Don't waste your money on 'shoddy' new builds Kirstie Allsopp warns

[rollover]

 

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Kirstie Allsopp warns buyers not to be fooled by 'misleading' claims about the 'hidden costs' of old houses

A row has erupted over the quality of new build homes after TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp told today's buyers to avoid wasting their money on 'shoddy' properties. The 45-year-old spoke out after 'misleading' claims by a new build organisation that those in older properties were likely to spend more than £51,000 on repairs. But the Home Builders Federation has hit back, saying buyers of new build homes 'enjoy a huge number of benefits over those purchasing a second hand home'. Daily mail

 

In time when: May pledges to build 1.5 million more homes by 2022 and "We will fix the dysfunctional housing market" Reuters

 

[Diver Dan]

A lot of new-build houses are shockingly bad. I guess Krusty is a broken clock.

A lot of old houses with hidden structural problems are something of a 'pig in a poke though'

</metaphors>

[Sour Mash]

It's ironic that as the price of property goes up, the quality of newly built property tends to go down as the builders are just trying to shove out as many homes as possible to cash in.

 

There were some truly egregious example of this during the 2000s boom in the Republic of Ireland .... ISTR an entire apartment complex being condemned shortly after it opened and new build apartments frequently failing to meet standards for space.

[Democorruptcy]

I just told an estate agent I was thinking of buying a new build.

They were asking if I wanted to view an existing house they obviously cannot shift. I said HTB made new builds 20% cheaper and the lending was sub prime, so anyone with a pulse could get a mortgage that was guaranteed by the governbankment. Buying overpriced old houses was too expensive and risky. That agent doesn't have a new build on their books.

[winkie]

Like more and more things today they are intentionally built not to last, inferior quality, and to make as much profit from using as less as they can......looking at some quality old-style semi-detached council housing, big front and rear gardens three large decent bedrooms......these were next to three storey terraced town houses all on top of each other ......two for double the cost and half the space.

[AvoidDebt]

She must have convinced a fair few people to buy one on LLL. 

[Riedquat]

1 hour ago, Diver Dan said:

A lot of new-build houses are shockingly bad. I guess Krusty is a broken clock.

A lot of old houses with hidden structural problems are something of a 'pig in a poke though'

</metaphors>

If the structural problems in an old house are that severe it'll probably have fallen down already, or are slow developing enough you'd be unlucky to be the person affected. Anyway isn't that what buildings insurance is for?

Edited May 18, 2017 by Riedquat

[Diver Dan]

19 minutes ago, Riedquat said:

If the structural problems in an old house are that severe it'll probably have fallen down already, or are slow developing enough you'd be unlucky to be the person affected. Anyway isn't that what buildings insurance is for?

I guess. The problem is that there is so much shyte on the market that age and price are no guarantee of quality.

Formerly pleasant family homes that have been (shoddily) extended in every possible direction to the point that it's mainly the scar tissue holding the place up are a bug-bear of mine.

Tenaments and conversions with badly maintained communal areas are another.

[Ash4781]

The discussion is better focused on the overall (both new and old) quality of UK housing stock. 

[giggler000]

2 hours ago, rollover said:

 

In time when: May pledges to build 1.5 million more homes by 2022 and "We will fix the dysfunctional housing market" Reuters

 

Location, location, location...  Why buy a new build on a northern iron works brownfield site when you could buy her Notting Hil pad?

Cute dog.

[longgone]

The fire looks inviting , sadly i can`t say the same of the mantel piece. 

[maverick73]

New builds, the illusive scam, designed to fool the mass.

[thisisthisitmaybe]

Cute dog but looks bloody miserable.

Edited May 19, 2017 by thisisthisitmaybe

[interestrateripoff]

Paying 6 figures for something that might not last 50. Genius especially with flats.

[janch]

I have experience of living in new build and old Victorian properties.  The old ones had bigger rooms but were freezing cold and very dificult to get adequate insulation.  They also had hidden horrors eg drains blocking and rotting joists which were not picked up in surveys.  In contrast the new build had a 10 year NHBC guarantee and was lighter but rooms and plot were much smaller plus you could hear a lot of what was going on next door! (not very good noise insulation).  The old houses were money pits but the new one needed nothing in the 8 years I was there. So you pays your money......

