New Build

[SarahBell]

A tiny developement near me of about 23 houses has already someone living in one of them - they've only built about 6...

But who's buying them? People who don't want an old house that needs tons of work?

Will more new builds like ones at the http://www.morrishomes.co.uk/future-developments.htm Middleton push down prices on old homes?

(Used to be a car sales place but been closed for probably 3 years)

Do we need lots more optimistic builders to throw up houses to help push prices down?

There's a development near me -5 big houses (well 4-5 bedrooms band D council tax) and they only sold 1... but the sale signs have been took down ... Have they decided to rent them now they're 2 years old?

It's worrying but interesting seeing new build developments going on.

[right_freds_dead]

A tiny developement near me of about 23 houses has already someone living in one of them - they've only built about 6...

But who's buying them? People who don't want an old house that needs tons of work?

Will more new builds like ones at the http://www.morrishomes.co.uk/future-developments.htm Middleton push down prices on old homes?

(Used to be a car sales place but been closed for probably 3 years)

Do we need lots more optimistic builders to throw up houses to help push prices down?

There's a development near me -5 big houses (well 4-5 bedrooms band D council tax) and they only sold 1... but the sale signs have been took down ... Have they decided to rent them now they're 2 years old?

It's worrying but interesting seeing new build developments going on.

theres a lot of fraud going on.

near me theres been a flat for sale at 120k (notice in window and a 'private' sale and mob number).

no one is going to ever buy this at that price. or nobody has bought this for this much. what i thinks going on is that the developer company still owns it and is using it as a pretend benchmark for the rest of the rubbish. its right at the front. all "see see, these are 120k these are. see see"

4 years its been there, 4 fµcking years....

[cashinmattress]

New build = piece of crap.

Unless you are building your own home and scrutinizing every item that goes into the construction, you are going to buy crap.

Almost everybody I know, outside of my small group of engineering type friends and associates, buy sight unseen and question nothing, going strictly on the words of others.

Buying property is easy, but understanding what makes a good QUALITY construction is difficult.

It really is quite mad to consider that folk dump lifetimes worth of income into some wood and plaster, thrown together by the CHEAPEST bidder.

It's been a massive hoodwink.

Oh well, the future wave of massive reconstructions and renovations will keep a generation of foreign workers in favour with their wives.

NOTE: I used CHEAPEST versus lowest, because it is indeed the one who cheaps out on every facet of construction who wins the build contract.

Edited June 27, 2010 by cashinmattress

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

theres a lot of fraud going on.

near me theres been a flat for sale at 120k (notice in window and a 'private' sale and mob number).

no one is going to ever buy this at that price. or nobody has bought this for this much. what i thinks going on is that the developer company still owns it and is using it as a pretend benchmark for the rest of the rubbish. its right at the front. all "see see, these are 120k these are. see see"

4 years its been there, 4 fµcking years....

have you got the moby number, i might buy a couple, do you think going for two at 250 will avoid the inevitable gazumping

[deflation]

New build = piece of crap.

Unless you are building your own home and scrutinizing every item that goes into the construction, you are going to buy crap.

Almost everybody I know, outside of my small group of engineering type friends and associates, buy sight unseen and question nothing, going strictly on the words of others.

Buying property is easy, but understanding what makes a good QUALITY construction is difficult.

I hear this a lot on here but since all houses were new build at some point, when do you think building standards fell? Were 1930s or 1950s house best?

Modern houses are built with ready filled cavities (check our the bill to heat a Victorian house) and usually have double glazing, central heating and fitted kitchens.

I'm not sticking up for new build houses per se, but to dismiss them all as 'crap' is not the case.

[Snugglybear]

I hear this a lot on here but since all houses were new build at some point, when do you think building standards fell? Were 1930s or 1950s house best?

Modern houses are built with ready filled cavities (check our the bill to heat a Victorian house) and usually have double glazing, central heating and fitted kitchens.

