I see horror stories with new build properties and wondering how everyone has fared in relation to property purchases? Were you shocked when you got the keys? Did you have any issues?

17 comments

  1. You’ll 100% have a snagging list, we were still trying to get stuff sorted months after we moved in. Nothing too serious but bloody annoying.

  2. We’ve had 2 new builds.

    The actual purchase is easy. There’s no chain to worry about and if you get in early enough you can get stuff added during the build. I got cat6 ethernet wired up for instance.

    Yes there will be snags, but they’ll be fixed. We have a 2 year fixtures and fittings warranty plus the 10 year NHBC one. If you move into an old house, anything that goes wrong is on you to sort out.

  3. Haven’t known anyone who haven’t has a made snagging list. You have to be beyond dogheaded to get them sorted in a reasonable time.

    The whole management charge is also a common moan they have even when they claim they were aware of it.

  4. If you’d have asked me 5 years ago whether I’d own a new build, I’d have told you absolutely not. But we’ve been in ours for a little over a year and I love it. People have this preconception that a new house will be this pokey little thing, I think it comes from the shit quality housing built in the 90s. Ours has got tall ceilings (taller than any 1960-1990 house we’ve lived in and weve lived in a few), plenty of space and a great layout that works for how we live now.

    I would have another in a heartbeat, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

    View things from different builders if you can, the big ones and the small ones, the build quality and specs will all be different and it’ll help you to spot it if you see a few.

    We did have some snags, a few of the windows had scratched glass (a common one) but all problems were sorted out quickly after we reported them.

    There’s a thread on the UK personal finance sub at the minute where people are saying they find their victorian homes to be money pits, the need for repairs and upgrades is endless. None of that for us.

    The house is very, very well insulated.
    Better than anything you could achieve with a 70s house and a bit of loft insulation. Our energy bills reflect that which I’m grateful for recently.

    We’re learning now to embrace the blank canvas, and we’re adding our own features to give character.

    I don’t regret it at all, and I’d have another, I’m fully converted.

  5. Our first house was a new build and I absolutely would recommend it providing you get the place professionally snagged.

    The thing is when buying your first house especially it simplifies the whole process and even when you have moved in all your neighbours will be on the same boat as you so support and advice is on your doorstep. There is no problems getting tradesmen as there will always be vans around from blind fitters to tilers and you can easily get recommendations from other people.

  6. I love my new build flat. It’s warm, comfortable, and everything works. I’ve only ever lived in Victorian or 60s buildings before, so having things just work and no drafts is a wonderful novelty.

  7. Second new build, we’ve had a number of minor snags – for example the latest place had a couple of internal doors not hung very well and the garden took a couple of months to arrive so had mud and rubble front and back for a bit.

    We did our own snagging lists, we nagged the customer care people regularly and respectfully and everything was sorted for us reasonably quickly.

    I’ve lived in old houses during my childhood(100 year old type terraces and semi detached houses) always freezing, condensation on walls and windows, mould in the bathroom. Never having the money to fix what needs doing. Because of that experience I would never buy an old house.

  8. I currently live in a flat we bought off plan and are about to move into one a year old.

    My plan is to get a surveyor round for the new property and write a report on anything that the NHBC would cover that we haven’t noticed.

    But for my first flat… No regrets at all and loved being in a new place where everything worked, lots of plugs and great insulation.

  9. Our first house is a new build, we’re looking to upsize to a larger house on the same estate. Build quality and aftercare was great (Miller Homes). Retains heat so well which is good and cheap for the winter but unbearable the past few summers.

  10. I love it! We bought from a smaller local building firm and the build quality is amazing. As other have said, yes there were snags but they were great at coming back and fixing things, something you would never get the opportunity to do if it was a new build.

    From a purchase point of view, it absolutely makes the process much easier as I felt it cut back so so much of the details and back and forth that you would have with other homeowners.

  11. I moved into my new build a few weeks ago. So far, very happy with it. A few minor decorating snags, and one of the doors doesn’t close properly but they’ve already come back to fix the decorating ones and the door will be done when they’re back after the break.

    The biggest snag, which is taking longer to fix, is that they forgot to install a water meter somehow, so for now I’m not able to pay for my own water – wasn’t expecting a snag that saves me money! Obv I’m not pushing them to sort that out 🤣

    Also, I haven’t had to chase at all – reported these issues on 3 and 7 day visits, and they’ve popped by most days in between to check on me. Very happy with the experience so far, and very happy with the house. Excellent layout, good sized rooms, lots of storage, ceilings are a good height, it’s very well insulated and warm, and otherwise is pretty perfect for me.

