Complaint against new home builder

[backwardben 11]

all roads lead to Rome saying

​

 

said to mean that all the methods of doing something will achieve the same result in the end

 

rome was not built in a day

[Rensh 10]

Thanks for the comment but not sure i follow your point? - Obviously i understand that the end result will be the road will be laid, the paths will be completed, the park entrance will be done but the alternative method of doing all of this before i moved in would have saved a hell of a lot of stress and hassle.

 

Alternatively, had they told me about it before i bought it, i wouldn't have gone ahead.

 

So whilst all roads do indeed lead to Rome, I would have liked to have taken the alternative, less stressful route. Imagine going to a travel operator to gain guidance on getting to Rome....You are advised that there is a straight forward route which is a luxurious journey with no possible problems, getting you there in one piece with no hassle. You opt for this and then it turns out your in the boot of a 30 year old car which has knackered suspension and loud music banging in your ears.

 

(Never been good with analogy's but thought i would try and join in with yours)

 

all roads lead to Rome saying

​

 

said to mean that all the methods of doing something will achieve the same result in the end

 

rome was not built in a day

 

 

 

 

I've had a reply from the solicitor who arranged the purchase and she has confirmed at this stage, i ought to hear what the representative says next week and then contact her afterwards for further guidance (If further guidance is needed of course.

[Dggsheffield 10]

I am interested to know why they are building a entrance to a park at the end of a private road?

surely the entrance should have been built on a council adopted road where the council is responsible for the upkeep.not a private road where the residents are responsible.

[Margarita Ma 10]

New build estates usually have the roads completed after all the heavy traffic has finished. If it is not obvious why think about what causes the most damage on roads. When would you like them to build the road, before the houses are built does not make sense as by the time the last house is finished the road would be like swiss cheese. At night while most people are sleeping, not reasonable. Do you not have a garden or yard that your children can play in, most houses have some private space and small children, usually, are kept off the street for safety reasons. I can understand that when you lose sleep due to your child being awake you are short on patience but that is not the builders fault. Now the pavements have been completed the noise should be a little further away and perhaps you could work better at the back part of the house where it may be a little more quiet. Failing that perhaps a public library would offer a quiet haven for a few hours a day.

 

---------- Post added 10-03-2017 at 22:09 ----------

 

I am interested to know why they are building a entrance to a park at the end of a private road?

surely the entrance should have been built on a council adopted road where the council is responsible for the upkeep.not a private road where the residents are responsible.

 

Perhaps it is a new entrance and the builder will bear the initial cost because it is a good selling point for the homes built. Councils often adopt a road some years after it has been built. more so when there is a public right of way.

[Rensh 10]

Thanks for the reply. I understand roads cant be completed before the homes and I accept that. Again as already stated, the problem is we are now 3 months down the line and there is still no road. Work has been o going during this time to prepare the ground, curbs, lighting and park entrance beginnings. I also know it's no fault of the builders which is why I am not complaining to them. The problem is with the home builder who hasn't thought about the residents. Yes my children could play in the garden but it's winter and rains a lot meaning boggy, slippery grass. I don't want them to play in the road but they can't even exit the road safely to get to the park due to machinery.

 

I refer back to my previous point which I have made a couple times. Surely when buying a house, I should be able to access my own drive? Why should I work from a library when I have bought a house?. As already stated, had I been notified of this I would have not bought this plot and waited for another one to become available.

 

Just because paths are complete, no real difference in the noise. The path is around 3 feet wide meaning the machines are roughly 8-10 feet from the front door at any given time.....it's not ideal and it's not what I signed up for. If all homes were built on this private road in novemvet, why would anyone assume work would still be ongoing in March? And still have a long way to go?

 

 

New build estates usually have the roads completed after all the heavy traffic has finished. If it is not obvious why think about what causes the most damage on roads. When would you like them to build the road, before the houses are built does not make sense as by the time the last house is finished the road would be like swiss cheese. At night while most people are sleeping, not reasonable. Do you not have a garden or yard that your children can play in, most houses have some private space and small children, usually, are kept off the street for safety reasons. I can understand that when you lose sleep due to your child being awake you are short on patience but that is not the builders fault. Now the pavements have been completed the noise should be a little further away and perhaps you could work better at the back part of the house where it may be a little more quiet. Failing that perhaps a public library would offer a quiet haven for a few hours a day.

 

---------- Post added 10-03-2017 at 22:09 ----------

 

 

Perhaps it is a new entrance and the builder will bear the initial cost because it is a good selling point for the homes built. Councils often adopt a road some years after it has been built. more so when there is a public right of way.

[Jon26 10]

I've never lived on a new build estate but I have looked at houses on them once or twice over the last 20 years. Doing this I definitely came to realise that for some time after we would be living on a developing estate or building site. This is the reason I've always preferred established areas.

 

I suspect the builders will say that they assumed you would be aware of this.

 

My advice would be to try and make friends with the builders, they may even give your kids a sit in the JCB etc..

 

Given what you say it sounds like it will be complete by the summer and you'll then be able to enjoy the garden, park and having the windows open.

 

Please try not to let this marr your first house experience.

[Andy1976 10]

Andy,

 

Thanks for the reply. I see your point but this is slightly different in that the home we choose is situated on a private road where there are only 6 homes. we still don't even have access to our drive at all times. There isn't a road. Paths have only just been laid and now the real work on the park entrance has only just begun meaning further disruption. I accept work must continue on the remaining houses but no one explained there would be diggers outside my front door for several months after moving in.

