Kickstart Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Working for a New Build developer selling over priced properties in Central Lonsdon can be quite amusing. I have done this job for the last 10 years and feel it is time to air my views from the inside. Of course I a may talk myself out of a job but the few people on this site that read this will not make a toss of difference. I would love to write an 'expose' for a national newspaper but they are so tied up with the Big Budget developer spenders in their property supplements ( including my company) that they would never print what really goes on. Have you ever seen a negative article about new build in 'ES' or the Sunday Times property supplement --- of course not, far too much os a vested interest in the very lucrative advertising. They never talk about constant leaks or poor build quality on developments. I have worked on developments wher people have paid 3 or 4 million pounds for apartments that have had to vacate for weeks because os leaks that have lasted for weeks. So why are people taken in by that crap that is printed in the advertising ? After 26 years working in the City selling very regulated instruments, what an eye opener working in this unregulated world. And that is the problem 'Unregulated' ! People seem to be under the illusion that an NHBC guarentee means something and that having a survey for a mortgage means something ... Wrong ! it means shit. A surveyor before approving a mortgage comes to site , asks the salesa team a few simple questions about sale prices of comparative properties, apartment dimensions and goes away. In the office for ten minutes and charges 150 quid. Wish I was a surveyor. What an easy job. Investors who you think have some semblance of a brain ask me time after time ' What discount am I getting when I buy off plan?' How can people be so thick !!! You do not get any discount when you buy off plan , the developer asks as much as he can for a peoperty if some mug will pay it. It is normally the sales Director or the board that set the prices and they do a bit of market research in the area add a lump on , create a load of hype with clever marketing and sell from as much as they can get. Of course on a rising market the investor will make money ,but if it turns they will loose far more money. So where is their brain ? --- lost in a world of hype. They never question the fact that with each new development the bedrooms get smaller and smaller , what they call a double bedroom now meeans that as long as you can put a double bed in it and it does not touch all four walls you can call it a double bedroom. Second bedrooms are usually more 0f a joke. I have sold apartments for well over a million that have a Master bedroom of 14 x 11 and bed 2 11'6 x 10'6. Why do idiot buyers accept this ? because they very rarelly even question it. Absolute proof what a gullible lot they really are. If idiots buy -- the developers will just make the apartments smaller and smaller to squeeze every last pound out of the buyer. These clever investors ask 'what discounts are you giving ? I respond 'None, we are selling so well we do not need to'. This is great to get someone on the hook.They nearly always fall for it. Of course the truth is that builders who give a discount mark the price up to include the discount. Funny how this savvy load of investors do not manage to notice that little point. Next the investor looks at the specification and does not realise that the wonderfull showflat kitchen they have seen probably cost the developer a few thousand and suddenly magically forget they are probably paying tens of thousands more for their apartment than nearby older properties all because of a shiny new kitchen and bathroom. In the business we call it the 'shiny kitchen syndrome'. No more for now , lets see the response from all those gullible and often very arrogant investors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ʎqɐqɹǝʞɐɥs Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Interesting. Welcome and keep us posted from the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aardvark Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 i can't say i'm surprised - i don't know why people buy new builds, they are so crap - its the small rooms that get me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ʎqɐqɹǝʞɐɥs Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Is it true that in the show houses the furniture is fake or somehow reduced in size from normal furniture to make the illusion of the room being bigger than it really is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adren Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Is it true that in the show houses the furniture is fake or somehow reduced in size from normal furniture to make the illusion of the room being bigger than it really is? Yes it's true. Good friend in the building game says you can get 3/4 size furniture. When you see it in pics or in a show home it all "makes sense". Then you move in and... DOH! This is the sort of thing that makes me sick. To what other purpose other than FRAUD would you buy 3/4 furniture and put it in a show home? There's such a market for it that there are companies making a living out of building the stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Yes it's true. Good friend in the building game says you can get 3/4 size furniture. When you see it in pics or in a show home it all "makes sense". Then you move in and... DOH! This is the sort of thing that makes me sick. To what other purpose other than FRAUD would you buy 3/4 furniture and put it in a show home? There's such a market for it that there are companies making a living out of building the stuff. The practise should be outlawed, yet another common scam in the housing game . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ʎqɐqɹǝʞɐɥs Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 The practise should be outlawed, yet another common scam in the housing game . I dont suppose its covered under the Sale of Goods Act? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
