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
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?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?
GreatGranny said:
Where in Sheffield do you live now?
Thought houses were moving pretty quickly, a few colleagues have sold with a few weeks in the SW of the city.
Not sure I would move out of Sheffield to move to South Normanton :-)
Sheffield has lots going for it.
Do you work in Sheffield?
Live in Handsworth, which is nice, Sheffield is great, however the wife works in Chesterfield and I work.... just north of Birmingham! Thought houses were moving pretty quickly, a few colleagues have sold with a few weeks in the SW of the city.
Not sure I would move out of Sheffield to move to South Normanton :-)
Sheffield has lots going for it.
Do you work in Sheffield?
Moving from jct 33 to jct 28 takes an hour of my commute each day minimum.
The Ben Bailey estate does look nice, however prices are higher and I know someone who works for Ben Bailey....... she wasn't encouraging when I mentioned a potential purchase!
The wife has obviously got carried away and is in full on "yes we're moving mode"
I'm still in, I'm not quite sure mode, we've visted showhome now for harron on another development and they were OK, I can see the attraction of a new build.
However - and this is where it gets a bit boring and long winded......
I like this house: http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
However its at the top of our budget, and there are only three on the site - they all have North or east facing gardens - bit of a deal breaker.
My next choice:
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
However I think the kitchen diner is horribly small. (4.7m x 5.3) lounge is: (3.6 x 5.3)
the wifes choice - cheapest of them all - and just about average in everything - kithen diner: (5.7 x 4.3) lounge (3.1 x 5.2)
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/... kitchen diner
and the 4th option - 2nd most expensive, but with the smallest lounge (3.0 x 5.2) kitchen diner is largest at (6.5 x 5.3)
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
The wife has obviously got carried away and is in full on "yes we're moving mode"
I'm still in, I'm not quite sure mode, we've visted showhome now for harron on another development and they were OK, I can see the attraction of a new build.
However - and this is where it gets a bit boring and long winded......
I like this house: http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
However its at the top of our budget, and there are only three on the site - they all have North or east facing gardens - bit of a deal breaker.
My next choice:
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
However I think the kitchen diner is horribly small. (4.7m x 5.3) lounge is: (3.6 x 5.3)
the wifes choice - cheapest of them all - and just about average in everything - kithen diner: (5.7 x 4.3) lounge (3.1 x 5.2)
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/... kitchen diner
and the 4th option - 2nd most expensive, but with the smallest lounge (3.0 x 5.2) kitchen diner is largest at (6.5 x 5.3)
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
Zippee said:
Dan_1981 said:
I like this house: http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
However its at the top of our budget, and there are only three on the site - they all have North or east facing gardens - bit of a deal breaker.
Our current house (not a new build this time - we learnt - has a directly north facing garden and apart from directly behind the house it is bathed in sun all day, from the right hand side when the sun rises, the whole garden as it moves across the front and the sun streams over the roof, to the other side when the sun sets. In the winter when the sun is a lot lower it is less but still gets a fair share. This is in a garden 40' deep.However its at the top of our budget, and there are only three on the site - they all have North or east facing gardens - bit of a deal breaker.
This is the site plan:
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
The Ingleton we'd be interested in would be plot number 15.
The garden runs NNW. Don't know how long the garden is,
assume we'd get sun in the morning from the east until it went behind the house, then if high enough we'd get it at the top of the garden. However then we'd suffer from the shadow of plot 14 until the sun moved past that house - which would be early evening?
Rosscow said:
Plots 7 and 13 look better bets?
I'll be honest, road noise would be a big worry for me.
7 is sold. I'll be honest, road noise would be a big worry for me.
13 is an east facing garden - thought that would be worst of all from a sunshine point of view?
I've visited site, road noise is obviously noticeable but the site is well screened by large trees and is not as bad as I expected.
Thanks for the above.
Have decided the Ingleton is probably pushing our budget a little too much - so are now very seriously considering a Settle
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
Plot number 35 is coming available shortly and we are now very very tempted to go for it.
Does anyone know if it possible to identify which houses have been earmarked as "affordable" from either the planning application or other means?
Have decided the Ingleton is probably pushing our budget a little too much - so are now very seriously considering a Settle
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
Plot number 35 is coming available shortly and we are now very very tempted to go for it.
Does anyone know if it possible to identify which houses have been earmarked as "affordable" from either the planning application or other means?
Bit of a bump on this one.
Still looking at new builds on this development.
32 & 35 have been released.
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
Both have SW facing gardens, anything to choose from other than the garden size?
Other than this - how far can you push new build developers on freebies / upgrades etc?
Still looking at new builds on this development.
32 & 35 have been released.
http://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/derbyshire/...
Both have SW facing gardens, anything to choose from other than the garden size?
Other than this - how far can you push new build developers on freebies / upgrades etc?
Our house has been on the market since March - was on the market at £125k, had had an offer recently at £119500 but they wanted a quick deal, and we hadn't found anywhere else.
The part ex they've given us £120k for and put it straight back on the market at £114,995
Extras wise we got:
Carpets & flooring throughout.
integrated appliances
legal fees paid on sale & purchase
stamp duty paid.
All in all we were happy with the deal.
