Buying a House/New Housing Developers/Help to Buy

WezV

Phil_aka_Pip said:

.....with street lights outside the bedroom windows.

I agree with most of your post, but all 3 of the pre-1920 houses I have lived in have had street lights right outside my bedroom window.

WezV

Panama_Jack666 said:

To give some context. 3 Bed Terrace (and let's be honest, more like 2 bed + box room) with no front garden and a pretty small rear garden is looking like 280 grand before fitting a kitchen, flooring e.t.c.

And, for context, what’s the price for a 3 bed new build?  How many of those don’t have the box room?  

roundthebend

We've had 4 houses now, and 2 of them were new builds. Neither was perfect, but if you approach the builders with a good attitude then I've not had any trouble getting things sorted. It's an inconvenience at times, but if you're in a position where you need to buy new if you're going to get a mortgage, then it's a risk you'll have to take.

Our current house had problems with the tiling in the ensuite, which resulted in them having to rip it all out and start again. They didn't quibble about it and even let us choose new tiles. Took about 3 days, but the intrusion wasn't too bad and they kept things tidy. We had to use the bath for those few days.

The bathroom tiles also had a problem which meant replacing all those tiles too! One was cracked and they couldn't get a matching replacement due to a different batch being slightly lighter shade. But they did it, and it wasn't a major problem.

They even plumbed one of the radiators in back to front which meant it never got hot. The fix required cutting a big hole in the plasterboard to swap the pipes over. But it was done and refinished within a day, and you wouldn't notice now.

You'll hear horror stories, but people don't often write complimentary ones. When you buy a house you want it to be the right shape, be leak and draught free, and for everything to work. If it does, then it's just meeting your expectations - what more could you want? Anything more would have been part of the sales pitch - no secret basements, hidden saunas, free CCTV etc.

So, the only possibility is that peoples' expectations aren't met in which case they complain.

Panama_Jack666

WezV said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

To give some context. 3 Bed Terrace (and let's be honest, more like 2 bed + box room) with no front garden and a pretty small rear garden is looking like 280 grand before fitting a kitchen, flooring e.t.c.

And, for context, what’s the price for a 3 bed new build?  How many of those don’t have the box room?  

Sorry - I should have been clearer. That is the price of the new build I was referencing.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-51920607.html/svr/3104;jsessionid=E763A834F83195571A8BEDAB46B19D3C

The other property we viewed was in Harrogate next to where we live now. That was a 3 bed semi-detached which didn't seem as nice as the the David Wilson house. However, it was slightly bigger and only 270 grand. It's reading Trust Pilot reviews of the developer (Bellway homes) that put us off. 68 reviews = 1.9/10

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.bellway.co.uk

Neither are over or under priced for the area. It's right on the money. I'm still sort of swayed by a new build I think. It's just a lot of money and time and I want to make sure we're making the right decision.

JezWynd

I’ve lived in a couple of new build prop ties in the past 18 months. They both reminded me what fantastic house builders the Victorians were. Will your new build be standing 150 years from now?

boogieman

Panama_Jack666 said:

thermionic said:

Is it true that they have a special set of furniture in the showhome that's 7/8ths scale or something, to make the rooms look bigger than they actually are?

I thought that yesterday! The double bed in the master bedroom seemed suspiciously small! 

A mate of mine bought a new build Barrett house in the 80s. When they moved in they couldn’t figure why the house seemed so cramped and why they couldn’t open the fridge door if the kitchen door was open. So they went back to the show home.

No doors on any of the rooms.

Two seater sofa instead of three.

Dining table pushed back against the wall with only two chairs instead of four.

They’ve obviously been pulling these stunts for years. 

m_c

Panama_Jack666 said:

shuikit said:

Have you seen this?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA

Yeah - I opened one yesterday but I can't actually deposit anything into it until April because I have another ISA on the go. My partner is also opening one. 

The problem with the Help To Buy ISA is you can only deposit £200 a month after an initial £1,000 payment. We've already got a bit of savings together and £200 is slow going to say we would like to be out of where we are by summer. Every but helps though!

It's 1200 during the first month, then 200 per month after.
Are you aware you need a minimum of 1600 to get the bonus, so you'd need to have it for at least 3 months to get the bonus. The worst case if you don't get enough money in before buying, is you only get interest and no bonus.

Phil_aka_Pip

WezV said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

.....with street lights outside the bedroom windows.

I agree with most of your post, but all 3 of the pre-1920 houses I have lived in have had street lights right outside my bedroom window.

