Barratt homes...are they worth buying with?

greedoe

m_curiousity wrote: »

Hiya,

Also have looked online about Barratts and have seen tonnes of bad stuff about them, mostly that once they've got your money they dont care and are impossible to get to fix the problems that invariably occur in the new house that they are required to fix as part of the contract. Or if they do repair it it is really shoddy work. Trouble is, most reviews online are going to be bad as people are more likely to write if they are angry about something, so should I not take these reviews too much to heart?

My final concern is that I've heard new homes can be not very good quality builds, and use poor materials which results in tonnes of problems such as leaky toilets, plaster collapsing etc. I am intending to view the property, but I really wouldnt know bad quality if I saw it, as long as it looks nice and shiny I'd be impressed, (which is the whole point of show homes right??). Is there anyway I can get this looked at independantly before making an offer, or would this kind of thing be included in the building survey?

Ta for any help, sorry for the long winded post!!

Hi I bought a new build flat from Barrat's in 2005. It was an ex-showflat and I thought I got a wicked deal. The place was on the market for £50k more than I paid (basically because the valuation came in £50k less so Barrat's said fine). What I found out since then is that the new build buffer meant I STILL overpaid quite a bit for it.

As for build quality, I would agree with anyone who said it left quite a bit to be desired - our windows constantly have issues, there's some wonderful cracks in the wall, the bathrooms were painted with non moisture resistant paint and where the join between our flat and our neighbours previously existed in the show flat / office scenario, let's just say they didn't really fix that either.

I was lured in with all the "we pay your stamp duty and legal fees" crap, but of course they will as they're charging you way more than the place is worth anyway. Loads of flats that bottomed out in value around us are back up to a decent resale value. I'm still about £10k away from what I paid, so thanks Barratts for the mighty shaft you gave me.

Blackpool_Saver

I am renting one at the moment, it looks the biz, but it has subsidence, the windows don't fit properly and have condensation in the double glazing, and every time anything bigger than a car goes past the whole house rattles.
It feels flimsy, it's ok as a rental cos it looks nice but I would not entertain buying it and I have owned many properties in the past.

david29dpo

I rest my case.

t_i_g_e_rr

There are pro's and cons to new and old. Here are my thoughts...

A new home is convenient to buy. No chain. It has higher energy efficiency (i.e. cost less to heat). But, you don't get those good old solid walls, and you pay more. I think the comment about new home people and old home people is fair.

Snagging is a major issue. All the builders tend to employ similar contractors based on area, so it is down to the site manager. Good site manager, good house, and vice-versa. You could, I suppose, ask existing occupants on the same site if they are happy. They will be more than happy to tell you if they aren't. Or ask to see a previous site he/she has managed. Don't get pressured into buying a new house before snagging is complete. Firmly tell the sales advisor who's offering you a discount to complete before such and such a deadline that you will, but it is strictly conditional on all snagging being completed, with an independent assessor used if there is any dispute. However, do bear in mind, since you are living in the house, and a 'brand new' house after all, you will notice every single fault. Paint on the pipe work that you'd think nothing of in a second hand house, is the end of the world in a new house.

Barratt have a customer complaint procedure. Read about it on their website and make it work for you. Basically, the more you complain, the higher it get's escalated. Barratt are driven by figures, so more escalated complaints get results. Calmly escalate things quickly, don’t mess around. They have a new 5 year warranty, the only builder that has I think, but this is worthless if they don't honor it, or make it more trouble than it is worth. In theory though, you should be able to get everything fixed for 5 years. They introduced this to try to shake off their image of being a shoddy builder. If you complain to the highest level, mention you are "disappointed Barratts haven't improved as you were led to believe they had", and also mention the HBF (Barratt covert their 4 star builder status, they are the only volume builder to have it (unbelievably), so loosing this means a lot), then you should get results if you have a need to complain.

Just remember you are the buyer, in a strong position. Not as strong as a year or so ago though since Barratts have cleared all their stock that they were throwing at people. But you have the cash that the builders need. Don’t hand it over too soon.

Just a few thoughts.

Silverback1

I would not advise anyone to buy from Barratt Homes. The vast amount of negative posts I have read online about their customer care is sadly true in my experience. Once they have got your money and your two year Barratt warranty has expired they are not interested. I have also seen first hand the results of their poor workmanship. In a case I know, the majority of homes in a development had their guttering come down over the winter period. Barratt suggested it was due to the extreme winter weather experienced. However, a NHBC assessors report indicated poor workmanship and not using the correct installation practice for the guttering was to blame. This resulted in Barratt fixing only those homes under their 2 year warranty...Allegedly!

m_curiousity wrote: »

Hiya,

Barratt homes are in the process of building loads of new homes local to me and I'm interested in buying one. Trouble is, I'm a bit unsure about buying a brand new home in general, as I've heard that you can be more likely to make a loss upon reselling as the house usually depreciates in value once you've moved in. Does anyone know anything about resell values of new homes? Its a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom semi detached with garage 15 minutes drive from Brighton if this helps. Asking price is £267k.

Also have looked online about Barratts and have seen tonnes of bad stuff about them, mostly that once they've got your money they dont care and are impossible to get to fix the problems that invariably occur in the new house that they are required to fix as part of the contract. Or if they do repair it it is really shoddy work. Trouble is, most reviews online are going to be bad as people are more likely to write if they are angry about something, so should I not take these reviews too much to heart?

My final concern is that I've heard new homes can be not very good quality builds, and use poor materials which results in tonnes of problems such as leaky toilets, plaster collapsing etc. I am intending to view the property, but I really wouldnt know bad quality if I saw it, as long as it looks nice and shiny I'd be impressed, (which is the whole point of show homes right??). Is there anyway I can get this looked at independantly before making an offer, or would this kind of thing be included in the building survey?

Ta for any help, sorry for the long winded post!!

pawlala

Only those who complaint decide to write it on the internets. Ignore the vast minority that have a problem. Buy your new home and enjoy it

SuzieSue

pawlala wrote: »

Only those who complaint decide to write it on the internets. Ignore the vast minority that have a problem. Buy your new home and enjoy it

But you need to be very careful. As other people have said, the quality of the properties depends on how good the site manager is and if I was buying another new build, I would engage a company that specialising in inspecting them.

WASHER

I have a Barratt home, very pleased with it, always found the customer service excellent.

It isn't the highest spec finish, but very few new builds are.

Look out for the "Pride in the job award" on site, it means that the site is well managed.

I would buy again from Barratt.

Ines

I bought a flat from Barratt Homes last year and I'm happy with it. They were a few small snags in the beginning but Barratt dealt with them quickly. I thought my site manager was very efficient and friendly.

Happy001

I am in a Barratt Town House builders must have been blind, all sockets cut larger than that plate so just barely holds on.

Workmanship is a joke and to top it they use plastic pipes for central heating and after a while they leak. The boilers are the cheapest and worst on the market and in no time you will need expensive repairs.

I wrote to Director about daughter nearly lost finger because of the spring hinges they use, was he bothered ? NO

DO NOT BUY BARRATTS RUBBISH!