Reasons not to buy New Builds

Reasons not to buy a new build house or flat

  • They’re like new cars – lose money as soon as someone lives in it!
  • They’re often overpriced compared to older property
  • If you buy off-plan you might be surprised in a bad way when you get your
    keys if they haven’t fitted the kitchen you expected
  • They can be smaller than they look – some sneaky developers use 3/4 size
    furniture to make them look bigger.
  • The layout can change if you buy off-plan. We’ve heard of horrid cases where
    people found great structural pillars in the middle of their open plan lounge.
  • You’d not buy anything else without seeing it first – so why do people expect
    buying off-plan to go well?
  • You have to do the snagging
  • You might be living on a building site
  • The house might never get built if the builder can ‘t sell enough houses
    on the estate
  • Roads are often unfiinished some time
  • They often have very little space between the houses
  • They may be mixed in with social housing – affordable housing is often a
    condition of building a new estate – this can devalue your home.
  • Large parts of estates have been sold off for social housing when they have
    failed to sell as inflated prices.
  • The gardens seem to lack top soil and have more rubble than soil!

Earliest Neighbour nuisance?

neighbour nuisance in the 14th centuryOK, there were probably some cave men fighting about who had parking rights on their shared access drives once they invented the wheel, but this amazing document shows a 14th century neighbour nuisance! It revolves around a toilet too!


It’s to promote Dan Snow’s Filthy Cities which starts on Tuesday 5 April at 2100 BST on BBC Two.

Shared equity poster couple in nightmare situation

I’m not a fan of shared equity at all – and here’s a great example of why not
This couple were used in advertising when they bought their home – they now are struck there unable to afford to move. Shared Equity is bad!


Samantha Hyde and Craig Smith bought a one-bedroom flat in Cardiff Bay’s Prospect Place in 2004, they were used in advertising features for property developers Bellway, selling its shared equity Open Door Scheme as a perfect opportunity to get on the property ladder.


A spokesman for Bellway said the couple had agreed when they bought the flat that they would pay back the outstanding 25% when they sold.

So make sure you fully understand the consequences of the legal documents you sign.