Questions to Ask When Buying a New Build House
For buyers reserving a house on a development that is still being built. These 20 questions cover the builder's other sites, what the specification really includes, the plot itself, snagging and warranty, the charges attached to the estate, and running costs once you move in.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Who is the builder, and what else have they finished nearby that I can go and look at?
Why ask it
A development completed three or four years ago shows you how this builder's houses age and how the landscaping, roads and shared areas were left. Knock on a door there and ask how long snagging took, since residents of a finished site have nothing left to protect.
What stage is this house at now, and what is the realistic completion date?
Why ask it
Sales staff quote a target date, and the build programme behind it is a different document. Ask what has to happen between today and handover, which trades are still to come, and how many weeks of slack the date already contains.
What exactly is in the specification, and where does the show home differ from it?
Why ask it
Show homes are fitted out to sell, often with upgraded flooring, wardrobes, lighting, worktops and landscaping that are not in the standard house. Ask for the written specification and walk the show home with it in your hand, marking every item that is an extra.
Is this plot the same as the one in the brochure, and what is behind and beside it?
Why ask it
Plot drawings are marketing documents and the site layout changes as phases get approved. Walk the actual plot, check where the parking, bin store, substation and footpaths ended up, and find out who owns whatever green space sits behind your fence line.
What is left to build on this development, and when does the final phase finish?
Why ask it
Buying into an early phase can mean two or three years of construction traffic, mud and noise beginning at seven in the morning. Ask for the remaining plot count, the projected finish, and which route the delivery lorries and site vehicles use.
Who will maintain the roads, drains, lighting and open space once building is finished?
Why ask it
Some estates are adopted by the local authority and some are left with a private management company funded by residents. This decides whether resurfacing the road in fifteen years is a public cost or a bill sent to you, so get the answer in writing before you reserve.
Is there an estate or service charge, what does it cover, and who sets it?
Why ask it
Charges for private roads, play areas, drainage basins and grounds care are often quoted low in the first year and rise once the developer hands over to a management company. Ask for the budget behind the figure and whether there is any cap on increases.
How is the title held, and are there ground rents, easements or shared amenity obligations attached?
Why ask it
New developments commonly carry recorded obligations that outlive the builder: rights of way across your plot, drainage easements, restrictions on fences and extensions, and in some cases an annual payment. Have a conveyancer read the title rather than accepting a verbal summary.
What warranty covers this house, who provides it, and what does it exclude?
Why ask it
There is usually a short period covered by the builder for workmanship and a longer structural period underwritten by a warranty provider or insurer. What matters is who pays if the builder is gone in year six, so get the provider's name, the policy document and the exclusions list.
How does the snagging process work, how long do I have to report items, and who carries out the fixes?
Why ask it
The window for reporting defects is often much shorter than buyers assume, and once it closes small items become your own maintenance. Ask whether the original trade returns or a general handyman does, and get the response times in writing rather than as reassurance.
May I bring my own inspector before handover, and again before the first year is up?
Why ask it
The building control sign-off confirms the house meets code minimums, not that the work is neat, sealed or complete. An independent snagging inspection typically returns a list well into the dozens on a new house, and items found before handover get fixed faster than items reported after.
What records exist from the stages that are now covered up: foundations, framing, insulation, airtightness?
Why ask it
Once plasterboard goes on, the insulation gaps, missing fire stopping and unsealed service penetrations are invisible for the life of the house. Ask for stage photographs and the airtightness test result for this plot specifically, not for a sample plot on the same site.
What heating and ventilation system does it have, and what were the design calculations and commissioning results?
Why ask it
Heat pumps, underfloor heating and mechanical ventilation only perform if they were sized and then commissioned properly, and commissioning is the step most often rushed at handover. Ask for the calculations, the commissioning certificates and a demonstration of how the controls work.
What are the estimated running costs, and what energy rating did this house achieve?
Why ask it
Ratings are calculated from the design, so ask whether the certificate reflects the house as built and what assumptions it used. Better still, ask a resident of an identical house on the same site what they actually pay in winter.
How is surface water handled on this plot, and where does it go in a heavy storm?
Why ask it
Drainage is finished late, sometimes after handover, and it causes more expensive trouble than anything else on new sites. Look for ground sloping away from the house on all sides, downpipes discharging clear of the backfill, and no low spot holding water near the walls.
What is included outside: driveway, fencing, turf, planting, gutters, garage door?
