Why Buy a New House Rather than an Old One?
To some of you, the answer will be obvious, but if you haven't really thought about what a new house can offer, then please consider the following list of points and think about how second hand homes differ:
- A clean fresh start
- An insurance underwritten guarantee
- Lower heating costs
- Better draught proofing
- Thicker and better insulation
- More comfortable living environment
- Professional, consistent and independently checked standards of construction
- No onward chain
- Asbestos free construction
- New drains
- Thicker and more efficient hot water tank insulation
- New tested electrical installation
- Electric sockets generally RCD protected
- No resident vermin
- No resident bugs
- New garden fencing
- New paths and drives
- New windows and doors
- New contemporary sanitary ware
- New kitchen appliances
- New carpets
- More rigorous construction standards
- New roof
- Record plan of plot services
- This list could be endless!
Now think about the second hand home that you have been offered and put a cost to upgrading that home to the same specification. Some items are simply impossible to match and remember the following points:
- The quality of extension work is incredibly variable, if there is an extension, who did it and how competent were they?
- What has been bodged and hidden?
- What condition are the services in?
- Where are the services?
- What condition are the drains in?
- Is there concealed asbestos?
- Did you know that in the seventies, some Artex contained asbestos?
- Did you know that asbestos was often used for fascia and soffit boards?
- Has asbestos been illegally removed leaving potentially lethal dust?
- Everything has a lifetime, how much life is left in ironmongery such as the door/window hinges?
- What smells will the existing residents leave behind?
- What structural defects have been hidden?
- What condition is the roof really in?
- Where are the actual boundaries?
- Has there been a bad credit rating against this property?
- Is your surveyor doing his job thoroughly enough, will he really spot all the defects?
- You have no guarantee at all on this property so when you buy it, you are paying good money for the defects that come with it, now that's a cheery thought isn't it?
To some of you, the answer will be obvious, but if you haven't really thought about what a new house can offer, then please consider the following list of points and think about how second hand homes differ:
- A clean fresh start
- An insurance underwritten guarantee
- Lower heating costs
- Better draught proofing
- Thicker and better insulation
- More comfortable living environment
- Professional, consistent and independently checked standards of construction
- No onward chain
- Asbestos free construction
- New drains
- Thicker and more efficient hot water tank insulation
- New tested electrical installation
- Electric sockets generally RCD protected
- No resident vermin
- No resident bugs
- New garden fencing
- New paths and drives
- New windows and doors
- New contemporary sanitary ware
- New kitchen appliances
- New carpets
- More rigorous construction standards
- New roof
- Record plan of plot services
- This list could be endless!
Now think about the second hand home that you have been offered and put a cost to upgrading that home to the same specification. Some items are simply impossible to match and remember the following points:
- The quality of extension work is incredibly variable, if there is an extension, who did it and how competent were they?
- What has been bodged and hidden?
- What condition are the services in?
- Where are the services?
- What condition are the drains in?
- Is there concealed asbestos?
- Did you know that in the seventies, some Artex contained asbestos?
- Did you know that asbestos was often used for fascia and soffit boards?
- Has asbestos been illegally removed leaving potentially lethal dust?
- Everything has a lifetime, how much life is left in ironmongery such as the door/window hinges?
- What smells will the existing residents leave behind?
- What structural defects have been hidden?
- What condition is the roof really in?
- Where are the actual boundaries?
- Has there been a bad credit rating against this property?
- Is your surveyor doing his job thoroughly enough, will he really spot all the defects?
- You have no guarantee at all on this property so when you buy it, you are paying good money for the defects that come with it, now that's a cheery thought isn't it?
James Development Co Ltd
"creating homes of distinction"
All contents, layout, downloads, designs, and any other information on this page are copyright of James Development Co. Ltd. 3rd party info excepted
