Buying a New Build..... and part ex!

[austinsmirk]

the one advantage you have, as I continue to plow through the never ending restoration of my house, is:


you pay yr mortgage and thats basically it for improvements, maintainence etc.


whereas I seem to spend every minute of my time doing my house up, my wage is never my own, as it all goes on the house.


however I guess unless yr london way, you'll not see much of a return on yr house, profit wise.


however it will be a souless, characterless box (in my view)


generally when buying houses, buy the worse house you can barely afford, but in the best area possible. Thats how to make money realistically.

[GSP]

What you have to remember is any potential buyer (from you) in the future, will be thinking exactly the same things as you.

We bought a new build 3 storey house on a 'very popular' new estate 8 years ago. They were all the rage at the time and everyone wanted to live on that estate... and now no one wants to live on that estate because its considered cramp, the parking is crap, etc.

Because no one wants to live on it houses don't sell easily, and house prices have fallen... houses have sold to undesirables or are rented because they can't be sold and its generally a st place to live. We were fortunate to get out, selling our house for the same price as we bought it 8 years previously.

On the up side our gas and electricity bill for a 3 storey 4 bedroom house was £80 a month and it was always to hot.

The latest planning layout shows 1 parking space on the drive for most houses... most households have 2 cars, sometimes 3 with kids or more, and no on uses garages. You've also got the M1 and A38 two of the busiest roads in the country passing the house.

I think you're probably rushing into it for a quick move... so you are going to lose out financially on sale price and purchase price as they have you over a barrel... and you are going to lose because if you sold your house privately, would you really move there?

[andburg]

Not too much I can add here.

Price is the price with these things, normally you would be offered basic flooring with the purchase as an incentive but there is scope to haggle here and get extras included as its costs them less than it costs you.

When I bought my place we negated the free flooring and paid for upgraded tiled floors through the bottom of the property and had the builder pay stamp duty and legal fees. Silly things like outside taps and extra paving to be laid, we just paid the guys on site to do it for us, work out about half the price of paying the developer. (This was recommended by the sales office)

The development in question does look well spaced out but as others have mentioned seems a single car drive for each property so look to get an end of the road plot where you can adopt the last bit of the road as parking. The homes themselves do seem fairly small in footprint with most having a box room for the 4th bedroom. May or may not be an issue but having 4 double bedrooms is a big plus when selling on.

There are a lot of 4 bed luxury developments going at the moment, the same developer will have more sites and there could be a site they are struggling to sell at where you coiuld get the same home with more thrown in or for less.

No experience of Harron

[KTF]

I used to live near (300m with a field in between) a motorway (concrete) and in the summer you couldn't sleep with the windows open as there was a constant rumbling in the background. It wasnt so bad during the day when you were in the garden, etc. but you were aware of it all the time.

In our current house you cannot hear a thing with the windows open at night and its brilliant so on a personal level I wouldn't consider anything near a motorway.

Others are less bothered by this sort of thing.

As far as the social housing is concerned, if the development is less than X houses then I dont believe it has to be included but I dont know what the X is.

[GreatGranny]

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?

[Dan_1981]

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!

Moving from jct 33 to jct 28 takes an hour of my commute each day minimum.

[GreatGranny]

OK, understandable moving to that location.

Houses look nice. Not too large an estate.

Decently set out.

Any ideas where on the estate you want to go?
Furthest from the motorway?

[GSP]

Getting personal I know, but being local I can say that area is horrible. My parents live in Huthwaite which is the other side of the motorway, they are probably 1km as the crow flies from the motorway and the noise is horrendous as is the noise from the factories. Its also a horrendously busy junction, I do a lot of miles and rarely do I come across a busier motorway junction, and whilst maybe convenient for traffic routes I can't ever see it being a nice place to live.

If youre set on a new build for the P/x option, then maybe consider the new Ben Bailey estate being built on the edge of Alfreton. Your wife can be straight up the A61 to Chesterfield and you can be straight down the A38 to Birmingham. Its a nicer place to live, and a nice town right on the Peak District... you will also cry every night as you hit traffic on the A38 northbound trying to get home... as it generally starts just after the Alfreton turn off and goes all the way to Junction 28.

http://www.ben-baileyhomes.com/developments/damste...

