Buying a New House
The great majority of new properties are protected by an NHBC warranty. If the property that you are considering does not have an NHBC certificate, you should proceed only with the greatest of caution. It will be essential to commission your own survey in order to check that the property has been built to a satisfactory standard. Even if the survey does give the property a clean bill of health, you need to bear in mind that a new property which does not have an NHBC certificate might be quite difficult to resell.
Knowing what the Warranty Covers
If the property that you are buying does have a NHBC warranty it will be guaranteed for ten years against structural defects. There is therefore probably no need to commission your own structural survey. However, it is important to appreciate that the NHBC warranty only covers major defects. It does not cover the cost of rectifying the more minor teething problems that seem to affect so many new homes.
There are five things you can do to reduce the chance of buying a defective new home:
- Buy from a developer with a reputation for quality. The new homes industry runs its own awards scheme.
- Don't just view the show home. Ask to inspect several other properties on the site before you buy and make your own assessment of the quality of the finish.
- Try to talk to other people on the site and ask if they have experienced any teething problems with their properties. If so, how efficiently did the developer deal with them?
- Telephone the after-sales office on some pretext or visit it if it is on-site. These are the people who will be responsible for rectifying any defects. Their attitude speaks volumes about the developer's attitude to customer service.
- Consider visiting other developments built by the same developer in the area. Do they still look bright and new? Again try to talk to some of the residents and see if they have had any problems.
