I would be in favour of this
As I am in the position of wishing to buy and probably being able to afford the repayments but being totally stuck for a deposit, but, I seriously doubt I'd want to buy a 'new home' unless they have stopped being massively shit. I think given the choice between having a mortgage on some shitty new place and continuing to rent my flat in a nice converted Victorian bank I should continue to rent.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:10, 1 reply, 13 years ago)

New house quality is fucking terrible
I live in one and there doesn't appear to be a single right angle in it. The boiler was wired in wrong, ceiling paint on walls, wall paint on ceiling and skirting boards, etc. Front door not fitted correctly and stairs lights wired up so bad I had to go upstairs to turn the lights on to allow me to see to go upstairs.

All sorted now but what a pain in the fucking arse.
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:14, Reply)

Thank you for confirming my prejudices.
I'd even by happy enough with something build 30-40 years back, just so long as it's had time to prove it won't fall down and someone else has done all the work needed to make it tolerable, but new build? Not a chance.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:19, Reply)

Not true,
new houses are built to much better building regulations than any others were. They're now safer more efficient and use less building materials than they ever have done.
Buuuuut design has changed, so a lot of people prefer old houses because of their solid walls and high cielings, but they're not "better"
(PsychoChomp, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:19, Reply)

Safer and more efficient, yes certainly
Better built, no. The design of the layout in my house seems to have been done by throwing rooms onto a board and building them where they land.
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:23, Reply)

We need to bare in mind the source here.
Chompo lives in Milton Keynes and seems to like it, thus one would expect his to be in favour of efficient boxes, rather than proper houses.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:26, Reply)

Possibly

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:28, Reply)

Solid walls and high ceilings are better than
walls I can accidentally put my foot through and ceilings I graze my knuckles on when I stretch, both features I have noted new new builds. They may well have their up sides, but space is not one of them, nor is robustness. I suppose it depends what you prioritise, but feeling comfortable in the space and not cramped matters to me more than efficiency whatever that means in this context.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:24, Reply)

Less likely to get subsistance and stuff.
Basically what I'm trying to remember is what my architect friend said. It was summarised as new builds have less things that go really badly wrong than older houses. But then by the time you've bought it, it's probably already gone wrong and been fixed.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:53, Reply)

My missus used to be a journo for a local rag
and she covered tons of stories about this sort of thing. Usually minor things, but there were always several of them and getting them sorted out was always a massive pain.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:20, Reply)

The quality of workmanship is terrible. No pride in a good job
I actually watched some of the houses being built in our street. They were put up by two blokes in about a fortnight.
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 11:24, Reply)