If you can sell yours, then you have tons of nice quite villages west of alfreton... don't rush in.

Edited by GSP on Monday 22 June 13:00

[Dan_1981]

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/...

[Thankyou4calling]

A kitchen diner that size isn't small at all!

With ref to the garden, mine faces North East which I guess is technically the worst and yet it's bathed in sunshine, at least when there is dun.

When you say they'll give you full value part ex, have they put a figure in writing as that could be the killer.

Houses look nice to me, good value and p, though I don't know the location, some will see the proximity to the M1 as a huge advantage.

[Spare tyre]

Think long and hard about social housing

I live in a really nice place ( by my standards), perfect home would see myself living here for ever

Then the social housing neighbours changed. Every form of disgusting human awfulness you could imagine. Luckily none of it has been directed at me, but being woken up at all hours by drunks, fights, alarms, music, crazy screaming people

Then we have their awful visitors, turning round on people's lawns, taking shortcuts over people's lawns in their cars because it's dark, drug buyers / sellers turning around bumping cars at all hours

They then moved out, hurrah, only to be replaced with an even worse family and their boyfriends

People say call the police, call the council etc, but in reality there is sod all you can do without exposing yourself and then you'll be in a whole world of bother

I tried to give em the benefit of the doubt and remain polite etc, but they are total scum

It's weird that on our estate all of the other social housing lot are roughly the same, it's funny when the police turn up in a hurry to sort em out, they whizz along looking for the ste gardens etc, Xmas decorations as a landmark

The housing association will totally ignore you directing you at the police, even when some issues are their direct problem

I know there can be good tenants as the old lady who was our original neighbour was your typical nice old lady, old school council tenant.

It's the new generation of entitled fkers that are your worry

I'm now strongly considering moving as we are thinking about kids and are worried about the neighbour kids influencing them at school etc and them dragging our kids down

I sound awful but after a few years of living amongst these people whilst struggling to make ends meet (not struggling, but saving for the future etc) it begins to piss you off

[worsy]

Spare tyre said:

Stuff

It can be just as bad if you live near a btl. Seen it before where nice houses are located close to a coach house (providing garaging) and that is a btl. Sometimes you are just plain unlucky and get a tenant from hell. On the plus side they don't normally stay longer than 6 months.

[Spare tyre]

worsy said:

It can be just as bad if you live near a btl. Seen it before where nice houses are located close to a coach house (providing garaging) and that is a btl. Sometimes you are just plain unlucky and get a tenant from hell. On the plus side they don't normally stay longer than 6 months.

Yup I agree, although I guess the landlord of a new build may be more sensitive about the condition of his place, so would hopefully be hotter on selecting tenants

Next time I buy I'm going to be nowhere near social housing and try and find neighbours that are not renters, probably easier said than done

[hornetrider]

Dan_1981 said:

<snip> Ben Bailey house styles

Of those the Ingleton is definitely the one to have. However saying that, if you can't get it on a suitable plot you'll be happy with I'd pass. I also wouldn't compromise by going for an inferior house on a better plot. I'd just spend some more time looking until a house came along that ticked all the boxes.

[worsy]

Spare tyre said:

worsy said:

It can be just as bad if you live near a btl. Seen it before where nice houses are located close to a coach house (providing garaging) and that is a btl. Sometimes you are just plain unlucky and get a tenant from hell. On the plus side they don't normally stay longer than 6 months.

Yup I agree, although I guess the landlord of a new build may be more sensitive about the condition of his place, so would hopefully be hotter on selecting tenants

Next time I buy I'm going to be nowhere near social housing and try and find neighbours that are not renters, probably easier said than done

New builds are liked by BTLers and Renters. If the landlord uses an agent he may not know. Amazing how civilised some people can act when they want something too

[Zippee]

cptsideways said:

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.

This every day of the week! And yes I am also talking form experience

[Zippee]

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.

[Spare tyre]

Zippee said:

This every day of the week! And yes I am also talking form experience

I'd say I get woken up by social housing neighbours around 75% of the time

After a while their total laziness and lack of consideration pisses you off I tell ye!

[Dan_1981]

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.

That's interesting.....

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]

Plots 7 and 13 look better bets?

I'll be honest, road noise would be a big worry for me.