Buying a New Build..... and part ex!
Discussion
Gulp... I know.
Tiny little boxes, on cramped estates full of social housing etc etc.
However, our house is on the market, has been for just over 3 months - plenty of viewings and interest, not a great deal of negative feedback - zero offers. If the price was out I'd be expecting to see offers but we're getting nothing.
So we've found a development by Harron Homes - its smallish - only 42 houses, all 4 or 5 bed detached, in an area we know fairly well and are happy with.
They offer 100% part ex on market value - not a "quick sale" market value either.
However I'm still a little worried by the prospect of a new featureless box for my next house.
If we did decide to go for it what advice do people have surrounding new builds & part ex?
Anyone bought with Harron? Feedback?
How much haggling can you do? A friend told us that they can't change the price as that would effect the mortgage valuations of all the houses being built on the plot?
Snagging - worth using a professional company?
How much more efficient is a new build than a mid 30's semi with no cavity wall insulation? Will I really hardly need to use my heating?
What direction should my garden face - I know south is best but none of our chosen houses have that garden set up - one has a north westerly outlook? any good?
Are new houses like new cars - do they devalue as soon as you walk through the front door? Is it then a case of waiting for property prices to raise to bring it up to what you paid?
Erm.... any other pointers, advice or anything other?!
Cheers
Tiny little boxes, on cramped estates full of social housing etc etc.
However, our house is on the market, has been for just over 3 months - plenty of viewings and interest, not a great deal of negative feedback - zero offers. If the price was out I'd be expecting to see offers but we're getting nothing.
So we've found a development by Harron Homes - its smallish - only 42 houses, all 4 or 5 bed detached, in an area we know fairly well and are happy with.
They offer 100% part ex on market value - not a "quick sale" market value either.
However I'm still a little worried by the prospect of a new featureless box for my next house.
If we did decide to go for it what advice do people have surrounding new builds & part ex?
Anyone bought with Harron? Feedback?
How much haggling can you do? A friend told us that they can't change the price as that would effect the mortgage valuations of all the houses being built on the plot?
Snagging - worth using a professional company?
How much more efficient is a new build than a mid 30's semi with no cavity wall insulation? Will I really hardly need to use my heating?
What direction should my garden face - I know south is best but none of our chosen houses have that garden set up - one has a north westerly outlook? any good?
Are new houses like new cars - do they devalue as soon as you walk through the front door? Is it then a case of waiting for property prices to raise to bring it up to what you paid?
Erm.... any other pointers, advice or anything other?!
Cheers
You sound a bit desperate to move which rings warning bells - buy in haste, repent at leisure! If your house had sold easily would you have looked at new build or not?
For what it's worth my parents and sister have both bought new build (both detached on a small development) and to be fair they are ok. Check the site to see where they will expand it to - sometime they build 30 houses then in 5 years time the next field opens up and in goes another 50 etc and so make sure you can visualise what the estate will truly end up looking like.
For what it's worth my parents and sister have both bought new build (both detached on a small development) and to be fair they are ok. Check the site to see where they will expand it to - sometime they build 30 houses then in 5 years time the next field opens up and in goes another 50 etc and so make sure you can visualise what the estate will truly end up looking like.
New builds now are good IMO, the insulation is phenomenal and they have been designed & built with sensible layouts (usually) to maximize space.
We bought an ex-new build house built in 2007 and for two of us keeping things around 19-20 degrees year round pay about £800/year for gas & elec. Not bad for 4 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms etc. 8 years later (to now...) & the insulation standards have increased as well, so you will have very cheap running costs as they are pretty strict these days. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think all new builds need some form of solar/hot water panels to meet new standards?
The normal faults with new builds:
1) Rabbit warren effect, lots of houses in small space
2) Parking, as above...everyone parking on top of each other.
3) Risk of suspect neighbors
4) Rushed built
5) You buy the house, then find 100 more are due round the corner
None of the above should surprise you though, all can be checked out well in advance of purchase and most are moaned about more then they are actual issues.
Don't rush into anything though....
Blueg33 might be able to help with haggling/discounts, he is big in one of the house building firms IIRC.
