Muir Homes

[brian]

Simply put, Muir Homes build some lovely properties:
http://www.muirhomes.co.uk/

I've had a look at some recently, and while the 3 bedroom houses are nothing to shout about, some of the 4 bedroom properties are quiet wonderful.

The Isla is their basic 4 bedroom design:
http://www.muirhomes.co.uk/homes.asp?ID=20

The bedrooms aren't particularly large, but there's a nice long lounge area measuring over 11x19 feet.

The Skye is a step up from that, and is basically an Isla which has had its front extended out:
http://www.muirhomes.co.uk/homes.asp?ID=17

This means you get the long lounge area, but also benefit from larger bedrooms, especially the master bedroom. The whole house itself feels more spacious and is frankly quite lovely.

My favourite by far, though, is the Arran:
http://www.muirhomes.co.uk/homes.asp?ID=1

The Arran is a big and spacious 4 bedroomed house with wonderfully big rooms, and a nice sized family room downstairs along with a good-sized lounge and dining.

This design is the home I would have bought if I could have - it's easily big enough to bring up a family with kids from childhood to adulthood and still have plenty of room, plus the extra downstairs room could comfortably serve as a large home office.

Alas, aside from being over my budget (they cost nearly £300k at present - and I'm a first-time buyer!) they are also rarely available.

One strike against the Arran is the size of garden - the ones I've seen tended to have quite small gardens relative to the size of property.

However, of all the new build designs I've seen, my first choice would easily be an Arran.

[john999]

The Arran is indeed a really nicely designed family home, as is the Strathmore - both sold at premium prices at various sites in Scotland. Unfortunately the proprties are let down by the poor quality of the bathroom fittings- in particular the toilet seats which break when you sit on them!!! Also the joinery finishing - skirtings, door frames etc are poorly completed. Its a shame because the houses are basically well designed and put together but the sloppy finishings reflect poor quality standards.

[brian]

Hi john999 and welcome to Property Watch.

Shame to hear about your experiences with Muir Homes - surprised to hear about issues with the joinery - sounds like a possible bad contractor.

To be perfectly honest, I think problems with finishings are pretty common in new builds full stop. I've seen it first-hand with both Betts and Barratts as well.

However, at least after purchase the developer will usually be available to correct such issues for around 2 years.

[vicki2]

I stopped into a couple of Muir houses before Christmas, just to see what a new build is like right now. I questioned the quality of the build as well ...although the designs were pretty nice. Of course, I'm an 'old house' person so it takes a lot to convince me otherwise lol.