10 Minute ReadI learned the top secrets house builders don’t want you to know about new build homes.
Buying a new build home in the UK can be a proud moment for many, you mightbe a first time buyer, moving into your forever home or moving into somewhere shiny and new to help you settle down for a few years.
But there’s a few hidden secrets about buying a new build that the house builders don’t really want you to know, and in this video we’re going to explore some interesting secrets that will help you on your new bulid journey.
You could possibly bag yourself a bit of a bargain, gain some extra freebies or just generally make sure you don’t miss a few tricks through what can be a confusing, daunting and sometimes nightmarish process of buying a house in the UK.
we’re going to explore 7 interesting secrets that you probably should know if you’re thinking about buying a new build house.
None of them are particularly groundbreaking but it might help you save a few pounds if you’re about to purchase one.
You CAN Negotiate the Price
Although housebuilders make it look like all properties are fixed price, typically there’s 2 great periods to negotiate on the price, either when it’s off plan or right at the end when they have a few units left that they’re struggling to sell.
Typically it’s better for them to sell up and move on, rather than hang around with an entire team of people and show room to try and sell up the last few properties, so knocking off a few thousand pounds might not be a bad deal for them.
Granted – if you’re buying in a super hot development with large waiting lists, you’ll probably not be able to get a discount.
They're Built Cheap
Housebuilding is all about profit, and building houses can be extremely expensive and complex.
The big housebuilders typically have things nailed down to a T in the way they operate but it often means cookie cutter type houses where they use super cheap materials to keep costs down.
This combined with extremely tight delivery timelines and relentless project managers, it means that houses get rushed with cheap materials which is a bit of double trouble.
Even though they look nice on the outside, new builds can generally be of poor quality both due to materials and workmanship which I’ve covered a lot in my previous videos.
They Just About Tick Compliance Boxes
So, imagine that you’re watching grand designs and you look a a beautiful eco friendly custom built house with the more incredible materials.
Yep there’s none of that on a new build, due to cheap materials and everything else, when you look at what a house builder needs to do to meet minimum compliance, that’s what housebuilders aim for.
They’re not after extreme luxury so they don’t need to add all the fancy bits, of course there are small builders out there who do specialise in this, and they’re exempt from this – but on the huge housebuilders estates where they build thousands of homes – it really is a tickbox exercise to get the 10 year warranty with nothing else added.
They Just About Tick Compliance Boxes
Another one I’ve mentioned a lot on this site is that due to the poor quality materials and rushed work it means that a lot of properties have on average up to 40 defects each due to different workmen not coordinating together, not having any passion in the job at all and generally passing off issues to someone else.
It meant that you’ll find wonky stairs, walls, leaks, creaks and way more issues when you look more closely. It’s a world away from the shiny perfect show home you saw when you was deciding whether to buy a house or not at first!
Show Homes Aren't Realistic
Housebuilders ALWAYS have a show room that’s in pristine condition in a perfectly built house because this is their marketing tool that’s going to sell all the houses on the estate.
They hire external companies if not in house to custom decorate and interior design their show room houses, that’s why they always look absolutely stunning. It’s not quite the same as having your house kitted out in ikea furniture but at least it shows what it could look like with a bit of inspiration from pinterest and some clever shopping around online.
Just remember that you’re not buying the house based on the expert interior design, you’re buying the bricks, the walls and the actual house and in reality it won’t be looking like the show home so make sure you’re focusing on things like the size of the rooms, the layout, the quality.
Usually with interior design they often design rooms and furniture in a way that makes it look like rooms are bigger than what they actually are – it’s all a trick on the eye.
Buy Off Plan For Better Prices
You might have heard of buying off plan, this means that you buy a property before it’s actually built.
It’s great for the housebuilder as they end up selling a house before they’ve even laid a brick, and great for you because it means you can secure a bit of a discount.
Usually housebuilders have their houses valued every few months so if they have a huge estate spanning 2 – 3 years, by buying a property in year 1, if you moved in first then by the time they finish the whole area in 2 – 3 years naturally prices will go up when the development is complete, all the trees and greenery is in and it becomes a normal little town where everybody lives.
It also means that you can often work with the housebuilder to install the floors you want, put in a certain colour kitchen and they even help you mix and match colour schemes in your new home if you want to.
Some might try and charge extra for this but usually you can get them thrown in for free at your own choice rather than buying a new build home with a kitchen you don’t like the colour of.
Buy Off Plan For Better Prices
Naturally new build homes come with a premium so watch out when purchasing them as typically you’ll pay 10 – 15% more than the exact same size property in your local area, meaning that it’ll take a while after purchasing for your home to be in positive equity whilst prices catch up in the area to the price of your new build. It’s not uncommon in some areas for new builds to lose value when they’re not so new anymore and take time for the market to rise enough to absorb that not so new dip.