Kirsty and Phil have a lot to answer for though as they always make out that renovations are nothing much to worry about and when they return to people they helped purchase properties they always pick the people it worked out for.  In my experience doing up houses is vey stressful and expensive and always takes much longer than you think.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

21 hours ago, giggler000 said:

Location, location, location...  Why buy a new build on a northern iron works brownfield site when you could buy her Notting Hil pad?

Cute dog.

Hairy growler

[Wayward]

I like bright rooms with lots of natural light...new builds often have pokey windows and are dark.  I think due to energy efficiency standards on insulation its better for them to have smaller windows...this works almost like the 18th century window tax...anyway if the place lacks naturally light I am out.

(is Kirsty in a bedsit???)

[disenfranchised]

My brother & father both own early 1990s built detached houses.

Both of theirs have been re-glazed and had new external doors in the last couple of years. New (much higher quality) kitchens and bathrooms fitted in the last 5 years as the originals have got dated. Both have recent higher quality flooring - solid wood, decent tiles, expensive carpet replacing the dated cheap originals. They also have the benefit of mature gardens and knowing who your future neighbours will be.

Rather than live on a horribly cramped new build estate I'd much rather buy a house like that which is relatively modern and needs nothing doing but has benefited from somebody else ploughing their money into improving it VS new build 

Edited May 19, 2017 by disenfranchised

[VancouverGuy]

There's a row of new-build homes in a suburb of Vancouver where only the house on the end has any insulation.

When the builder had almost finished the first one, he had the city inspector along to sign-off on the place before he closed the walls up and finished the job off. Once the first place was OK'd he took all the insulation out and put it into the next house, closed the walls up on the first and on he went.

And voila! A whole row of homes with only the one at the end having any insulation in the walls!

[MattW]

I agree with Krusty. It's perhaps the most sensible thing she's said in 20 years!

On 18/05/2017 at 5:40 PM, giggler000 said:

Did the Blue Peter team make that mantlepiece.

Yep, cute dog. My sister has one like that.

[mrtickle]

12 hours ago, VancouverGuy said:

There's a row of new-build homes in a suburb of Vancouver where only the house on the end has any insulation.

When the builder had almost finished the first one, he had the city inspector along to sign-off on the place before he closed the walls up and finished the job off. Once the first place was OK'd he took all the insulation out and put it into the next house, closed the walls up on the first and on he went.

And voila! A whole row of homes with only the one at the end having any insulation in the walls!

If that's actually true, I hope he was punished.

He still wasted money. After the last house was signed off and the guy had gone before he closed up the walls, why didn't he take the insulation out? :/

 

[VancouverGuy]

1 hour ago, mrtickle said:

If that's actually true, I hope he was punished.

He still wasted money. After the last house was signed off and the guy had gone before he closed up the walls, why didn't he take the insulation out? :/

 

Of course not. Immediately after fìnishing the last house, he closed the business down and started a new business under a different name, the beauties of limited liability. Standard practise out here. Real estate in British Columbia really is the wild est.

[Ah-so]

On 2017-5-20 at 1:52 AM, VancouverGuy said:

There's a row of new-build homes in a suburb of Vancouver where only the house on the end has any insulation.

When the builder had almost finished the first one, he had the city inspector along to sign-off on the place before he closed the walls up and finished the job off. Once the first place was OK'd he took all the insulation out and put it into the next house, closed the walls up on the first and on he went.

And voila! A whole row of homes with only the one at the end having any insulation in the walls!

Do you have a link to this story? Must be quite a big story given how important insulation must be in a house in Canada. 

Having lived in Japan, I know what it is like to live with limited insulation in winter. Not fun. 

[jfk]

Krusty  states the blithering obvious.

[Tempus]

Interesting phone-in on LBC now about building standards in the wake of Grenfell.

One caller in the building industry suggests the use of cheap and dangerously flammable materials is rife in UK new builds. 

Standard practice is to take an architect's plans and substitute cheaper materials.