We bought an ex-new build house built in 2007 and for two of us keeping things around 19-20 degrees year round pay about £800/year for gas & elec. Not bad for 4 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms etc. 8 years later (to now...) & the insulation standards have increased as well, so you will have very cheap running costs as they are pretty strict these days. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think all new builds need some form of solar/hot water panels to meet new standards?
The normal faults with new builds:
1) Rabbit warren effect, lots of houses in small space
2) Parking, as above...everyone parking on top of each other.
3) Risk of suspect neighbors
4) Rushed built
5) You buy the house, then find 100 more are due round the corner
None of the above should surprise you though, all can be checked out well in advance of purchase and most are moaned about more then they are actual issues.
Don't rush into anything though....
Blueg33 might be able to help with haggling/discounts, he is big in one of the house building firms IIRC.
Only two points from me:
1) You really do need to find out which houses will be social housing. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that S/H = bad, but you do need to check. Some times they are all grouped together, whereas others are just dotted through the site.
2) Agree with the comment above - if you're concerned now then I'd be very careful. As a one time valuer can 100% say that your house hasn't sold because it's too much. People will not bother offering if the price is a good way out. Everything has a price. There will be 100 people coming along to say how they 'waited it out' and got a buyer - although this is rubbish really as what usually happens is that the market catches up to house value - and by then your ownward move will have gone up by even more!
Best of luck,
Phil
Thanks so far.....
If our house had sold quick, would I be looking at new builds - maybe.... the wife certainly would be, I'm not exactly known for my DIY skills so do-er uppers are not an option - but I always thought I fancied a bit of character, however the prospect of modern central heating, good insulation, and things actually working is a nice thought.
Can anyone confirm if the requirement is for solar / green power? - I don't think any of these houses do have - which did surprise me.
The development is small - 42 houses and no scope for further development due to it's location.....
Parking seems OK for the two of us - beyond that for visitors etc we may have the usual problems.
Social Housing / Affordable housing - what size of development needs to include this is it now all? - All 42 houses on this are 4 bed detached etc - they range in price from 214k up to 270k - will the developer tell us which ones have been earmarked for this? Is it a fixed number / percentage?
I guess that yes - our house would sell if priced less, however it's matched to the prices of other stuff on the our current estate however we quite often have the older less well looked after stuff being snapped up by developers / investors.
If anyone is interested this is the development:
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
And yes - it's bordered by the M1 on one side..... however when we visited it is surprisingly quiet and well screened from the road.......
and viewed on google mpas:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1018386,-1.32616...
If our house had sold quick, would I be looking at new builds - maybe.... the wife certainly would be, I'm not exactly known for my DIY skills so do-er uppers are not an option - but I always thought I fancied a bit of character, however the prospect of modern central heating, good insulation, and things actually working is a nice thought.
Can anyone confirm if the requirement is for solar / green power? - I don't think any of these houses do have - which did surprise me.
The development is small - 42 houses and no scope for further development due to it's location.....
Parking seems OK for the two of us - beyond that for visitors etc we may have the usual problems.
Social Housing / Affordable housing - what size of development needs to include this is it now all? - All 42 houses on this are 4 bed detached etc - they range in price from 214k up to 270k - will the developer tell us which ones have been earmarked for this? Is it a fixed number / percentage?
I guess that yes - our house would sell if priced less, however it's matched to the prices of other stuff on the our current estate however we quite often have the older less well looked after stuff being snapped up by developers / investors.
If anyone is interested this is the development:
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
And yes - it's bordered by the M1 on one side..... however when we visited it is surprisingly quiet and well screened from the road.......
and viewed on google mpas:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1018386,-1.32616...
local then?Dan_1981 said:
Can anyone confirm if the requirement is for solar / green power? - I don't think any of these houses do have - which did surprise me.
Been in a new build for a couple of months, a couple of houses (out of 30 or so) have solar panels which have a south-facing roof not visible from the front, nothing generating green energy in this one though or some that haven't yet sold so I guess it's not required.Haven't had any bills yet and it's difficult to judge annual heating expenditure from this time of year but I can say our heating isn't coming on at all and it's about 23C inside at this time of day. Cooling is becoming a bigger issue than heating.