I'm not sticking up for new build houses per se, but to dismiss them all as 'crap' is not the case.

This is where I trot out my favourite anecdote.

Colleague's husband's colleague's mother-in-law staying at (2nd) colleague's house, stumbled half way down stairs, staggered / fell down the rest of them, crashed through the wall into the downstairs toilet and then out again through the wall on the other side.. Was bruised but not badly hurt enough even to go to the GP, never mind A&E. After crashing through two walls!

Well, they're not walls, are they? They're cardboard partitions.

My Victorian house has double glazing, central heating and a fitted kitchen. All retro fitted, granted, but at least it has walls you can hang radiators and cabinets on with some confidence.

[cashinmattress]

I hear this a lot on here but since all houses were new build at some point, when do you think building standards fell? Were 1930s or 1950s house best?

Modern houses are built with ready filled cavities (check our the bill to heat a Victorian house) and usually have double glazing, central heating and fitted kitchens.

I'm not sticking up for new build houses per se, but to dismiss them all as 'crap' is not the case.

The big difference is in the base materials, the labour, and the standards. Victorians did not have petro-chemicals and their derivatives upon which to design new materials. All metals, ceramics, synthetics, etc are based upon the modern petro-chem industry. Even the woods you use today have been grown and processed using petro derivatives.

Outside of breaking down the construction into component pieces and arguing individual merits, just take it that most contemporary homes are built of poor materials, with the inherit mechanics 'just' meeting the criteria. Simply put, things are not built to the standards of quality and craftsmanship they were. Nor are they built with the same life-cycles in mind.

So, I go back to my rather bold statement, that NEW BUILDS=CRAP.

[Alan B'Stard MP]

New build = piece of crap.

Unless you are building your own home and scrutinizing every item that goes into the construction, you are going to buy crap.

Almost everybody I know, outside of my small group of engineering type friends and associates, buy sight unseen and question nothing, going strictly on the words of others.

Buying property is easy, but understanding what makes a good QUALITY construction is difficult.

It really is quite mad to consider that folk dump lifetimes worth of income into some wood and plaster, thrown together by the CHEAPEST bidder.

It's been a massive hoodwink.

Oh well, the future wave of massive reconstructions and renovations will keep a generation of foreign workers in favour with their wives.

NOTE: I used CHEAPEST versus lowest, because it is indeed the one who cheaps out on every facet of construction who wins the build contract.

What's the best year to buy a house from?

I'm thinking a 1930's house.

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

What's the best year to buy a house from?

I'm thinking a 1930's house.

ive got my eye on hampton court palace

[cashinmattress]

What's the best year to buy a house from?

I'm thinking a 1930's house.

Well, take a drive around a neighbourhood with that era of housing.

I tend to agree with you.

Or, put it in this light when you see a home...

How many contemporary British neighbourhoods could withstand a fire-bombing as did many of the Victorians during WWII.

I like big beefy wooden beams, stone, slate, wrought iron, and simple materials.

Edited June 27, 2010 by cashinmattress

[cashinmattress]

.

Edited June 27, 2010 by cashinmattress

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

A tiny developement near me of about 23 houses has already someone living in one of them - they've only built about 6...

But who's buying them? People who don't want an old house that needs tons of work?

Will more new builds like ones at the http://www.morrishomes.co.uk/future-developments.htm Middleton push down prices on old homes?

(Used to be a car sales place but been closed for probably 3 years)

Do we need lots more optimistic builders to throw up houses to help push prices down?

There's a development near me -5 big houses (well 4-5 bedrooms band D council tax) and they only sold 1... but the sale signs have been took down ... Have they decided to rent them now they're 2 years old?

It's worrying but interesting seeing new build developments going on.

New build interests me because I'm thinking of getting one. I want an apartment as I don't want a garden. This sort of property could go down in value a lot if there is another crash. Ultimately I don't care too much what the market does in the future, so long as I can get a place for a price I am willing to pay now. If I get a place that will do me for quite a few years (possibly forever) then I don't care what the market does over the next 20 years.

