Buying a Newly Built Home
If you are buying a newly built home or one that has been built in the last ten years the property will be covered by one of the following schemes:- National House Building Council Buildmark Scheme (NHBC), Premier Guarantee, Zurich Municipal Guarantee or an equivalent warranty provider. These are all warranties that cover potential defects for a period of ten years and guarantees the property's build quality.
The property would have been constructed by a contractor who is a registered member of one of the above schemes and periodic inspections by the warranty provider would have been carried out during construction.
The warranty or guarantee is issued on behalf of the property and can be transferred should ownership change.
If you are buying a property that is already a few years into its ten year warranty, you should still have a survey carried out during the purchase stage, in case there are any current defects that the vendor is unaware of.
- You can also find out what the property perviously sold for by searching sold house prices at NetHousePrices.com
Should any defects be noted on a surveyor’s report they will need to be forwarded to the warranty provider via the vendor/seller and either be rectified prior to completion or allowances made in the purchase contract.
Once you have purchased the property any defects that appear within the warranty period will be covered and you should contact the contractor in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the contractor you should contact the warranty provider.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Due to modern building regulations new properties have an advantage over older properties, because they will meet with minimum energy efficiency standards i.e. up to date heating systems, double glazing and loft insulation, which all help minimise heat loss and therefore make new homes cheaper to run.
Newly built homes do usually take some time to fully dry out and settle and therefore some plaster cracks and general shrinkage can occur. In the first instance you should contact the builder/contractor who should rectify this and any other faults.
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