That location doesn't really appeal at all due to the proximity of the motorway. South and east sides also have the motorway slip within a few metres, and the motorway is what, less than 100m away?
That said, on the site plan plots 36 and 37 probably the best, followed by 32, 35 & 40.
That said, on the site plan plots 36 and 37 probably the best, followed by 32, 35 & 40.
I grew up in the area, my paper round as a lad was carter lane east and the bloody big hill behind it.
Now I was going to post lots of links to houses that are better value in a nicer area. Had a quick search on RightMove for new builds and couldn't find anything locally. So they are great value and Cater Lane is the best part of Normo IMHO!
I just think you would struggle to sell on at that price in the next 5-10 years or so. Though I guess that is the same for any new build in the East Midlands.
Best of luck!
Now I was going to post lots of links to houses that are better value in a nicer area. Had a quick search on RightMove for new builds and couldn't find anything locally. So they are great value and Cater Lane is the best part of Normo IMHO!
I just think you would struggle to sell on at that price in the next 5-10 years or so. Though I guess that is the same for any new build in the East Midlands.
Best of luck!
I just could not imagine living within spitting distance of a main motorway. As for social housing next door yes it bloody well does matter as quite simply it can potentially ruin your life, trust me we found out the hard way.
Go buy a smaller older place with a decent garden, a hedge, a driveway & some privacy.
Go buy a smaller older place with a decent garden, a hedge, a driveway & some privacy.
Hi Dan. Hope your well and still got your mx5 (met a few years ago getting our cars worked on by Steve) an awful lot of nice houses in the East Midlands that have character and have been modernised. Nothing to add regards the developer but my folks did a part ex 5 years ago. They got their asking price plus stamp duty paid. But were buying one of the last avaible and the developer was keen to move on to next project. It's a nice enough house and certainly warm! I just struggle to find it as they all look the same... It's also VERY obvious which house's are social now...
Also when did you visit rush hour? Raining? Lots of great housing with good M1 access without listening to it.
Also when did you visit rush hour? Raining? Lots of great housing with good M1 access without listening to it.
Edited by Petrol Only on Sunday 21st June 21:20
ttiest 'enriched' part of London for these prices.Here's the full planning link for the development which includes a noise report.
http://planning.bolsover.gov.uk/WAM/findCaseFile.d...
They have been forced to install acoustic fencing, plus the trees are quite high.
When we visited, you could hear the noise but it wasn't as bad as we expected.
But definitely something to consider
I understand that the "affordable housing" has to be highlighted in the planning application - however I can't see it anywhere in the link above - anyone know where it should be included?
http://planning.bolsover.gov.uk/WAM/findCaseFile.d...
They have been forced to install acoustic fencing, plus the trees are quite high.
When we visited, you could hear the noise but it wasn't as bad as we expected.
But definitely something to consider
I understand that the "affordable housing" has to be highlighted in the planning application - however I can't see it anywhere in the link above - anyone know where it should be included?
Sometimes the developers have ways of circumventing the affordable bit, they can put more in a different development nearby for example. You might be lucky in that it might be the case here given all the houses are 4 bed detached.
Still too close to the motorway for me though.
Edit:
Just read the noise assessment, well the conclusion anyway. All it says is there is some mitigation but that the resultant noise level is not a constraint to the proposed site. That doesn't mean anything to me as you see new build developments built next to motorways all the time - there's loads around me (Cardiff way). It doesn't mean I'd want to live there (quite the opposite) as the noise is quite pronounced and would certainly affect my quality of life.
Still too close to the motorway for me though.
Edit:
Just read the noise assessment, well the conclusion anyway. All it says is there is some mitigation but that the resultant noise level is not a constraint to the proposed site. That doesn't mean anything to me as you see new build developments built next to motorways all the time - there's loads around me (Cardiff way). It doesn't mean I'd want to live there (quite the opposite) as the noise is quite pronounced and would certainly affect my quality of life.
Edited by hornetrider on Monday 22 June 09:29
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