What to look out for when choosing a new home

Barratt Homes marks its 60th anniversary this month with helpful checklist for new house hunters to use.

Barratt Homes Yorkshire West recognises that for property hunters, knowing what to ask when looking round a show home or when speaking to a Sales Adviser is really important. When visiting new developments, such as Barratt Homes’ St Oswald’s View development in Methley, it’s easy to face a mountain of information and become unsure on what really needs to be found out.

What should you be asking the builder? Are there any awards they should have won? Why are some housebuilders better than others? What does good actually look like?

This is why five star housebuilder Barratt Homes Yorkshire West has put together a helpful list of questions for new house hunters to ask. With Barratt celebrating its 60th anniversary this month and having built over 450,000 homes over the last six decades, it knows what customers should be looking out for when choosing a new home.

Sam Wood, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Yorkshire West, said: “It can be daunting when visiting a sales office and looking around a show home for the very first time. They are naturally all sparkly and look fabulous. But how can you then tell what is a good home compared to something that is more mundane or, even worse, poorly built?

“This is why we want all new home hunters to use this simple checklist to help them distinguish between good and bad homes when visiting a new development on the lookout for their dream home.”

1. How many stars does the builder have in the Home Builders Federation (HBF) New Homes Survey for customer satisfaction – i.e. 3, 4 or 5 stars?

2. Can I read a happy customer case study or testimonial for this specific development?

3. Does the development have a Pride in the Job site manager award for quality from the National House-Building Council (NHBC)?

4. How many quality checks are conducted before the keys are handed over?

5. Does the development have any design or community awards, e.g. Built for Life?

6. What nature features are part of the development? What is the builder doing to help the environment at this site?

7. What kind of aftercare support do you offer new customers? What is the process for fixing any small snags or problems?

8. Can I personalise my new home? What extras can you order? Do you have any deals or incentives you can offer?

9. Can I see floor plans with furniture included? How much built-in storage is there? Is there enough wardrobe and cabinet space in each of the rooms?

10. What energy rating is the boiler in the kitchen?

Additional questions to use in case developments don’t have any Pride winners or Built for Life awards: • What percentage of the development is kept as green space? • Is the development within 1km of public transport? • How close are the homes to local amenities such shops and schools?

St Oswald’s View is a development of stylish three and four bedroom homes ready to move into, tucked away in the village of Methley. Homes are available from £249,995. Deals are available for a limited time only! For more information, please visit https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/stoswaldsview