  12. I bought a new build this year. The 5% deposit first time buyer scheme was my main draw.

    But it’s been great. My snagging list was reasonably long but most stuff they’ve sorted same day, bar a few bits that required organising multiple trades at the same time. Had quite a few bits to sort but it’s all done for now….

    I spent a long time looking for my first house, and I genuinely think the key if you’re going new is to be fairly early as plots are released. Pour over the site plans and make sure you get the exact right house.

    In my case the house type that I wanted/was in budget had about 12 or 15 examples over the site. But there was only one of those I would have bought, which happens to be mine as it had distinct advantages that others didn’t regarding access, parking, garden size, privacy.

  13. First time buyer in 2019. Had a smallish snag list, builder sorted them out fairly sharpish and were fairly trivial things. Overall great and would do it again. The lack of chain, 2 years of trades being called out for free and new car smell x100 for about a year is worth it for me. I would note though experience does seem to vary.

  14. We’ve been in our new build for nearly two months now and (so far) we’ve found everything to be fairly smooth going and haven’t regretted our decision. The quality is good, and in contrast to usual stereotypes for new builds, the streets aren’t cramped, the houses aren’t squashed together, the rooms are spacious and the windows are big, and the gardens are a reasonable size.

    You have to bear in mind that some of the horror stories are big news because bad news is always bigger news; ‘family enjoys living in new build property’ isn’t news, but ‘new build property falls apart around family as they move in’, definitely is. I’m sure lots of people have plenty of issues from small to large and I wouldn’t want to minimise people’s feelings on the matter, but it’s only the stories verging on apocalyptic that get coverage.

    Personally we haven’t found a ton of snags and the site team have been quick to come and sort out anything we have had – broken media plate switch, scratched drawer handle, chipped plaster by the cooker hood, etc. They’ve also come by to give us a hand with things that they didn’t have to do. We had our own carpets fitted, for example, not the developers, but once the carpets were laid they had the site joiner come round to plane our doors down and refit them.

    When buying a new build, be aware that each site, even if you view a couple with one developer, may be of varying quality because you’re looking at different site teams, so view a few sites and choose your developer carefully. Speak to people already living on site if possible. There’s also no onward chain but be aware that if you have a property to sell then you may find that the developer wants you to be sold subject to contract before they’ll let you reserve a plot on a development.

    Ultimately, we can’t all live in Victorian terraces and new builds do have their upsides, like we haven’t had to do a massive renovation and find problems hidden for decades. We chose our finishes from the get go and decided what we would pay for. The house is energy efficient and doesn’t cost us much more than what we paid for in the smaller 1930s house we used to live in, bills-wise.

  15. Honestly no, I’ve had new and old and would go with new again most likely. You hear horror stories but the reality is people expect issues with old houses so don’t bother moaning about it.

    Buy with a reputable builder and you’ll be sound. There will be snags but they’ll be fixed, unlike and old house.
    They’re more energy efficient too

  16. I bought a new build flat and wish I had kept it. Loved it. Everything in it was perfect for me at the time.

  17. To give a different flavour, I would say it vastly depends on 4 things:
    – Where you are in the country
    – Who the developer is
    – How picky you are as a person
    – How lucky you are

    Everyone will have 5-10 snags and half of those will be dealt with before you move in. If you’re unlucky though (like 10% chance, so not insignificant) it’s an absolute nightmare. You have no control over when things are fixed and you have to consistently chase.

    Personally, I wouldn’t buy a new build again. I would actively try to buy an ex-new build that’s ~5 years old where the initial snags are all taken care of and you can see for yourself if there’s any issues. You’re also not paying the same premium.

    If you’re not picky, you’ll only have a few snags but your place won’t be perfect – don’t forget you’re buying with a 10-15% premium though. In my flat, I’ve had north of 60 snags including:
    – Fire alarm placed incorrectly in the kitchen
    – Tiles in the bathroom being spray painted and filled with wood filler, as another tradesmen’s botched cover up
    – Massive kitchen alignment issues (been partially refitted twice now and still not fully resolved)
    – Front door not fitted properly and being locked in our own property for like 6 hours.

    My twin sister is having some major issues as well, where they hadn’t planned the sewage properly and the stagnant water brings the smell back into their houses.

    9 in 10 times will be great… the 1 in 10 just isn’t worth it in my opinion.

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