Gleeson Homes is offering a selection of new homes for private sale as part of the Stanhope regeneration, including houses and apartments which can be bought with 25% of the initial purchase price deferred for up to 10 years. But however you buy your new home – in full, with a deferred payment or on a shared ownership basis - there are things that you can do to get the most out of the benefits it offers. With help from the NHBC, the leading provider of that all-important 10-year ‘Buildmark’ warranty for new home owners, Gleeson offers some useful advice on how to look after your new home. Julie Rayner, sales director for Gleeson Homes says: “Just like a car, a new home needs to be 'run in'. It needs to adjust to being occupied and there are ways you can help this process. ”Every new home contains up to 5,000 litres of water. This is because many of the materials used in building a home are mixed using water e.g. concrete, mortar, screed and plaster. You may not be able to see it or feel it and it won't do you any harm but it does need to evaporate away. This process is known as 'drying out' and will take about six months or longer.

The NHBC advises:

• Minimise cracking by keeping a reasonable even temperature; use central heating sparingly at first.
• Keep temperature constant. If you move in during winter, try not to have the heating on too high. If you are out of the house all day keep the heating on at a lower temperature.
• Leave minor cracks for a few months; then seal them when your new home has dried out.
• If you do find condensation on windows, wipe it away.
• Cover your pans when you are cooking and don’t allow the kettle to boil for longer than necessary.
• Close the door when cooking or taking a bath.
• Allow moisture to escape - ensure that a window is open or the trickle ventilators are open; if you have an extractor fan use it.
• Don’t block built-in ventilation systems such as air bricks or passive ventilators.
• Dry washing outdoors if you can. If you have a tumble dryer (unless it is the self-condensing type), add a flexible duct to ventilate the moist air to the outside.
• Keep built-in wardrobe doors slightly ajar during the drying out period.

Getting the best from your energy efficient new home
Today’s new homes are designed to be highly energy efficient, performing much better than properties built only a decade ago. Consequently new home buyers are well placed to benefit from lower fuel bills, but there are still steps you can take to save energy in your new home:

• Try turning your central heating room thermostat down by 1⁰C. It could reduce your heating bills by up to 10%.
• Use the thermostatic valves on your radiators to adjust the temperatures of individual rooms.
• Hot water doesn’t need to be scalding; setting the hot water thermostat at 60⁰C should be sufficient for bathing and washing.
• Turn electrical appliances off when not in use – don’t leave them in standby for long periods.
• Switch off lights in areas that aren’t being used.
• Invest in low energy light bulbs where appropriate; they use a quarter of the energy of standard bulbs.
• When replacing white goods, buy energy efficient models, as indicated by the EU Energy Label, which shows the rating on an A-G scale.

For more useful energy saving tips, go to the Energy Savings Trust website: www.saveenergy.co.uk
For details of Gleeson Homes for sale at Stanhope, including apartments for an initial purchase price of just £67,462 (you own 100% of the property, but 25% of the cost is deferred for 10 years), call 01233 661588, email stanhopesales@mjgleeson.com or search online at www.gleeson-homes.co.uk.