First home - new build or project?

[Pixipoppy]

FTB here - basically can either afford a cheap older house or a new build on help to buy scheme.


pretty much everyone I’ve asked IRL has said to buy a run down house and do it up. This is also my boyfriends preference as he sees a house as an investment and he’d be looking to flip it and move on quickly. I’m not so fussed, I’d like to gain value on a house but I’d also like somewhere comfortable to live for the next few years.

I’m not a handy person and I have no connections in the building trade at all - can barely change a lightbulb. My boyfriend is slightly better but I think our limit would be painting a wall Of course no one knows much about renovating at first but I do think it helps to at least know of a few people in the trade or have family that can help etc. The types of houses we could afford would be 2 bed terraced houses in a pretty poor state - likely needing new kitchens and bathrooms fitted. We also don’t have anywhere to stay while work is being done (neither of our parents live in the same city as us). We would have a bit of money to start things off but I’ve heard it’s always much more than anticipated.

On the other hand if we did HTB (which is another can of worms in itself...!) we could get a bigger 3 bedroom semi with a garden - yes we’d be borrowing more but we wouldn't have the stress and uncertainty of renovating. I’m not a huge fan of new builds and I much prefer an older style but it just seems like a much easier option at the moment. I also think it’s somewhere I’d be happier to stay for longer etc. While the older house would likely be in a not so favourable area.

or we could just do neither and rent for another couple of years but I do just feel like I’m throwing my money away at this point!

Any experiences or advice would be welcome!!

 

[Forfoxsake]

I don't know much about HTB but just from reading what you've writren I would say in your heart of hearts you already know you want the new build option.

I would say that with either option, research the location very carefully as you can renovate and paint all you like but you can't plonk a house into a different place if you come to realise that transport links are crap or you're next to a dodgy estate etc.

 

[Upintheair83]

I think stick with a new build and use the HTB scheme. I’m in a new build and it’s not my first choice either but I realise I hate where I live! And can’t wait until we can move back to where I am from. I’d have been gutted if I had bought an old house, do it up lovingly and to my taste and then have to go! Plus it would drag the time out living here! But Iv learnt a lot about what I want from my home - the location, my tastes, what I should look for in a house etc. If you get a new build you can see what sort of things work for you, your style etc and then when you may want to move and find an older property you will know your tastes and what exactly you are looking for in a house.
When we moved in our new build we had no furniture or anything and even just buying that has been quite expensive! So I would save your pennies and just go for a new build for the mean time and then maybe go on and buy an older house that you can really pour all your love into! Make that your forever home.
That’s what I’m hoping we can do.
But I hope you are happy whatever you chose and enjoy owning your own home xx

 

[NeighbourhoodWatch]

We bought a 2006 house in the summer, so it's not old but not fresh either. We had to do to work to it, well painting and a whole new bathroom. I still say now for all the effort of the stuff we done to it I wish we had just got a new build. It also depends if this is the house you want forever or just for a few years.

 

[MotherofDragons]

Personally, I went down the new build route, for several reasons. There's no worrying that next month you'll need a new roof or boiler etc. Even when you've renovated an old house is a much bigger project to upkeep. I liked the idea of starting on a blank canvas - we've been in our house for 18 months now and are just starting to paint and wallpaper (you have to wait for everything to dry out properly and settle first) but because everything is painted white to begin with it hasn't bothered me.

 

[grumpycat]

With value, I think the saying is buy the worst house on the best street as you can always slowly do a home up and gain value rather than be at ceiling height straight away

I believe new builds don’t gain much value because there is less demand and typically they can be smaller

From personal experience, I’d never buy new build again. We had a new build in 2013 and we had so many issues from plastic pipes on incorrectly causing a leak across the whole bathroom and downstairs, the hidden management fees of being on a development, the walls being paper thin - it was really terrible and the money you pay you expect better

We went on to buy a house that was liveable but we’ve ripped apart to do it the way we like. It’s really not cost us as much as we thought, perhaps 10/20k tops spread over a few years. I know we’ve put about 30k value on our house.

It’s all down to your preference but don’t be worried about trades, stuff like facebook/check a trade really helps with finding people and they’ll often find or link you to people they recommend too!

