The pros and cons of buying a new property

If you’ve ever bought a brand new car, you’ll know the pleasure of sitting inside knowing you are the first driver, breathing in the new car smell, and just generally feeling pretty smug.


Buying a new property is kind of the same but even better. It’s the ultimate blank canvas – a house that’s only just been completed, and doesn’t have any signs that anyone else has ever lived there. What could be more perfect?


Well, just as with most things in life, there is a flip side. A new property can reveal all sorts of problems in its first few years. Unlike a new car which is being churned out from a factory set up to produce an identical build quality every time, your new property will have been put together by a number of different tradesmen. It only takes one of them to have a bad day and your house has a fault.


Luckily there are many more pros than cons in looking at purchasing a new home. First of all is choice. Drive round any estate being built today, and you’re a lot less likely to see the boxy identikit houses of the 70s, 80s and 90s.


Developers today are a lot more switched on to us demanding a house that looks different to anyone else’s. Plus with a huge number of small developments within abandoned industrial buildings or on brown field sites, it’s a lot easier to find a property that suits you.


Many new homes now come with all sorts of gadgets wired in and ready to go. These can include remote controlled lighting, alarms, sound and multimedia systems. It’s a lot cheaper and less disruptive to have these kind of things put into your new property before you move in.


Another benefit of a new home is how green it is. It’s said that a house built in 2007 is up to four times more energy efficient than the same size house built 100 years ago. In the long-term that’s going to save you money on your heating bills, plus have less of an impact on the environment.


Very strict building and fire regulations mean your new property should be repair-free when you move in. You don’t even need to unpack your cordless power drill! And there’s no worrying about how long the boiler will last – it’s brand new and likely to be guaranteed, giving you peace of mind.


In fact the whole house will be guaranteed for ten years. It’s the standard National House Builders Council (NHBC) warranty for a new property build these days.


And the best feature of a new build? No chain – you move in on the date you want to.


So, to the main problems with a brand new home. There are two to look out for. The first is that building can be held up for all sorts of small reasons, from a bit of bad weather to a problem with supplying some of the materials. That can screw up your plans. After all, you can’t move into a house if it hasn’t been completed.


Once you’re in, you’ll go through a process called ‘snagging’. This is a two year period within your house’s warranty where any small problems or defects in your home should be reported to the builder so they can fix them. Doesn’t matter if the original builder has gone bust; the warranty will cover that and find someone else to do the work.


But snagging can be a real pain. Who wants to spend their days looking for skirting boards that haven’t been attached properly, or light switches which don’t quite work as they should?


You can actually hire a snagging inspector to come and find all of your house’s faults for you, saving you time and probably money in the long-term. Whatever you do, check your warranty carefully, as some faults may not be covered.

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