Some people love them and some people don't but one thing is for sure, no one has used the bath!
New homes attract buyers of all ages and across all professions. The show home hobby has many people baffled but it has an army of dedicated fans. They pitch up at weekends, often in groups wander in awe around the show house and gasp at the décor, the wonderful use of colour and marvel at how everything looks just so.
Having bought a show home myself I now see things differently. The light fittings aren't practical and the bulbs have burnt the glass shades because they were on all the time. The carpet wasn't treated and now every mark shows up, the curtain rails were put up with the idea that no one would draw them and now they are all wonky! However, these are all small problems that can be fixed. Our new home was the biggest, sunniest plot, we got the developer to throw in the stamp duty and the energy efficiency rating is 94 when the average house is around 50 – so the sales lady said.
Purchasing a new home has obvious benefits – it's new and it's clean and it has wiring and plumbing to suit our modern requirements.
In fact here are some interesting points about new homes;
- As a first time buyer you can secure all sorts of real deals if you look, such as stamp duty paid or your mortgage paid for a year.
- A first time buyer, as long as they have a mortgage in principle, can use their status to achieve a better deal as they can move faster – you may need to be less selective on the plot you choose but it's a great way to get a foot on the ladder as a bigger developer may be under pressure to shift their homes.
- The average new home is said to be up to four times more energy efficient, so saving on costs.
- They have a 10 year warranty.
- Maintenance costs are lower than for older homes.
- You won't be stuck in a chain.
- You could consider part exchange.
- You won't need to spend time decorating your home.
- Water efficiency is important to developers and they add fittings that minimise domestic water consumption.
Urban new builds tend to be on brown field or recycled land such warehouses, docksides and old hospital sites. These are usually located close to existing shops and transport links and so minimise the need for cars. (The Government planned to see 60% of new homes built on brown field sites by 2008).