 

[Pixipoppy]

I think stick with a new build and use the HTB scheme. I’m in a new build and it’s not my first choice either but I realise I hate where I live! And can’t wait until we can move back to where I am from. I’d have been gutted if I had bought an old house, do it up lovingly and to my taste and then have to go! Plus it would drag the time out living here! But Iv learnt a lot about what I want from my home - the location, my tastes, what I should look for in a house etc. If you get a new build you can see what sort of things work for you, your style etc and then when you may want to move and find an older property you will know your tastes and what exactly you are looking for in a house.
When we moved in our new build we had no furniture or anything and even just buying that has been quite expensive! So I would save your pennies and just go for a new build for the mean time and then maybe go on and buy an older house that you can really pour all your love into! Make that your forever home.
That’s what I’m hoping we can do.
But I hope you are happy whatever you chose and enjoy owning your own home xx

That is such a good point. I think I’d get emotionally attached to a house I’d put so much work into and find it hard to move on. I think my “forever” house will be the one that I’d like to make my own - which will be when we can afford an older house in a nice area. I do worry we won’t get much profit from a new build though, and will essentially have to move sideways rather than up the ladder!

 

[Upintheair83]

That is such a good point. I think I’d get emotionally attached to a house I’d put so much work into and find it hard to move on. I think my “forever” house will be the one that I’d like to make my own - which will be when we can afford an older house in a nice area. I do worry we won’t get much profit from a new build though, and will essentially have to move sideways rather than up the ladder!

Yes I agree hun. You won’t get as much profit but I think just do what suits you and your circumstances. For me. I don’t think I would have coped with all that mess at first, and to be honest me and my partner just wanted our own space as we spent a lot of time at his mums house as he lived with her. So we just wanted our own place and to see what it was like to live together and enjoy being a couple as we hadn’t been together that long at the time . I haven’t got too attached to this house but the things we have done I’m very proud of!! But this isn’t our forever home and we knew that when we bought it, and as I said the location isn’t right for me and I can’t wait until we decide to move. But for a first house it’s been a great house and Iv enjoyed making it feel homely, so I can only imagine the satisfaction of doing up an old house.
Just do what feels right, I’m sure you will make the right decision xx

 

[NeighbourhoodWatch]

I don't know much about HTB but does it have to be used in a new build? I'm just wondering is there no middle ground for you

 

[Pixipoppy]

I don't know much about HTB but does it have to be used in a new build? I'm just wondering is there no middle ground for you

Yeah it’s new builds only unfortunately! Otherwise we would 100% get an older property that was at a decent standard.

 

[101d]

Perhaps not the answer you want to hear but I would say neither, save longer and buy something in the middle!

I've heard awful things about HTB so a doer-upper would be the better option, but it can be costly! Good luck

 

[Pixipoppy]

Perhaps not the answer you want to hear but I would say neither, save longer and buy something in the middle!

I've heard awful things about HTB so a doer-upper would be the better option, but it can be costly! Good luck

In an ideal world this is what we would do but the actual saving isn’t going too well as we’re renting - we worked out if we rented for 2 more years we’d be spending £20k on rent and have only saved about £15k more (absolute max) which doesn’t really even touch the sides when it comes to having a larger deposit. At the moment we’d need more like £30 - £40k for a decent place. Obviously circumstances can change, we might win the lottery or loose our jobs tomorrow!
What have you heard about HTB specifically, just out of interest? It’s got a very bad rep but we’re being quite logical about it... I think! But we don’t know anyone personally that’s done it so it’s hard to know!!

 

[Hinchhater1442]

Not to go off topic..

but does anyone know much about borrowing money when it comes to buying something run down? We can borrow up to £350k but are currently looking at a house which is £280k but is old and in need of new everything! How would we go about borrowing that extra bit for renovating? I’m so confused and don’t want to buy something old and then be left with no money to do it up

 

[101d]

In an ideal world this is what we would do but the actual saving isn’t going too well as we’re renting - we worked out if we rented for 2 more years we’d be spending £20k on rent and have only saved about £15k more (absolute max) which doesn’t really even touch the sides when it comes to having a larger deposit. At the moment we’d need more like £30 - £40k for a decent place. Obviously circumstances can change, we might win the lottery or loose our jobs tomorrow!
What have you heard about HTB specifically, just out of interest? It’s got a very bad rep but we’re being quite logical about it... I think! But we don’t know anyone personally that’s done it so it’s hard to know!!

