Finding a new home
This page is a general summary for all the pages you can find under this main menu heading – FINDING A NEW HOME Additional useful resource sites to help find a new home are listed below.
Who is building Britain’s best quality new homes
The quality of a new home and how many defects or snags it has when you move in will depend on the individual site manager and to a certain extent, the size of the house builder. Both national and the smaller regional house builders both have pros and cons. Click on the house builder links below to find out about their history, financial results and what their own customers are saying about them online!
National house builders financial year-
Buying in the run up to a house builder’s year-
This section gives you direct links to all the major house builder’s websites and ‘Find a home’ pages. You will also find links to websites that give details of some of the problems new homeowners have had with their new homes and particular house builders.
House builder’s customer satisfaction surveys
The HBF and NHBC conduct customer satisfaction surveys 8 weeks after you move in and again after nine months. Some house builders also carry out their own surveys. The consumer satisfaction survey results and the HBF house builder’s Star ratings should not be taken at face value.
NHBC Pride in the Job Competition
Details of the competition and the Quality and Seal of Excellence Awards given to the best site managers each year. A league table of the awards gained by the larger builders is updated each year, with cumulative totals so you can easily see who wins the most awards for quality new homes each year.
There are several websites that feature listings and searches for both existing and new homes for sale in the UK. Some of the more popular websites are listed below:
www.rightmove.co.uk
www.findaproperty.com
www.primelocation.com
Resources such as Google maps allow prospective purchasers of older homes to view the road and the area ahead of arranging a property viewing. It is always a good idea to carry out essential information checks on any area you are considering by visiting the suggested websites listed in the link above.
www.property-
www.mouseprice.co.uk gives free access to the Land Registry price information so potential, buyers can see the transaction price history for any property going back several years. There is a useful valuation range and other information on individual properties such as the year built, the plot area, the internal area of the home and number of bedrooms. Alongside this information is the Google satellite photo and a street view of the property. It is also possible to read feedback from past and present owners and for others to leave feedback and opinions on the valuations given and on both the property and the road/area. This site is a must visit for anyone looking for an existing home.
More detailed information such as current owners and their mortgage lender can be obtained from the www.landregistry.gov.uk for a nominal fee.
New home owner’s forum
This is a link to a popular forum that not only enables you to share your experiences with others, but we also try to answer any question relating to new home problems and any technical building queries you may have.
A job finding resource for those looking to find a new job with a house builder. As well as the latest vacancies on the bulletin board, there are links to the various builders’ careers/vacancies pages, a RSS live jobs feed and links to online construction vacancies job boards.
Information on national house builders