The media indicates there is a massive oversupply of new build town houses and flats.As far as I can tell these are less popular in this country, I guess it's because they want a garden.

I think the games the developers play with the pricing are significant. At the end of the day I think there is a lot of room for negotiation. One anecdotal I can provide is from a collegue at work. She went for a new build place, the developer insisted that she went with their mortgage lender, so she gave it a try. The mortgage lender then came back and said the house wasn't worth it and they wouldn't grant the mortgage! At that point she went to another bank who gave the same valuation and the developer accepted the reduced price for the sale. Seems a bit funny that even the recommended mortgage provider refused to provide a mortgage based on the inital developer price!

I think that developers are much more realistic on pricing than private owners. At the end of the day with a developer it comes down to a business decision rather than a sentiment driven one. If the developer needs the cash flow and their projection for the market is falling I think you're much more likely to get a good deal than with a sentiment driven "I can't sell it for less than I paid for it" private seller.

As for new build quality, I guess a quick google search will show how many problems a particular builder has. Of course a builder with more volume is going to have more issues than a smaller one, but it can give you some idea of the problems people face. Snagging seems a good idea to me.

[miko]

I hear this a lot on here but since all houses were new build at some point, when do you think building standards fell? Were 1930s or 1950s house best?

Modern houses are built with ready filled cavities (check our the bill to heat a Victorian house) and usually have double glazing, central heating and fitted kitchens.

I'm not sticking up for new build houses per se, but to dismiss them all as 'crap' is not the case.

I have lived in a lot of new build over the years and have also sold them.

When do you think building standards fell ? This is a difficult question to answer , on the whole there has always been good and bad new build.

I have read that when the suburb's of London were built in the 30's a lot of build quality was said to be poor , however they did have proper walls and are still standing today

The flat I live in now is twenty years old and the quality is not bad , plus there is plenty of space around the blocks and a decent part of the development has been left green , and there is ample parking .

The stuff built in the last five years I think is lower quality in both build and space than those built previously. Have lived in brand new where the walls shook if the doors were closed properly. Had trouble putting up curtain rails as the windows were not in a straight line with the ceiling . Have also worked on site's where the pipes now used for water system are plastic not copper ( this i think is quite recent ) . Have been told but can not confirm of flats where the walls between flats were not brick but plaster board. Floor's made from chip board and not proper wood floor boards in another recent cheaper build method.

There are fewer and fewer big house builders today and I think that in any price bracket you will get the same form one as another and the quality has dropped in the last few years. Also in the last few years the cramped conditions on most new estates is far worse than just a few years back . There is very little parking and have had problems when selling for builders especially bigger houses with the lack of parking .

[peakoil]

New build = piece of crap.

Unless you are building your own home and scrutinizing every item that goes into the construction, you are going to buy crap.

Almost everybody I know, outside of my small group of engineering type friends and associates, buy sight unseen and question nothing, going strictly on the words of others.

Buying property is easy, but understanding what makes a good QUALITY construction is difficult.

It really is quite mad to consider that folk dump lifetimes worth of income into some wood and plaster, thrown together by the CHEAPEST bidder.

It's been a massive hoodwink.

Oh well, the future wave of massive reconstructions and renovations will keep a generation of foreign workers in favour with their wives.

NOTE: I used CHEAPEST versus lowest, because it is indeed the one who cheaps out on every facet of construction who wins the build contract.

many years ago my now business partner worked as a labourer on a building site. The biggest house at one end was earmarked for the guy who was developing the land and running the project. The interesting part is that when they got to start that - he changed the cement mix ratio to include more cement and less sand. I can't remember the figures but it was something like 1 cement to 4 sand for all the others and 1 cement to 3 sand for his house.

Proving your point exactly. Clearly he thought that mixture was important for his house... but b#gger everyone else!