The decision to move house can be for a multitude of reasons. The starting of a family perhaps being one of the key reasons, but there are many other factors that make moving home desirable. A change in income be it positive or negative, the changing of a career, maybe a more local move to heighten the chances of getting offspring into a particular school. Trouble with neighbours or even parking problems, all contribute to the many thousands of UK residents who change their domicile each year.

Once the decision to move is taken the next vital step is where to move to and what sort of accommodation should be purchased. The choices are endless once the budget has been decided on. Cottage, apartment, semi, detached, terrace or the modern day equivalent town house. For some the matter of where to live is a decision between new and old. Choosing between a lived in home in an established area or purchasing a shiny new build where there is the chance to put one’s own “stamp” on the property from the outset.

For those plumping for the new build option it is more than a good idea to ensure that the home comes with a National House Building Council (NHBC) warranty and insurance. The NHBC has been around for over 70 years now and its work is to ensure that the purchasers of new and newly established properties are guaranteed a certain amount of protection and insurance on the construction of the new build. The NHBC’s Buildmark Warranty cover is in operation on over 1.5 million homes in the UK today.

How does it work? Well builders are encouraged to register with the NHBC (currently over 20,000 have done) and then agree to build new properties that comply with the standards and rules of the organisation. The NHBC then carry out inspections at various stages of the build to ensure the new property is compliant in all aspects of the construction.  If the property passes all the necessary inspections the builder can then apply for the Buildmark Warranty from the NHBC and present it to the new owner on purchase. The Buildmark Warranty gives the new owner protection for the first 10 years of the properties life on the specified risks covered by the warranty.

The insurance offered by the warranty is not to be confused with general household insurance so the purchaser should still look around for cheap home insurance where possible. It is also worth noting that the warranty still remains in place if the house is sold on in the ten year period.