music man Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've seen this 3/4 furniture and asked the sales rep why they had mini furniture in. No reply, I guess she waited for the next sucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey shark Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) What about all the amateur BTL dreamers who buy these boxs and then they think the tenants will rush from everywhere to rent there newly built box from them , but the reality is for many they end up waiting ages to find a tenant to rent there new box , and when eventually they do catch a sucker to rent the box , the rent they recieve isn't enough to pay there Interest Only mortgage , sounds like a great investment Edited October 22, 2006 by grey shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've seen this 3/4 furniture and asked the sales rep why they had mini furniture in. No reply, I guess she waited for the next sucker. Mate of mine works for a new-build developer, and he reckons they got that bloke who invented the Tardis to design their roome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charlie The Tramp Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've seen this 3/4 furniture and asked the sales rep why they had mini furniture in. With obesity now endemic 3/4 furniture and very small rooms will lead to many problems in the future. http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...c=34837&hl= Obesity has reached pandemic proportions throughout the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Richtea Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've seen this 3/4 furniture and asked the sales rep why they had mini furniture in. No reply, I guess she waited for the next sucker. Presumably, the furniture works just fine for those with 3/4 sized brains. Australia, I think, pioneered this particular rip-off inovation. Go Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey shark Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Presumably, the furniture works just fine for those with 3/4 sized brains. Australia, I think, pioneered this particular rip-off inovation. Go Australia. Looking at your avatar Lionel you must have about 10 brains all within the one head WOWWWWWWWWWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDFTB Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 What about all the amateur BTL dreamers who buy these boxs and then they think the tenants will rush from everywhere to rent there newly built box from them , but the reality is for many they end up waiting ages to find a tenant to rent there new box , and when eventually they do catch a sucker to rent the box , the rent they recieve isn't enough to pay there Interest Only mortgage , sounds like a great investment It's not spelt "there", it should be spelt "their". Pass it on mate! Cheers LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey shark Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 It's not spelt "there", it should be spelt "their". Pass it on mate! Cheers LOL Yes teacher , you are correct THERE meaning over there or i'm going there THEIR meaning it belongs to that person , it is their new box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollk Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I can personally vouch for the sub-standard quality of new builds, but I don't think you have to be on the inside to know this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Working for a New Build developer selling over priced properties in Central Lonsdon can be quite amusing. I have done this job for the last 10 years and feel it is time to air my views from the inside. Of course I a may talk myself out of a job but the few people on this site that read this will not make a toss of difference. I would love to write an 'expose' for a national newspaper but they are so tied up with the Big Budget developer spenders in their property supplements ( including my company) that they would never print what really goes on. Have you ever seen a negative article about new build in 'ES' or the Sunday Times property supplement --- of course not, far too much os a vested interest in the very lucrative advertising. They never talk about constant leaks or poor build quality on developments. I have worked on developments wher people have paid 3 or 4 million pounds for apartments that have had to vacate for weeks because os leaks that have lasted for weeks. So why are people taken in by that crap that is printed in the advertising ? After 26 years working in the City selling very regulated instruments, what an eye opener working in this unregulated world. And that is the problem 'Unregulated' ! People seem to be under the illusion that an NHBC guarentee means something and that having a survey for a mortgage means something ... Wrong ! it means shit. A surveyor before approving a mortgage comes to site , asks the salesa team a few simple questions about sale prices of comparative properties, apartment dimensions and goes away. In the office for ten minutes and charges 150 quid. Wish I was a surveyor. What an easy job. Investors who you think have some semblance of a brain ask me time after time ' What discount am I getting when I buy off plan?' How can people be so thick !!! You do not get any discount when you buy off plan , the developer asks as much as he can for a peoperty if some mug will pay it. It is normally the sales Director or the board that set the prices and they do a bit of market research in the area add a lump on , create a load of hype with clever marketing and sell from as much as they can get. Of course on a rising market the investor will make money ,but if it turns they will loose far more money. So where is their brain ? --- lost in a world of hype. They never question the fact that with each new development the bedrooms get smaller and smaller , what they call a double bedroom now meeans that as long as you can put a double bed in it and it does not touch all four walls you can call it a double bedroom. Second bedrooms are usually more 0f a joke. I have sold apartments for well over a million that have a Master bedroom of 14 x 11 and bed 2 11'6 x 10'6. Why do idiot buyers accept this ? because they very rarelly even question it. Absolute proof what a gullible lot they really are. If idiots buy -- the developers will just make the apartments smaller and smaller to squeeze every last pound out of the buyer. These clever investors ask 'what discounts are you giving ? I respond 'None, we are selling so well we do not need to'. This is great to get someone on the hook.They nearly always fall for it. Of course the truth is that builders who give a discount mark the price up to include the discount. Funny how this savvy load of investors do not manage to notice that little point. Next the investor looks at the specification and does not realise that the wonderfull showflat kitchen they have seen probably cost the developer a few thousand and suddenly magically forget they are probably paying tens of thousands more for their apartment than nearby older properties all because of a shiny new kitchen and bathroom. In the business we call it the 'shiny kitchen syndrome'. No more for now , lets see the response from all those gullible and often very arrogant investors. Can this be used in an article? http://firstrung.co.uk/casestudies.asp?pageid=SUBMITARTICLE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Richtea Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) Looking at your avatar Lionel you must have about 10 brains all within the one head WOWWWWWWWWWW My head may be wide... but it is only waffa theen Edited October 22, 2006 by