 

As mentioned in my initial post. This is affecting my daughter and partners ability to sleep during the day which is in turn messing with their health. Surely if you find yourself in a position where one piece of information would have caused the decision to not proceed with a purchase, that means a vital piece of information has been ignored and therefore that would constitute mis-selling?

 

Maybe I am just looking at this with a very simplistic view

 

Hi Rensh,

 

Sadly, I can't see what your remedy would be. I'm a lawyer, but not a property lawyer, so don't take this as gospel. We all have our specialities of course.

 

I think part of the confusion is that I (not sure about others) can't work out what the full situation is. You say above that there are 6 homes, presumably including yours. I get that much. You say above they aren't finished, yet in another post they are? I'm confused there. Is everyone in the same boat?

 

In terms of the park access, as someone has said, the builders will need heavy machinery to get to this, and it goes without saying that they will not put the final road down until that's stopped, or it just tears it up. Sheffield Council do clever things like that.

 

The main problem though is that it's part and parcel of a new estate I'm afraid. As I mentioned, our road was small when they started it - 20 houses - but they sold quickly and then they extended the plans to add about 80 more, which meant that for 3 years, we had builders on the road. It turned out to be quite useful, as it meant that when things broke (don't say if in a new build, it's when), the builders could pop by and fix it.

 

I think sadly it really is a case of biting your lip and accepting it. Summer is coming soon, and it's not the longest time to wait. Try waiting 3 years! It's worth it to have your own place.

[Hippogriff 10]

If anyone has bought new builds before they'd be painfully aware of this kind of situation. Note, I very deliberately don't call it an issue or a problem - because it's just expected. What has happened here is that the OP is a first-time buyer and they may not have expected this - that's more down to inexperience - whereas others may. It's not a fault, per se... it just is. You can guarantee that the Developer will be covered in things that have been signed as legal documents. I don't think that there'll be any comeback.

 

However, I would be interested to know what comes out of the meeting. A Developer should be talking to their customers, it's just good practice. I don't see that there can be any assumption they are ready to admit some kind of liability or fault by just meeting you - but you never know. A goodwill gesture or sweetener of some kind might make you feel a little less remorseful about your purchase but there are two inescapable facts: 1) is that the work must continue (you know this) and 2) is that in time this'll just be history and you will be able to forget about it - don't let it ruin your experience and life, we can often get a bee in our bonnets about how someone must pay, but - actually - time passes, memory is selective... everyone survives.

 

Good luck.

[Rensh 10]

Thanks for the Reply Hippo.

 

I do think there has been a misunderstanding of my points throughout this post. Either that or most people don't read them properly. Either way, I want to clarify....again. I'll also update on the whole situation.

 

My issue isn't with ongoing work. As already stated in a previous note, I am not an idiot, I am aware they cant put up 100 houses in a day. I therefore expected that there would be ongoing work around the area and there is. They are in the middle of building the next phase of houses but this isn't near me. Again, as stated in a previous post, I intentionally bought a plot which is situated in the middle of 6 new build homes which are well away from the rest. There are no more homes being built near my house. The problem is now the park entrance and roadworks (Right outside my front door) As a result of the 6 homes being done and dusted back in December, I am surely well within my right to assume that by March, I would have access to my drive? and to certainly not be in a position where this is potentially going to carry on for a further 2 or 3 months.

 

The representative came out to see me and my partner. She was defensive from the start but after explaining myself (Above the noise of the digger outside the front window) she completely saw my point of view and admitted they probably should have done more at the pre sale point to enable me to make a sound decision based on all the info. She has already put plans in place to ensure this doesn't happen again and where they are unable to give specific timelines for this kind of work (Which is additional to normal building work on a new estate) then they will refrain from releasing the home for reservation until they can give the info.

 

She then went on to talk to me about compensation and what they can do to help remove the stress this has caused. I'm not in this to get a ridiculous payout. The main thing I wanted was acknowledgment that I was right and this had been done wrong and to be looked at as a person and not just another profit generating number. As I was advised in an earlier post, I spoke to the solicitor who helped purchase the home to come to a suitable arrangement and we are now taking it from there.

 

Thanks for all the posts to date.

[Hippogriff 10]

She has already put plans in place to ensure this doesn't happen again and where they are unable to give specific timelines for this kind of work (Which is additional to normal building work on a new estate) then they will refrain from releasing the home for reservation until they can give the info.

 

It's good to hear you've got some attention and progress - but, on the above 3 points:

 

1) she really hasn't - put any plans into place.

2) they really can't - be specific about timelines.

3) they really won't - stop reservations and sales.

 

But - truly - best not to worry - the Developer has completely different drivers to the purchaser, if that's understood then everyone usually gets on fine.

[Rensh 10]

I am more than aware these things won't change! haha. To be honest, the fact she acknowledged there has been a clear issue and that I am in the right is what I was looking for. I was starting to wonder if I was just being mardy. Turns out they've had similar complaints from a couple of the neighbours in 2 of the other homes of the 6 I mentioned.

 

The fact that it wasn't just one person complaining about the same issue I suppose makes them take things a little more seriously.

 

Based on what I was informed by the solicitor, there were probably grounds to take this much further if we wanted but I think the other 2 homes are in the same boat as me and just want them to admit they made a big mistake and should have dealt with it differently. The compensation side of it will let me take the kids away for a bit to get away from all the noise and give them all something to look forward to.

 

Thanks

 

It's good to hear you've got some attention and progress - but, on the above 3 points:

 

1) she really hasn't - put any plans into place.

2) they really can't - be specific about timelines.

3) they really won't - stop reservations and sales.

 

But - truly - best not to worry - the Developer has completely different drivers to the purchaser, if that's understood then everyone usually gets on fine.