The part ex they've given us £120k for and put it straight back on the market at £114,995
Extras wise we got:
Carpets & flooring throughout.
integrated appliances
legal fees paid on sale & purchase
stamp duty paid.
All in all we were happy with the deal.
Welshbeef said:
Dan_1981 said:
Our house has been on the market since March - was on the market at £125k, had had an offer recently at £119500 but they wanted a quick deal, and we hadn't found anywhere else.
The part ex they've given us £120k for and put it straight back on the market at £114,995
Extras wise we got:
Carpets & flooring throughout.
integrated appliances
legal fees paid on sale & purchase
stamp duty paid.
All in all we were happy with the deal.
You do know that means there was a lot of fat in the property you bought don't you?The part ex they've given us £120k for and put it straight back on the market at £114,995
Extras wise we got:
Carpets & flooring throughout.
integrated appliances
legal fees paid on sale & purchase
stamp duty paid.
All in all we were happy with the deal.
Well almost a year to the day since we first looked at the estate we moved in last Monday!
Really happy with the house - couple of snags we've picked up on but nothing major / in the league of some of the horror stories you hear about with regard to new builds.
Couple of months delay from the date we were first promised but not big deal as we were part exing.
Estate is almost complete - despite the proximity of the house to the motorway, inside you genuinely can't hear the road. On the rear garden it's pretty much indistinguishable from any other house / local noise i've experienced before.
Very happy so far.
Really happy with the house - couple of snags we've picked up on but nothing major / in the league of some of the horror stories you hear about with regard to new builds.
Couple of months delay from the date we were first promised but not big deal as we were part exing.
Estate is almost complete - despite the proximity of the house to the motorway, inside you genuinely can't hear the road. On the rear garden it's pretty much indistinguishable from any other house / local noise i've experienced before.
Very happy so far.
So far we've had no issues with customer service as all of our minor snags have gone through the site office.
We've got a friend on the site who moved in last November - they've had a few more issues than we have and have struggled to get them resolved in a decent time frame.
With regard to review I think you'll find negative for all new home builders.
I'm emailing our list of things we have picked up on over to the CS team & site today just to ensure there is a record of them & they're acting on them. Will keep the thread updated.
We've got a friend on the site who moved in last November - they've had a few more issues than we have and have struggled to get them resolved in a decent time frame.
With regard to review I think you'll find negative for all new home builders.
I'm emailing our list of things we have picked up on over to the CS team & site today just to ensure there is a record of them & they're acting on them. Will keep the thread updated.
It's now October.
We've been in the house 4 months and last week we had our final snags finished off
Some of them have been absolutely ridiculous....
a cracked window was fitted - picked up on before we moved in..... finally replaced last week.
The gutters were levelled wrong on one side & drained to the wrong end meaning that in heavy rain it spilled over and ran down the side of the house instead of down a drain pipe.
The dual zone central heating - thermostat installed in the lounge & also in the hallway so you can heat the lounge to a different tempt to the rest of the house - connected to the boiler the wrong way round so the lung thermostat controlled the house & vice versa - that led to some confusion / swearing at the box.
Overall - nothing major.
Unlike our neighbours - moved in about 3 weeks before us, both work as cabin crew and spend alot of time away - came back after three nights away opened the door to a torrent of water pouring down the stairs - waste pipe on the toilet has come "detatched" so the toilet constantly filled itself and poured water through the house for three days - all the ceilings were down. Finally moved back in last month.
Site is running over by a fair bit - now expecting to be finished by xmas.
Overall - yes i'd buy a new build again but i'd be very selective about site & inspect the house carefully.
We've been in the house 4 months and last week we had our final snags finished off
Some of them have been absolutely ridiculous....
a cracked window was fitted - picked up on before we moved in..... finally replaced last week.
The gutters were levelled wrong on one side & drained to the wrong end meaning that in heavy rain it spilled over and ran down the side of the house instead of down a drain pipe.
The dual zone central heating - thermostat installed in the lounge & also in the hallway so you can heat the lounge to a different tempt to the rest of the house - connected to the boiler the wrong way round so the lung thermostat controlled the house & vice versa - that led to some confusion / swearing at the box.
Overall - nothing major.
Unlike our neighbours - moved in about 3 weeks before us, both work as cabin crew and spend alot of time away - came back after three nights away opened the door to a torrent of water pouring down the stairs - waste pipe on the toilet has come "detatched" so the toilet constantly filled itself and poured water through the house for three days - all the ceilings were down. Finally moved back in last month.
Site is running over by a fair bit - now expecting to be finished by xmas.
Overall - yes i'd buy a new build again but i'd be very selective about site & inspect the house carefully.
TheLordJohn said:
Thanks for coming back to us with an update.
Glad you're happy with the house.
That snag list would be the envy of quite a few new-build owners, i'd imagine.
Agreed. Glad you're happy with the house.
That snag list would be the envy of quite a few new-build owners, i'd imagine.
We've been lucky - we've had lots of little things but they have picked up on them & fixed them quickly.
Other owners on the estate haven't been so lucky - the neighbours for example with the flood, another couple ordered fitted wardrobes, they're still waiting to be installed - moved in in February, the model they picked is now discontinued. Another house has an extra window that wasn't on the plans they were shown when purchasing.
It seems you get good & bad on every estate.
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