Buying a completely new property is a very attractive proposition for many people.  You do not have to live with someone else’s taste and you can put your own mark on the property.  If you are buying a new property:

• Try to look at the property as early as possible in the construction process.
• Check the reputation of the builder with other people in the locality.
• Look at other properties on other sites that the same developer has built.  What do they look like now?
• Consider appointing a surveyor even for a new property.  A surveyor can view the property during the course of construction and advise you of the shortcomings of the builder’s methods.
• Always carry out a snagging list of faults prior to completion.

A new property should be well built, so:

• The property should be relatively cheap to heat and draught free.
• New properties tend to be noisier than old properties because the walls are thinner.  New properties are more densely constructed than old properties.  In other words, you may be closer to your neighbour than desirable. 
• Make sure that the garden is at least rotavated if not turfed.
• Ask us to establish who owns each boundary.

Increasingly properties are being built on brown field sites, that is land which has previously been used for some other purpose.  This can sometimes lead to problems with contamination from the previous use.  An environmental search of the property will reveal all.