Lionel Richtea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyingBear Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Investors who you think have some semblance of a brain ask me time after time ' What discount am I getting when I buy off plan?' How can people be so thick !!! You do not get any discount when you buy off plan , the developer asks as much as he can for a peoperty if some mug will pay it. It is normally the sales Director or the board that set the prices and they do a bit of market research in the area add a lump on , create a load of hype with clever marketing and sell from as much as they can get. Of course on a rising market the investor will make money ,but if it turns they will loose far more money. So where is their brain ? --- lost in a world of hype. They never question the fact that with each new development the bedrooms get smaller and smaller , what they call a double bedroom now meeans that as long as you can put a double bed in it and it does not touch all four walls you can call it a double bedroom. Second bedrooms are usually more 0f a joke. I have sold apartments for well over a million that have a Master bedroom of 14 x 11 and bed 2 11'6 x 10'6. Why do idiot buyers accept this ? because they very rarelly even question it. Absolute proof what a gullible lot they really are. Standards in this country are utterly dismal, it's not just limited to quality, our new homes are the smallest in Europe. Would people accept such things when it comes to cars or other consumer goods, would they crap, but we are conditioned to see property in a glowing light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ʎqɐqɹǝʞɐɥs Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Presumably, the furniture works just fine for those with 3/4 sized brains. Australia, I think, pioneered this particular rip-off inovation. Go Australia. Are the showgirls 3/4 sized too? I am assuming it is usually some piece of eye-candy showing people around to distract you from the ridiculous price and the small furniture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_russell Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 What a great thread, and this is all so true. We've just finished a new build of 36 flats in ealing W5 and they are indeed absolute crap. People buying these are getting mugged off with substandard build quality for 250k a pop! And they sold all of them on the opening day! Also, in the show flat, they fitted it out with an extra small bed and cupbords to make the room look bigger, you couldnt make it up! the double bed must be about 4.5' long! Another trick they do is to remove all the internal doors, again to give the impression of more space. I personaly wouldn't recomend anyone buy anything built within the last 15yrs. I'm old school when it comes to construction and i believe there is the right way to do things and the "throw em up" cowboy way which most developers do using cheap semi-skilled eastern european labour. Because many trades have become de-skilled over the yrs and the developers constantly want to cut costs, the quality of newbuilds has suffered greatly. Most newbuild houses now have truss roofs where many small sections of timber held togeather with nail plates are used to build the main frame because they wont payout for a professional joiner to costruct it properly. What this means to you is that you cant use your loftspace for storage as there is simply no room and if you ever wanted to expand and convert it into a extra bedroom/dormer it would be virtualy impossible. Most internal walls now are of dryline stud partition, ie, a couple of sheets of plasterboard screwed into a metal stud. What this means is it is almost impossible to ever get a decent fixing in to this kind of wall and no matter how much wadding you put in these walls there is virtually no sound insulation, ie "is that my phone ringing?, or is it my neighbour? -or his neighbour?!" This is just a couple of examples with plumbing and electrical installations no exception, i'm a sparks. On the flats we recently finished the ceilings were about 2' of the concrete slab so if you ever wanted to fit downlighters in the kitchen/bathroom it just couldnt be done, let alone a full rewire, you would have to strip the whole place back to a carcase! I meet tradesmen on site everyday who say "i cant believe they want me to do it like this......" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charlie The Tramp Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Most internal walls now are of dryline stud partition, ie, a couple of sheets of plasterboard screwed into a metal stud. What this means is it is almost impossible to ever get a decent fixing in to this kind of wall and no matter how much wadding you put in these walls there is virtually no sound insulation Tell me about it, on site I tripped badly in a new build house, my head started in the Entrance Hall and ended up in the Cloakroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enworb Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I know what you mean. My gf's mates Dad considered buying a new build house in Windsor for £900k. I viewed it myself and couldn't believe the poor finish quality. As an example, the en-suite shower cubicle door (i'd expect an en-suite bathroom for this kind of money) wasn't lined up properly, the tile grouting was terrible, all silicon and decorators filler was slapped on. Add to that the fact that as a detached property it may as well have been a semi. The next house was a foot away at the most. There was hardly a front garden and the rear garden was no bigger than 30'. The same can be said for some vonversions. Maybe not the build quality because they are generally pre 1970's, but the living space can make you feel claustrophobic. Yet new builds still sell like hot cakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've never been to these new build show flats, but if anyone does, why don't you take some photo's with the furnature being used - I.e. lying on the bed showing your feet 2feet over the end, or sitting in a seat etc etc... That would be funny.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adren Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Are the showgirls 3/4 sized too? I am assuming it is usually some piece of eye-candy showing people around to distract you from the ridiculous price and the small furniture. Hi Shaker I know you are being light-hearted, but you really would be amazed at what sales people think of. Remember the "YES" car loans people? Remember the ad with the little chirpy blonde woman dressed all in green? How TINY was she? It made the Corsa/Micra/Punto whatever next to her look like a station wagon. It's all subliminal. It's a science. The science of making people think they are getting more than they really are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.