Before buying a new home...

When considering buying a new house, townhouse, flat or any other brand new home from a house builder, it is essential to do your own research, by accessing totally independent information. This will ensure you get the best quality new home, in the best location, at the best price, on a development that most closely meets your needs. Buying any home is the biggest financial commitment most people will make. So you need to be fully aware of all the facts before you get carried away with the sales and marketing experience that all the house builders are so good at.

The detailed information available on this website will enable you to make a fully-informed decision before reserving that new home. Be sure to carefully consider the many disadvantages of buying a newly-built home, as well as the few advantages. You also need to be appreciate there can be many pitfalls during the process that can result in new home buyers making ill-informed decisions. Often, a new home buyer's expectations, frequently result in disappointment and regret once they have moved in, with housebuilders over promising and under delivering.

House builders and their affiliated organisations would like you to believe buying a new home only has positive points and wins every time over buying a previously owned, second-hand property. The information, suggestions, guides and tips will help you to reach the decision that is right for you and help you through all the stages of buying a new home. We recommend you use the services of a professional snagging company and a fully-independent solicitor, if you eventually do decide to buy a new home.

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What you should know........

Consumer Code for Builders

Not compulsory!...................

Builder nominated solicitors

'Deceptively spacious'........

Tricks of the show home

Visiting developments.........

Site sales centres

Do's and Don'ts....................

When buying a new home

HBF National new home

customer satisfaction surveys...

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) organises and publishes selected results of the industry’s New Home Customer Satisfaction Survey each year. By asking certain questions in a particular way, in a particular order, or by limiting responses, any survey can be crafted to achieve any statistical results. For example the HBF use 'Very' and 'Fairly Satisfied' responses and add them together for the 'Total Satisfied' in their press releases.

Barratt sales and marketting

The HBF survey results represent a very small proportion of the total number of new homes built each year. Just 53,270 surveys were sent out and only 29,330 returned for the 2013 results.

In 2011, a total of 97,000 private sector new homes were built, but only 37.8% of these new home buyers received the HBF survey and the published results represented less than 21% of the total. Affordable and social housing occupants (28,000 new homes in 2011) are not sent the HBF survey.

I HBF National New Home Customer Satisfaction Surveys n 2013, the HBF star rating was based on a just 22,445 responses. This represented 36% of the new homes built by each of the house builders given a rating on average.

Timber frame homes…

Thinking of buying a timber frame new home? Recent market studies suggest that the new generation of home buyers are totally unaware of the World In Action documentary in 1983 and are not anti-timber frame. Indeed house builders and timber frame companies are keen to promote the perceived environmental benefits of this method of construction. In 2010, one in four new homes being constructed is using timber frame construction.

However recent catastrophic fires have cast doubt on this method of construction and the beneficial myths of timber frame homes.

Basingstoke Timber Frame Fire 2010