Ahh that makes sense. Sorry I didn't read the whole thread so was unaware you were renting! It is a real viscious cycle isn't it

I've heard it's extremely hard to buy out more of the property and when I was looking for myself we realised we would be spending a lot more on mortgage + rent then we would be on a mortgage for a home we 100% own x

 

[Gembo]

Could a compromise be a smaller therefor cheaper new build or potentially even an apartment so that you’re not spending money on rent, but paying less on mortgage so that you can save more towards a bigger house? I’d be a bit reluctant about help to buy too, I have a friend who is coming up to the time that she needs to start paying it back. They bought the house with intention of selling up before the repayments kicked in but their sales keep falling through and it looks like they’re soon going to have to find the extra £ to start repayments. It’s just something to be mindful of long term. We purchased a new build and did make money on it so it can happen, although generally you will make more on a Reno. Sorry it sounds like a really hard decision to have to make x

 

[Pixipoppy]

Ahh that makes sense. Sorry I didn't read the whole thread so was unaware you were renting! It is a real viscious cycle isn't it

I've heard it's extremely hard to buy out more of the property and when I was looking for myself we realised we would be spending a lot more on mortgage + rent then we would be on a mortgage for a home we 100% own x

Ooh I think you might mean the shared ownership scheme which is a different thing?. We’d be doing the equity loan which is just where they contribute towards your deposit (we’d only need a 15% contribution, but can be up to 20% and I think 40% in London!) and then you give that back once you sell or you can pay them off. I don’t think we’d be paying rent to anyone... I hope not anyway! It’s such a pain isn’t it. I wish I knew what the right decision was!!

 

[101d]

Ooh I think you might mean the shared ownership scheme which is a different thing?. We’d be doing the equity loan which is just where they contribute towards your deposit (we’d only need a 15% contribution, but can be up to 20% and I think 40% in London!) and then you give that back once you sell or you can pay them off. I don’t think we’d be paying rent to anyone... I hope not anyway! It’s such a pain isn’t it. I wish I knew what the right decision was!!

Omg you're right! I was mixed up... So sorry it's been a while since I was looking into it!!!

HTB... Yes go for it!!

 

[Pixipoppy]

Not to go off topic..

but does anyone know much about borrowing money when it comes to buying something run down? We can borrow up to £350k but are currently looking at a house which is £280k but is old and in need of new everything! How would we go about borrowing that extra bit for renovating? I’m so confused and don’t want to buy something old and then be left with no money to do it up

I think people used to be able to get a mortgage to cover that sort of thing - but I don’t think you can now? I may be wrong! So it would likely have to be a bank loan I think - though please someone let me know as this could affect what we do to, I just assumed you can’t borrow more than you need for renovations etc.

 

[Be More Pacific]

Not to go off topic..

but does anyone know much about borrowing money when it comes to buying something run down? We can borrow up to £350k but are currently looking at a house which is £280k but is old and in need of new everything! How would we go about borrowing that extra bit for renovating? I’m so confused and don’t want to buy something old and then be left with no money to do it up

Speak to an independent mortgage adviser to see if there are any specialist lenders/schemes available. I've been out of the game for a while but there used to be lenders who would do stage payment mortgages where you'd do some work, get the property inspected, then the lender would release money to allow you to do the next stage. That's how self build mortgages work. There has been so much change though. I don't know if they're still around.

As for the OP, I worked in the industry for 24 years (the last ten in new builds) and I would never buy a new build. I would always, always, always buy old and renovate. I wouldn't give those greedy, ruthless bastards a penny.

 

[Aliceinherpalace]

Go for the new build - even my Dad who is an architect said it was the best I’d done rather than buy a do-er upper when I wouldn’t have had a clue what needed doing etc