Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
Are New Builds Value For Money Or A Money Pit Waiting To Fall Down?
The Economic Voice: TheTitanic Captain Interviews Part 2
With a large price tag are "New Builds" all they are cracked up to be?... Includes interview with one of our own.....Jonathan Davis.
Posted by titaniccaptain @ 12:01 PM (1234 views) Add Comment
21 Comments
- If you do not have an admin password leave the password field blank.
- If you would like to request a password allowing you to add comments and blog news articles without needing each one approved manually, send an e-mail to the webmaster.
- Your email address is required so we can verify that the comment is genuine. It will not be posted anywhere on the site, will be stored confidentially by us and never given out to any third party.
- Please note that any viewpoints published here as comments are user's views and not the views of HousePriceCrash.co.uk.
- Please adhere to the Guidelines
1. little professor said...
Beautiful location, TC - which part of Wales is that?
2. little professor said...
Oh, just saw the ending scene - so unnecessary, the images of those bare thighs are going to be imprinted in my brain :O
3. titaniccaptain said...
The Brecon Beacons LP
4. titaniccaptain said...
LP that is how we say goodbye to each other in Wales.
5. flashman said...
New build houses are far better insulated and less drafty. They have new heating, plumbing and wiring. All materials have to pass strict European standards. The building codes are now fanatically strict the NHBC, or similar, make builder’s jump through hoops and also inspect the house at all stages of construction.
All new houses have a 10-year warranty which takes most of the worry out of a purchase.
I built a new house a couple of years back and even if I had wanted to cut corners, I would have been prevented from doing so. It was so much more comfortable to live in that all the stylish character shite I’ve put up with before
6. debtfree said...
@5 flashman
ha ha. say it how it is hey.
I find new builds stuffy and boring, they remind me of tesco direct or an argos catalogue.
What I do like about character buildings is how they have thick walls and keep cool in summer.
Your right though, winter is a nightmare, we just moved out because of this reason and decided on a 1930's house with double glazing. very nice indeed, better than the new build estate stuff on the market :o)
7. flashman said...
debtfree: Yes low end 'estate stuff' is very bland. Doesn't have to be though, it depends on the designers budget and imagination.
Previously, I lived in a beautiful Georgian with soaring ceilings. In the winter, I used to read my paper with a ski jacket on.
The house I built had underfloor heating and a heat pump. It was so insulated that we only had the heating on for 3 weeks of the year. The showers were like tropical rainstorms and nothing needed repairing. Bliss
8. alan said...
TC,
Some of the house cost is wrapped up in the Location. I liked the scenery in the video, it must put the price up a bit (or stabilise values)..
Are you ready to buy in Wales, now?
9. titaniccaptain said...
Yes it can get quite cold but with a multi fuel burner it is rectified....and if you know the right people or get a pass to pick up dead wood in the forests then you have an ample source of almost free wood and if it was not free I believe a real fire burning wood is a luxury I am willing to pay for if needs must and yes its greener.........
I rented a new build last year to have some work done on the cottage .....it was like living in a doctors surgery waiting area.......I craved the cold stone walls every day....everyday feels like Christmas with a real fire against stone walls.....yes you can have fires in modern houses but it is never the same.......I like feeling close to history....I like the idea of other families who lived, laughed cried and died where I now live, laugh and cry and may someday die..
10. theboltonfury said...
excellent stuff once again.
I had a new build in Bolton. I think it was being built at the time when any fanny was building houses knowing they would sell. As a result the snagging list comprised 2 sides of paper.
11. titaniccaptain said...
Alan I bought it in 1993 and I am trying to sell it because my family has increased by 3 members since I bought it....I will say no more because it would be seen as advertising.
12. flashman said...
Titanic: you paint a very romantic picture of your stone cottage but I think you are underplaying the misery of being cold or having to huddle in the few heated rooms. Feeling the presence of freezing generations gone by doesn’t inspire me much. 99% of the population does not have access to dead forest material so its no good pushing it as an ideal. The only reason that many inhabitants of old cottages don’t die from fungal infection of the lungs, is because the constant drafts help to ventilate them
A 3KW array of PV panels on the roof and a heat pump combined with 120mm of polyurthethane is far more eco because there is negligible requirement for energy. We had no gas and paid only 130 pounds per year for electricity. The house I had built was in the green belt and it looked like it had been there for a hundred years … so there is no for it to look bad because it is new.
I think the British nostalgia for old houses is partly to blame for holding back the new build supply. Thank god they don’t built then like they used to.
13. george monsoon said...
Where is part1 of this interview?
14. titaniccaptain said...
@Flashman
"there is no for it to look bad because it is new."..........100% agreement there.....tell that To Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon.
Of course not all new builds are like this but there needs to be a rethink to what someone should pay for a poky new build on an estate like said Builders.....I have seen them going for 300k+ and as I said I rented one...........the problems we had were a nightmare...pluming, electrics, thin plasterboard walls where the plaster cracked when you leant against it, walls so thin you could hear a gnat fart 10 miles away underground in a concrete bunker.....my mother in law has faced similar problems with their new build.
We must agree to disagree on older builds I prefer character over convenience but that is personal taste.....and as has been pointed out older builds have stood the test of time....and with so many horror stories about new builds then I am afraid I know where I would be buying if I were about to buy again.
Of course the older builds have had their share of problems but as JD said most of them have been dealt with.
15. titaniccaptain said...
@George Monsoon
http://www.economicvoice.com/speakers-post.php?post=208
This is the first one....you may have already seen it.
16. another alan said...
Barmy ending!
17. flashman said...
titanic: yes we will have to disagree. The character over convenience argument is bogus. A new house can easily be built with character. These stories about new build quality are out of date. It is no longer possible to hear a gnat fart or to crack plaster by leaning on a new wall because the very latest codes don't allow it. Part B regulations insist on db insulation that is way better than any old ceiling or wall and super thin plasterboard can no longer be used on walls and ceilings because of the codes relating to fire (part B) and sound (partE). The specialist sound insulation and resilient bars they have recently had to use on ceilings and walls are extraordinarily effective. Most builders are now using 15mm plasterboard or two layers of 12mm plasterboard on their ceilings. The new builds you are talking about probably used 9mm. There is a new ethic behind new build called "Robust details" and also a push for MMC (modern methods of construction). You should check these things out. Old prejudices are hard to shift though
18. titaniccaptain said...
I am speaking from experience when it comes to noise from new builds...as I said I rented a brand new one last year and in comparison to and old stone cottage the noise was unbearable.
19. rumble said...
"the very latest codes" ... how recent is that? And do we need to differentiate between recently built houses and sprawling new build apartment blocks? I'm renting one of the latter, built 4 or 5 years ago, not sure about a gnat's fart but sure isn't quiet. Can hear one neighbour insert plugs, the other closing cupboard doors, washing machines from every direction, the classical piano from the flat across the passage. The place is marketed as "lifestyle living", choke, has lots of shiny bits, but the quality really is rubbish. I expect it will gradually crumble to landfill or turn into a slum.
20. flashman said...
Building codes evolve all the time but anything started before April 2008 is probably inferior (unless they volutarily spent the money) … so stories from houses like the one titanic rented are outdated because it was probably started in 2007. The new Part E has drastically improved sound insulation since then
Anyway, I'm calling the police. The shifty looking sheep shagger in the first scene was definitely the one who burnt down my holiday home
21. Waitingtobuy said...
TC@14 "and as has been pointed out older builds have stood the test of time". You only see the ones that survived,not the ones that fell down!!,give me new build any day,I say this as a non site builder.