Why ask it
External works are the most common gap between what buyers assume and what the contract says, and rear fencing and rear turf are frequently excluded. Get a written external works schedule, since these items cost thousands to add in your first month.
What incentives are on offer, and what conditions come attached?
Why ask it
Builders protect the headline price because it sets the value of every remaining plot, so they offer flooring, appliances, contributions to fees, or a deposit contribution instead, usually tied to their recommended lender or solicitor. Price the incentive against what an independent adviser can arrange before you accept it.
What deposit is required, when does it become non-refundable, and what happens if completion slips?
Why ask it
Reservation fees and exchange deposits are at risk on different terms, and a long stop date sitting many months beyond the target date leaves you carrying the delay. Ask what happens to your mortgage offer, your rate and your rented accommodation if the date moves twice.
Who will be my contact after I move in, and how are warranty calls handled?
Why ask it
The sales team disappears on handover day and the customer care department is a different organisation with different incentives. Ask for the name, the reporting method, the target response times, and what counts as an emergency out of hours.
What have similar houses on this development resold for, and how long did they take?
Why ask it
Resales on the same estate compete directly with the builder's remaining stock and its incentives, which is why they often sell for less than the original purchase price. Look up completed sales on the site rather than asking price, and note how long they sat.
Buying on a Development Still Under Construction
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Work to Do Before You Reserve
Visit a site this builder finished years ago
A show home tells you what a house looks like on day one. A development the same builder completed three or more years ago tells you how the render, the drives, the fences and the shared areas hold up, and whether the management company kept the place tidy. Talk to two residents there about how long their snagging took and whether anyone came back.
Walk the specification through the show home
Print the standard specification and mark every item in the show home that is not on it: flooring, wardrobes, blinds, lighting, worktops, tiling, turf, fencing. Buyers routinely commit to a price expecting the house they walked through, then spend several thousand more in the first month replacing what was never included.
Stand on the plot, not the plan
Site layouts change between marketing and approval. Go to the plot and check the orientation through the day, what overlooks it, where the bins and parking court ended up, whether a substation or pumping station has appeared nearby, and what is on the land behind the boundary. Ask who owns that land and whether the builder holds an option on it.
Get your own legal and financial advice, not the recommended one
The incentive is often conditional on using the builder's panel solicitor and preferred lender, both of which have a working relationship with the developer. Use your own conveyancer to read the title and the contract, and get one independent mortgage quote so you can price the incentive properly.
How to Handle Snagging
Inspect before you complete, not after
Anything you accept at handover becomes harder to get fixed. Book an independent snagging inspection for the day of or just before your final walkthrough, and go through the house yourself with a torch and a notebook as well: every door swing, every window seal, every socket, the loft, the tile grout and the paint lines. Long lists on a new house are normal, which is exactly why you want one written down.
Report in writing, always, and keep the thread
Verbal promises from site staff do not survive their departure to the next development. Email every item with photographs and dates, keep the replies, and re-send anything that goes quiet after two weeks. When the reporting window is close to expiring, send a consolidated list rather than trusting that earlier messages were logged.
Watch for the defects that appear in months two to eleven
New houses dry out and move. Hairline cracks at plasterboard joints, nail pops, sticking doors, grout shrinkage and shifting external levels all show up after you move in, not before. Keep a running list and submit it before the first year ends, because the workmanship period usually closes at twelve months and the structural cover behind it is far narrower.
Red Flags on a New Build
- You are told an independent snagging inspection is unnecessary because building control has already signed off.
- The specification exists only as a verbal description, or differs from the show home with no written list of extras.
- No airtightness or commissioning documentation for your specific plot.
- A reservation fee demanded on the day with pressure about another buyer waiting.
- An estate charge quoted with no budget behind it and no cap on increases.
- Roads and open space that will stay private, with no clear answer about who maintains them.
- A long stop completion date many months later than the date you were verbally given.
- Resales on the same development sitting unsold while the builder still has stock and incentives.
Charges and Costs to Price In
- Estate or service charge, plus how it is expected to change once the developer hands over to a management company.
- External works the contract excludes: rear fencing, rear turf, planting, driveway finish, garage door opener.
- Flooring, blinds, wardrobes, light fittings and appliances if the specification leaves them out.
- Any ground rent, drainage or amenity contribution recorded against the title.
- Actual winter running costs from a resident in an identical house rather than the modelled figure.
- An independent snagging inspection before handover, and a second one before the first year ends.