What are the benefits/drawbacks to buying a new/used house?

JoeySully

Looking at buying a house, most are second hand but one has come up in our price range that is new. What are the benefits\drawbacks to buying a new house over a second hand one?

Akrasia

Depends on what you are looking for in a house?

A new home should have a BER rating of at worst B2 if it complies with the current building regulations. Older properties depending on age and finish could be much more expensive to run.


Some people prefer to buy in settled areas where they know what the vibe of the location is before they move in. if you're buying in a newly finished (or half finished) development, you could find yourself living somewhere with a high percentage buy to let properties and a transient population.

L1011

Few random ones I can think of

New: Likely cheaper to heat - depends hugely on age, stamp duty will be lower (albeit its so low now it barely matters) due to the VAT element of the price, may have a warranty of some description on the build although they're near worthless anyway

Old: Any obvious construction issues (pyrite for instance) will have become clear. More often than not have larger gardens than new houses. Pre 1980s houses are usually built much more solidly than these days, but not always.

Mrs OBumble

New build houses will not have had time for construction and design issues to show up: snagging is supposed to find them, but sometimes misses things.

Remember, the vast majority of people who buy houses in the world are not buying new ones. Ireland is the only place I know where the pejorative term "second hand" is used for houses and where, for a while, buying new was normal.

painauchocolat

An older house may have had renovations done to it that you'd be likely to do yourself. We've just bought a house that's about 15 years old. Previous owners converted attic, built on sun room and built a block shed in the garden. All things we'd probably look into doing if they hadn't already been done.

I'd also highlight the comfort of knowing that serious structural issues would most likely have become apparent.

New houses might be 'fresher', but we painted our 'old' house top to bottom (including architraves and skirting boards) and it feels and smells just like a new house now. In fairness, it was in excellent condition.

JoeySully

The house I'm looking for is in a rural area so is not part of a development.

One that we looked at had a builders finish which was good in a way.
No kitchen/furniture/flooring/tiles so a lot of work to do but then any second hand houses we looked at had 10-15 year old kitchens flooring that was worn or not to our taste.

Good point about the extensions and sheds too, most have some sort of external storage where as new houses don't.

The Stamp duty saving is small but a benefit none the less

Diane Selwyn

Unless you are talking about an architecturally designed house I would say that most new houses tend to lack character (totally subjective opinion obviously). I would be just as concerned about construction issues with newer houses as well - sound proofing would be a major worry. I looked at a few newer apartment buildings recently and couldn't get out fast enough. Can't understand the obsession with new builds but the point made above about inheriting curious renovations/additions on an older property is also valid.

the_syco

As well as structural issues, it also matters what stage your family is at. A new build in a new estate can suit if you have young kids, as there'll be other young kids growing up, but at the same time, some people will prefer older estates that would be quieter.

L1011

JoeySully wrote: »

The house I'm looking for is in a rural area so is not part of a development.

In that case, there's the potential issue of an older house having an older waste treatment system in need of replacement when the inspections actually start properly - a survey should bring it up but its worth remembering anyway.