*This is a collaborative post.
Investing in a property as your ‘forever home’ is daunting. In addition to collating the deposit to size up, you have to juggle priorities when browsing to ensure the house is suitable for all the family, from cost to size, location, quality and safety.
Opting for a brand-new property over an existing one is a great way to guarantee the essentials. Discover what you can expect from new houses and why these features make them great first homes for families.
1. No chain
When you’re expecting a baby or have small children in tow, you want everything to be as straightforward as possible. A stress-free buying process is one of the advantages of opting for brand-new homes rather than existing properties: once you’ve put your name against the plot, you just need to wait for your move-in date, leaving you free to focus solely on moving out.
2. Customisable
Another benefit of buying a home that’s being constructed is that you can customise it to your needs. Most companies allow you to select a layout from a list of possible options and choose your preferred fittings and fixtures including carpets and flooring. This enables you to set up your home to function perfectly for your family from the start with the right-sized rooms in the best locations, fitted with the essentials.
Unlike existing properties which have usually belonged to several families before you, new build homes are a completely blank canvas. You can easily personalise the property with all the elements you’ve pictured in your forever home.
3. Cost-effective
Thanks to government-led schemes such as Deposit Unlock which enables new build home buyers to purchase a property with a 5% deposit, new homes can be more affordable than existing ones. Most new homes also come with a warranty period of around a decade during which you’re covered for any major structural damage, and the requirement for repairs in the first few years should be next to none.
4. Energy-efficient
Constructed with superior insulation in the walls, roof and around the doors and windows and fitted with the latest heating system and thermostat technology, newly built houses promise greater energy efficiency than existing homes. With energy bills set to stay high for the foreseeable, this will save you a significant sum on your family’s energy costs for years to come.
Many new property developers also offer the option of fitting heating systems that use less or no gas so you’re not reliable on this increasingly expensive and unreliable fuel. This includes electric boilers and renewable energy systems such as solar panels and air source or ground source heat pumps.
5. Good location
Finally, property developers try to find fantastic locations for their developments to make them more appealing to buyers. By and large, new housing communities are constructed close to schools and shops, and within easy reach of local transport links for fast commutes and safer journeys. This will save you and your family time and give you peace of mind when your children start travelling independently.
What are your thoughts on new builds?
