considering at the moment.

We are in a new build at the moment and one we are looking at is also a different new build. I can't really fault them on the whole. Gardens are smaller naturally (not an issue at this point in our lives), slight premium to be the first owner etc. But on the whole I think they are fine.

Interested to hear other opinions on here as a few friends always swear by older houses and wouldn't touch a new build. Obviously there's no right or wrong but what have you all done?
 
makes no difference to me... plenty of very nice new builds about, we bought our second house as second owners of it, it's a 25 year old house, location and budget dictated what we bought... decent garden and a garage were the only must have for us so it was just about finding a house we both liked that fitted the bill
 
It's reckoned that brand new houses, like brand new cars attract a premium of around 10%. Newer houses are generally smaller for the same price/area, they tend to be further away from town centres as there is no land left for developments. They should be maintenance free so avoid the pain of having to be at the mercy of tradesmen when things need sorting, an older house will always require ongoing maintenance.

Just like it makes good economic sense to buy a 'nearly new' car rather than a brand new one, the same applies to houses.
 
We are looking to move also. New build look nice on the inside, but our way there is very little space outside at all. No frontage, no spaces to park cars, a garage and one space in front. Biggest issue for me though is the mix of social housing though. Call me a snob but I'm looking 4 bed detached properties I don't want to be near 2 bed social housing. Estate agents also do appear to see this as an issue.
 
srhutch said:
We are looking to move also. New build look nice on the inside, but our way there is very little space outside at all. No frontage, no spaces to park cars, a garage and one space in front. Biggest issue for me though is the mix of social housing though. Call me a snob but I'm looking 4 bed detached properties I don't want to be near 2 bed social housing. Estate agents also do appear to see this as an issue.
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+1 and I also apologise if this sounds snobby!
 
In my experience if you buy a new or newish house, then you do get a smaller plot, but the maintenance is a lot less. They tend to come with UPVC Windows, gutter, soffits, facia boards etc. Which saves a lot of money and time in maintenance.

We moved to where we are now about 6 years ago. House was built in the 1960's, it's on a 1/3 acre plot, lots of space and very secluded. However, we have spent a shed load more than we bargained for on new A frames for the roof, replaced the windows, gutters etc and the outside now in need of re-painting, which will be expensive to get a sharp (new) finish to cover the wear and tear of the past 50+ years.

The above all said, Mrs R, me and Daizy R (small but quickly growing GSD pup) absolutely love it. Proably would never go back to a new build.
 
Geezah said:
It's reckoned that brand new houses, like brand new cars attract a premium of around 10%. Newer houses are generally smaller for the same price/area, they tend to be further away from town centres as there is no land left for developments. They should be maintenance free so avoid the pain of having to be at the mercy of tradesmen when things need sorting, an older house will always require ongoing maintenance.

Just like it makes good economic sense to buy a 'nearly new' car rather than a brand new one, the same applies to houses.
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I'm in the building trade and have been all of my life , I have never understood why people will gladly book their car in for its annual service but think their house will never need maintenance . Your house will probably be your biggest ever financial commitment , choose carefully .
 
For anyone thinking of buying or already owns a house with solid walls (no cavity), you can get a grant towards having external insulation and then rendered. Council pays about 50%, e-on 30% and home owner 20%.

Our house was £12k total, so paid 20% of that. Well worth it for the render alone!

Not really relevant to this thread unless your looking at 1930s era houses. The render is pre-coloured and shouldn't need painting.
 
srhutch said:
We are looking to move also. New build look nice on the inside, but our way there is very little space outside at all. No frontage, no spaces to park cars, a garage and one space in front. Biggest issue for me though is the mix of social housing though. Call me a snob but I'm looking 4 bed detached properties I don't want to be near 2 bed social housing. Estate agents also do appear to see this as an issue.
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Just moved to a "boutique" development " just 4 houses (under the 7x requiring social housing )
Really wanted a downsize but trigger was 18 houses built on open land right behind old house .originally approved as mixed market/affordable /social
the whole lot then purchased by a Housing Association which promptly moved in all the misfits from their other "council" houses estates in area ......mainly animals with feral kids
New house perfect ,timber frame, under floor water heating biggest problem is keeping it cool enough :oops: nowhere in new village to build council houses anywhere close :D :D :D :D
 
PS downsizing did include a large single rather than a Double :cry:
but plenty of room for Z and storage and cupboards and space in front of property for 3/4 additional cars off road
 
RickRob said:
In my experience if you buy a new or newish house, then you do get a smaller plot, but the maintenance is a lot less. They tend to come with UPVC Windows, gutter, soffits, facia boards etc. Which saves a lot of money and time in maintenance.

We moved to where we are now about 6 years ago. House was built in the 1960's, it's on a 1/3 acre plot, lots of space and very secluded. However, we have spent a shed load more than we bargained for on new A frames for the roof, replaced the windows, gutters etc and the outside now in need of re-painting, which will be expensive to get a sharp (new) finish to cover the wear and tear of the past 50+ years.

The above all said, Mrs R, me and Daizy R (small but quickly growing GSD pup) absolutely love it. Proably would never go back to a new build.
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^This.
Buy an older place thats really run down, basically fully mod with new roof, wiring kitchens bathrooms etc. You get the best of both worlds. You justyhave to bid low, build in the renovation costs and look past the sh*t h*le that it might currently :D be! I even had mine done in super modern render, most tradesmen who come to do work initially think its a new build, but with tons on land and a 15 car driveway.
 
