The questions to ask when buying a new build house

Show homes are a sales tool

A show home is the best version of a house type. It is usually decorated by an interior designer, furnished to make rooms feel larger, and fitted with optional upgrades such as better flooring, kitchen worktops, lighting and landscaping. None of that is wrong, but it is not necessarily what you would get.

Under the New Homes Quality Code, a registered builder's sales and marketing material, including photography, CGI and video, must not be misleading, and must be clear, fair and in plain language. That protects you from misleading claims. It does not stop a show home from being dressed to look its best, so your job at a viewing is to separate the house from the dressing.

Before you go

A little preparation makes the visit far more useful.

• Know your budget. The mortgage affordability calculator shows the price your income and deposit could reach, and the cash you need calculator works out the deposit, stamp duty and fees on a real home. Both are an illustration, not advice.
• Look at the development's plots and prices online first, so you know which plots are available and which house types are on them.
• Check whether the builder is on the New Homes Quality Board's register of developers. If it is, the Code and the New Homes Ombudsman Service cover homes reserved on or after its registration start date.
• Read our guide to choosing a development and plot, so you know what to look for on the site plan.
• Take a tape measure, your phone for photos and notes, and a list of your furniture sizes.

What to look at in the show home

Walk the show home twice: once to get a feel for it, and once to check the details.

The New Homes Quality Board's guide to settling in notes that most loft spaces in new homes are not designed for storage unless they have been boarded and confirmed as suitable, so do not assume the loft gives you extra space.

Questions to ask the sales office

You will not need all of these at a first visit, but you should have answers before you reserve. A registered builder must give you much of this information before you sign a reservation agreement.

The home and its specification

• What is the standard specification for my plot, in writing?
• Which items are not included that I might expect, such as flooring, turf, curtains or appliances?
• What is the floor area of the home and of each room? (Registered builders must state sizes in square metres or square feet, measured to the RICS code for gross internal area.)
• Which changes can I ask for, such as kitchen, tiles, flooring or paint colours, and what is the deadline for choosing?
• What is the indicative energy performance rating? Is the home built to the 2021 energy standard, or to the Future Homes Standard that comes into force on 24 March 2027? Our guide to the energy efficiency of new builds explains why this matters.
• Which structural warranty applies to the home, and who provides it?

The plot and the development

• Which way does the plot face, and are there any steep slopes in the garden?
• How will the boundaries be finished: fence, wall or hedge?
• Where will I park, and where is visitor parking?
• What will be built on the land around my plot, and when?
• What is the planning consent reference for the development?
• Are the roads and open spaces going to be adopted by the council, or managed by a management company?
• Are there covenants that restrict what I can do with the home, garden or driveway?

Price, incentives and reservation

• What is the price of this plot, and why is it different from the same house type on other plots?
• Is there an incentive on this plot? What exactly is it, and is it in writing?
• How much is the reservation fee, how long does the reservation last, and what is deducted if I cancel after the cooling-off period?
• By what date must I exchange contracts?
• Does the builder offer part exchange or an assisted move on this plot? Our guide to part exchange explains how valuations work.
• Can I use any government scheme here? See our page on schemes.

Our guide to new build incentives explains the common offers and how lenders treat them. Treat any incentive as the builder states it, and check that the final contract matches.

Timing

• What is the expected completion date, and how firm is it?
• How will you keep me updated as the build progresses?
• How much notice will I get of the completion date?
• When can I visit the home, and can I arrange a pre-completion inspection?

A registered builder must explain how it will keep you up to date on when the home is likely to be ready. The Code expects the notice to complete to be at least 14 calendar days, unless you and the builder agree otherwise. If your mortgage offer has an expiry date, our guide to new build mortgages explains what happens if the build runs late.

Costs after you move in

• What is the estimated yearly management or estate charge, and how can it change?
• Is the home freehold or leasehold? If leasehold, how long is the lease and is there any ground rent?
• Are there any event fees, such as charges when you sell or let the home?
• What council tax band is the home expected to be in?
• Are there costs for maintaining shared equipment, such as a communal heating system or heat pump?

A registered builder must give you an indicative schedule of the costs likely to come with the tenure and management of the home over the next five years, including ground rent, management fees, event fees and other known charges. If it does not know a figure, it must still list the cost without a value. Our guide to leasehold, freehold and estate charges explains what to look for.

After-sales and complaints

• How do I report problems after I move in, and how quickly are they usually fixed?
• What is your complaints procedure?
• Are you registered with the New Homes Quality Board, so I can use the New Homes Ombudsman Service?

Seeing the real plot and site

The show home is not your home. Ask to see your actual plot, even if it is only foundations, and the same house type built on another plot if one exists.

• Walk the site at a different time of day, and at a weekday rush hour if traffic matters to you.
• Look at the finished homes: brickwork, paving, fences and landscaping tell you about the quality you can expect.
• If people already live there, ask them how they found the builder and the after-sales service.
• Check the route from the plot to the main road, the nearest bus stop and the school run.

The builder can refuse access to a construction area if you do not follow the health and safety precautions it tells you to take, so ask first and wear what you are given.

Pressure, deadlines and what the Code says

Sales teams work to targets, and some offers come with deadlines. The New Homes Quality Code limits what a registered builder can do to hurry you. It must not:

• suggest other people are interested in the home, or that the price will soon rise, if that is not true
• offer a financial incentive in return for an immediate decision to reserve or buy
• tell you that you will lose the chance to personalise the home when the build stage would still allow it
• push you to buy unnecessary insurance, warranties or guarantees, or suggest the sale may not go ahead unless you use a particular solicitor or mortgage broker
• add on charges for parts of the home you would reasonably expect to be included in the price

At time-limited events such as launch weekends, buyers who attend must be given seven days to consider the purchase, and the incentive (but not a specific home) must be held open for them during that time. Every reservation agreement must include a cooling-off period of at least 14 days, during which you can cancel for any reason and get the full reservation fee back.

After the viewing: get it in writing

Sales conversations are friendly and fast. Write down what you were told, with the name of the person and the date. The reservation agreement must set out how you can include in the contract any spoken statement you want to rely on. If something matters to you, such as a specification item, a boundary, a parking space or an incentive, ask your solicitor to make sure it is in the contract.

Before you reserve, the builder must give you the reservation agreement with the plot details, price, reservation fee and refund terms, the cooling-off period, the exchange deadline, the estimated yearly management costs, the tenure and its costs, and a summary of the warranty. The date by which you must exchange contracts must be reasonable and, unless you ask for an earlier date, not less than six weeks after reservation. Our guide to reservation to completion explains each stage that follows.