New builds don't add up

[Wight Flight]

26 minutes ago, Option5 said:

Barratt's used to have scaled down furniture made for the show houses and arranged it to make the rooms look even bigger. They had signs to stop you sitting on the sofas, beds etc and they never had a TV as that would have been a giveaway on scale and also shown that the room layout was wrong for real life.

They also removed doors as you couldn't open one if you had a sofa in place.

[leonardratso]

And the fools still bought them in droves.

[Formerly]

5 hours ago, spunko said:

I'm not sure if you're suggesting this or not but I just don't buy into this idea that people are forced to buy new builds because it's all they can afford. Firstly,  HTB doesn't exist now, so there are no bungs, and anyway new builds are more expensive than the comparative older house. 

The reason people buy new builds is because they think they are low maintenance and ready made. They overlook the shortcomings like the fact they're chicken hutches and poorly built because they see the show home and think they'll have the perfect Mulholland Drive life too.

No. I wasn't suggesting that. What I was trying to say was that demand, previously supplemented by BTL, was so high that someone would buy them so builders could get away with building shite and cramming that shite as close as possible.

I'd (reluctantly) rent a new build. I wouldn't buy one. Even 20+ years ago they were too cramped for me.

Hopefully we're in for a change in society that makes these undesirable for more and more. I'm not holding my breath though.

I do understand that some want a house with lots of small rooms and don't care for a garden. However, no builder is catering for those who don't meet this profile.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Formerly

[sarahbell]

On 10/06/2023 at 15:44, Wight Flight said:

They also removed doors as you couldn't open one if you had a sofa in place.

Yeah and that's something most people aren't going to realise. You just don't notice a missing door in a house you e not been on before.

Always carry a tape measure too😜. 

 

[DoINeedOne]

On 10/06/2023 at 15:17, Option5 said:

Barratt's used to have scaled down furniture made for the show houses and arranged it to make the rooms look even bigger. They had signs to stop you sitting on the sofas, beds etc and they never had a TV as that would have been a giveaway on scale and also shown that the room layout was wrong for real life.

No wardrobes in the bedrooms either

[PatronizingGit]

On 16/06/2023 at 15:37, DoINeedOne said:

No wardrobes in the bedrooms either

There was a local developer in the fens in the 1990s - I was dragged around showhomes by househunting parents  and remember this one vividly- who put toilet cisterns in the wardrobes of the neighbouring bedrooms of bathrooms & ensuites so they could just about fit everything -sink, toilet, bath/shower in a truly tiny space. They also measured rooms into bay windows, even if the bay window didnt reach the ground level...and described 1.5 car garages as 'dbuble garages.

 

Here is one of the creations

House Price History (rightmove.co.uk)

just remember that & the walls, both external & internal being noticeably thinner than even the barratt boxes of the time, and the upstairs floors creaking like crazy even though the damn thing was brand new. Even some of the bigger 4/5 bed ones skimped on space so much to get more 'rooms' that they had 'dining halls' rather than actual access halls. ie.

4 bedroom detached house for sale in Melford Close, Burwell, Cambridge, CB25 (rightmove.co.uk)