The problem is, I agree, not exclusive to new properties. It is however, invariably associated with them.

Phil_aka_Pip

The other thing about new houses, is that their prices can easily go down, and when they're going up they're not going up as fast as thatch'n'beams character houses. Whereas in a house-market recession, thatch'n'beams character houses keep going up but not quite as much as they used to.

I didn't buy a thatch'n'beams character house when (looking back) I should have done. In 10 years its value increased by 1/3, whereas the value of the house I ended up in increased by less than 10%. If I'd bought the thatch'n'beams character house. I don't think I'd have wanted to move out, but I did want to move out of the house I ended up in and took a huge financial hit on the price and the cost of the move.

Panama_Jack666

m_c said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

shuikit said:

Have you seen this?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA

Yeah - I opened one yesterday but I can't actually deposit anything into it until April because I have another ISA on the go. My partner is also opening one. 

The problem with the Help To Buy ISA is you can only deposit £200 a month after an initial £1,000 payment. We've already got a bit of savings together and £200 is slow going to say we would like to be out of where we are by summer. Every but helps though!

It's 1200 during the first month, then 200 per month after.
Are you aware you need a minimum of 1600 to get the bonus, so you'd need to have it for at least 3 months to get the bonus. The worst case if you don't get enough money in before buying, is you only get interest and no bonus.

I wasn't aware of the 1600 quid before you could claim! Thanks for the heads up!

Hadn't really thought about 1200 in the first month but you are correct. £1,000 initial deposit plus the first months' £200!

Panama_Jack666

Phil_aka_Pip said:

The other thing about new houses, is that their prices can easily go down, and when they're going up they're not going up as fast as thatch'n'beams character houses. Whereas in a house-market recession, thatch'n'beams character houses keep going up but not quite as much as they used to.

I didn't buy a thatch'n'beams character house when (looking back) I should have done. In 10 years its value increased by 1/3, whereas the value of the house I ended up in increased by less than 10%. If I'd bought the thatch'n'beams character house. I don't think I'd have wanted to move out, but I did want to move out of the house I ended up in and took a huge financial hit on the price and the cost of the move.

Can't disagree with you there. 

It's just difficult (partially because of where we are) trying to get on the property ladder at all. Options are limited so it's all about making the right choice... Which for me right now is blow the deposit on a load of custom shop Telecasters and live in a shed surrounded by beer.

Nitefly

Panama_Jack666 said:

blow the deposit on a load of custom shop Telecasters and live in a shed surrounded by beer.

That's the spirit!  She'll soon get used to it.  Tell her she can have a new ironing board cover - that should cheer her up. 

Panama_Jack666

Nitefly said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

blow the deposit on a load of custom shop Telecasters and live in a shed surrounded by beer.

That's the spirit!  She'll soon get used to it.  Tell her she can have a new ironing board cover - that should cheer her up. 

She is actually very understanding. Just after promising I wouldn't buy anymore gear...

https://i.imgur.com/Z1ixXVB.jpg

I couldn't turn down a 335 with P90's!

Nitefly

Ah well, in that case, let her have a new iron as well! 

Panama_Jack666

Nitefly said:

Ah well, in that case, let her have a new iron as well! 

I'm that flush with cash! I'll just get her a bottle of de-ionised water instead!

Fuengi

I've been trying to put pressure on Linden Homes to get this site in the middle of Horndean finished. It's beyond a joke.

One of the local residents has created a blog.

http://www.theoldbrewerystory.co.uk/

Panama_Jack666

Fuengi said:

I've been trying to put pressure on Linden Homes to get this site in the middle of Horndean finished. It's beyond a joke.

One of the local residents has created a blog.

http://www.theoldbrewerystory.co.uk/

That makes for some interesting reading!

Estheroid

JezWynd said:

I’ve lived in a couple of new build prop ties in the past 18 months. They both reminded me what fantastic house builders the Victorians were. Will your new build be standing 150 years from now?

'Probably not even in 25 years' - and that was the opinion of an estate agent!

midlifecrisis

Nitefly said:

Ah well, in that case, let her have a new iron as well! 

Steady on!

BRISTOL86

Our mortgage broker is scathing about the help to buy scheme and says he has loads of clients stuck on SVR mortgages because no new lender will touch them whilst the equity loan is outstanding. Worth checking out a standard 95% LTV mortgage rather than going help to buy? Thats how we got on the ladder less than 3 years ago - we only had a £12k deposit and now have 5x that equity in the house which opens the door to a move up the ladder.