All really interesting points.

As a couple of you have said, the social housing thing is a bit of a joke. As a result we have only been considering houses right at the opposite end of the developments away from flats/2 bed council houses. They don't even fit in with the surroundings a lot of the time.
 
Depends what you want out of life.
New build offers the luxury of just moving your furniture in and All's fine and Dandy.

After 36 years marriage we moved for the last time 4 months ago, still living in a s**t tip and probably another 3 months to go.
New rewire, new complete plumbing central heating, bathroom, kitchen, Windows & doors, complete internal
Re-plasted, fitted wardrobes, new internal doors and most woodwork Skirts etc.
That's before the outside.
Oh and this was built in 1976 so only 40 years old.
5th time doer upper and definitely the last time too old and tired now.
If you've got the stomach to do it you'll finish up with what you want not what the builder gives you.
 
I've bought a new house from foundations and watched it being built and now have two houses that are post 2000 built. Like others have said the advantage of a new house is the reduction in risk of something going horribly wrong, the disadvantage is the ever drive to cut cost out of builds and increase profitability.

One of the biggest worries I have with new builds is the use of plastic compression fittings, I'm just not sure that in 30 years I'm not going to come home to the house and find 6 inches of water downstairs after a 50p o ring fails, soldered copper pipe please :thumbsup:
 
sars said:
I've bought a new house from foundations and watched it being built and now have two houses that are post 2000 built. Like others have said the advantage of a new house is the reduction in risk of something going horribly wrong, the disadvantage is the ever drive to cut cost out of builds and increase profitability.

One of the biggest worries I have with new builds is the use of plastic compression fittings, I'm just not sure that in 30 years I'm not going to come home to the house and find 6 inches of water downstairs after a 50p o ring fails, soldered copper pipe please :thumbsup:
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Agree on the plumbing, our re-plumb has non of the above, copper and solder :thumbsup:
 
House buying is such a personal thing it's hard to advise..

I cannot stand a lot of new builds, after all they are built in the places that nobody wanted to build in, looking over each other and all look the same....

that said, if you like the minimum maintanance thing then it's all good... Can't think of anything else about them I would want... Oh, apart from they are cheap in comparison to a similar older house..

We have 2 houses that are over 400 yrs old between them...
Full of character and guaranteed not to fall down and be full of cracks and substandard workmanship..

Yes... They do need have bits of work done every other year, or just hit it once and be done for 20 yrs +..

I dunno, I couldn't even contemplate a new build on a housing estate, that would be like hell on earth to me.. But for many it's ideal..

Like I say.. It's a personal thing
 
Bought our house new in 1986 - traditional build but with soft wood window frames etc - the norm for the 80's - have since replaced all windows with UVPC double glazed - front and back doors etc - originally had a hard wood conservatory but replaced this with a much larger UVPC one with glass roof 3 years ago - plot wise is big compared to modern houses but as others have said new builds generally come with UPVC as standard so far less costly to maintain.

Sad to hear comments about social housing - I don't know what the answer is - people need to live somewhere - I think the days of striving to own your own home are diminishing - and rents are increasing as a result and with little security - even if you not in arrears a landlord can give you 2 months notice to quit without a reason at any time after 6 months of occupancy.

We bought our first house in 1974 for £10k with a manageable £1k deposit - our current house is 4 bed detached and this was only £59k in 1986 . Today the average price of a 3 bed semi down here is £200K+ or you can rent for £800 a month - how can anyone manage to save a £20k deposit to buy these days ?
 
Z4M-2006 said:
House buying is such a personal thing it's hard to advise..

I cannot stand a lot of new builds, after all they are built in the places that nobody wanted to build in, looking over each other and all look the same....

that said, if you like the minimum maintanance thing then it's all good... Can't think of anything else about them I would want... Oh, apart from they are cheap in comparison to a similar older house..

We have 2 houses that are over 400 yrs old between them...
Full of character and guaranteed not to fall down and be full of cracks and substandard workmanship..

Yes... They do need have bits of work done every other year, or just hit it once and be done for 20 yrs +..

I dunno, I couldn't even contemplate a new build on a housing estate, that would be like hell on earth to me.. But for many it's ideal..

Like I say.. It's a personal thing
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I think you've hit the nail on the head with the fact it's very personal and individual.

There's a couple of smaller developments near me with great views and more space between houses but there is always the premium with them being new of course.
 
If you go for a new build can I suggest you get to the sales office early and buy off plan - I did that and chose the house with the aspect and configuration i wanted. I was able to pick the one that was able to accommodate six cars on the drive - I paid what they called an "early bird " refundable deposit .

In a popular development a change of mind wouldn't have been a problem !
 
When we moved to our current home, 18 years ago we looked at 3 new builds close by. The're nice enough modern four bed homes. This house was 11 years old when we bought it. Now we often walk past a couple of the houses we though of buying and we are so glad we didn't buy them. they considerably smaller and have tiny gardens. Nice houses but buying a sightly older home got us a lot more space and character, for the same money and it's only new the day they finish building it anyway. Bit different if you can build your own though. :wink:
 
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