Things to know when buying a new build

I spent a lot of 2022 in the process of buying my first house, a lovely new-build! The quality of a lot of these can be quite poor, but I found a builder that makes very solid houses with lots of nice fixtures and fittings.

However, there are a few things I think people doing this should realise, that aren't obvious at first.

The people that have already have bought a house on-site will not leave poor reviews online, and if you talk to them, they will not say anything negative about the house they bought or the process involved. They may say that there were some snags, but downplay them.

This is because they have just purchased the most expensive item in their lives, and quite often are buying their first home. Any online content that states any issues could be seen to devalue their home in future when they come to sell it. They are also not going to say anything bad to people that come to look round unsold properties - they want neighbours. Sometimes there are clauses in the covenant that state they cannot do certain things until all properties on the estate are sold.

(as of March 2024, we are still awaiting the pavements to be surfaced as there was a 12 month hiatus in finishing houses on the estate due to the financial crisis).

When buying off-plan you are given the option to make changes and add items to your build. There are some things that might not occur to you until after you move in, especially if you haven't had these in previous houses:

Outside electrical points. These are far easier to add during the build. I wish I'd asked for one in the front, back and side gardens.

Additional outside tap. You probably get one in the back-garden, but one in the front garden might be helpful too.

Extra electrical sockets. You get the chance to add these but often you won't know where you be siting sofas, beds etc. Consider the most logical place for these to go and ensure that there are sockets near them.
My home has sockets on both walls next to the bi-fold doors. One of these has USB power, however, it is really unusuable due to its close proximity to the 'door' part of the bifolds (the bifolds aren't centred in the wall, and sit closer to the USB sockets). If I had considered this I'd have had the USB ones swapped to the other wall, where the is room to site furniture. Having all sockets have USB was impractical, the quote was over £1k.

Height of the media sockets. I'd like to mount TVs in the bedroom and lounge where the media points are. It would be nice if the TV would cover the power sockets, but unfortunately they have been sited at the normal socket height.

Where will you keep your cordless vacuum? Ensure it has a power socket on the wall.

Any unused space under the stairs? I wish I'd asked them to put an understairs cupboard in.

Spare tiles. Tiles often stop being produced. If you get it written into your agreement that they have to supply spare ones, then they will do.

Doorbell height. A lot of people want their doorbell wiring height to be altered, to allow a security doorbell to be fitted at the same height.

Garden gate opening direction. Fortunately my gates were fitted on the day I moved in, so I could ask them to put the gates on so that they opened in a specific way - the one that would allow me to easily move wheelie bins in and out.

I got a professional snagger, and I recommended getting one to everyone else that moved in after me. To my knowledge, no one listened. My snags have been fixed faster, and they found snags that I would never have noticed but a future survey when selling will have shown. For something so expensive to buy, it makes sense to spend a much smaller amount of money to assess the property. Plus I got (drone-shot) aerial footage of my new house!

If you don't get a snagger, really pay attention to the way the floor is fitted. Check that the walls are level. Look into the attic and any garage to ensure that the roof is fixed properly to the rest of the house (look at snagging videos online to see how they should be). Check your guttering is clear. Make sure all the radiators actually work, and that no plumbing is leaking, especially when filled to overflow. Look at the sockets under sinks to ensure the finish is of sufficient quality. Look for fake week vents. Look for cracks in the glass where trademen have used a circular saw to cut concrete outside, causing pits in your glass.

Be nice to the customer-care staff, from the people that handle your calls to the people doing the work. They did not cause the snags, and they are your only way of getting them fixed. If you struggle to get things fixed (limited tradesmen, lots of snags across the occupied houeses), perhaps call the sales person that originally sold it to you and ask for their help.

Kitchen devices. As the kitchen is being created for you, is there anything extra you might want adding? I went for a double-oven (and asked for it to be sited higher than normal), a pull-out hammper and a frost-free fridge-freezer. I wished I'd asked for a plate warmer, but I did not know they existed. A boiling-/sparkling-/iced- water tap would have been nice, but the cost is high and the yearly maintenance is too much to face.

My favourite addition that I requested was an automatic garage door opener. I can get into the garage from the house and drive to the supermarket's covered car-park, and not experience the rain or wind. It's like living in the future!