What to look for at a new build home demo?
Happy Sunday!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Our long weekend was filled with walks and cycling around London. It’s cherry blossom season and it’s so beautiful. It’s a chilled weekend for us which means time for some blogging!
In my 5 tips for the home demo post, I explained what a home demonstration is:
A home demonstration or handover is when you buy a new build and the home builder shows you how the appliances and facilities work in your new home.
A home demo is also an opportunity to flag snags that you see as the house builder may be able to fix them before you move in. Our snags were fixed after we moved in and I would have preferred them to have been fixed before we moved all the furniture in!
I noticed on Instagram that a common question from home accounts is for tips on the new build home demonstration, such as questions to ask and what to look for.
The friendly and supportive Instagram home account community offered lots of useful suggestions when people asked for tips so I have put them in this post so you don’t need to scroll through many Instagram posts like I did to find the tips!
What new build homeowners did at their home demo
Check the following:
- lights
- heating
- interior doors (check they close properly)
- locks on bathroom doors
- showers and sink
- behind the toilet and sinks
- windows (that they open and lock)
Questions:
- What are the cables and boxes on the outside of the house used for?
- Can some of the light fixtures be moved?
- Check tiles aren’t cracked
- Test that the heating turns on
- Run some taps and check that hot water was coming out
- Check for snags and made their own list
- Ask lots of questions!
- Learn about:
- how to set up the heating
- wall structure
- where the cables are
Don’t forget to enjoy it, take everything in!
Questions
- How to reduce shrinkage?
- How to set up the internet?
- Are smart meters fitted?
- How to use the locks?
- How do the air vents work?
- Is there a TV aerial fitted?
- How often to water the grass?
- Look up a snag list on Google and take it to the home demo.
This is a great tip from @my.clayton.corner, we also used snagging checklists that we found on Google. I have shared the links in the blog post named “It’s a new build so there’ll be minimal issues!” I was wrong.
I also have a post on Using a professional snagging company which might be useful for you. My friends kindly shared their experience so I could share it on the blog!
- Check all the plug sockets work
- Check for any gaps in the windows
- If you asked for an outside tap and gate, check they are there as @living_the_winster_dream had asked for them and they hadn’t been done
- Measure lock barrels
- Check the plumbing as some houses had leaks, missing pipes and bolts
- Check the outside of the house
They found issues with the outside of the windows and footprints on the stone around the windows and chips missing from the render.
- Take a phone charger with you and test all the plug sockets
- Flush the toilets
- Run the taps and turn them off and come back to them to make sure they don’t drip
- See if the seals on things like the shower and tiles are there
- Check all appliances
- Take photos and videos
- Take lots of pictures and videos
- Open every kitchen cupboard
- Check for any scratches
- Lock your main door from the inside
When @bellway_eastfields_kinloch collected their keys, they found the door wouldn't lock.
Try all the windows and doors to make sure they are operating as they should.
I also found this great video from Persimmon Homes full of tips to look after your new house! Here's the link to the Persimmon Homes- your new home demonstration YouTube video. I will definitely be sharing these tips on the IG account too!
Hope this was useful! Should I put these tips into a checklist? Leave a comment below with yes or no!
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Jess
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