Advice Needed on Taylor Wimpey

HClements

underscorealex wrote: »

Hi there, I wanted to ask how you were getting on with your new property and if you have suffered any problems with TX? Like you, I have recently purchased a TW property in Basingstoke and we are having no end of trouble having a leaking ceiling fixed. it has now been 7 weeks since we first reported the problem and no resolution has been completed. We have kept on reporting this to the site manager and customer services but they don't seem to be in an any hurry to resolve this. The only thing they've done is skim over the damp areas of the plasterboard ceiling. I'm no builder, but surely plastering over the problem isn't the way to resolve a damp ceiling??

Hi underscorealex - It's really interesting to read your post - my bf moved into a TW flat in Basinstoke a year ago - and is hugely struggling to get them to repair his roof. As we speak he has active drips and damp patches in nearly every room - and is on the phone to TW and the management company daily. Are you in a flat? Where do you think the leaks are coming from on your property? How bad are they?

I wonder just how many other owners are having these problems? I would think there's power in the "collective" rather than on our own - so maybe we could private message on here to compare notes?

redacted_2

I have bought from Taylor Wimpey and the video says it all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7x6pKoUq4E

lozzabrotherton

I was completing on my taylor wimpey house nr Chester when i watched the watchdog programme on them so I got onto a professional snagging company straight away. They all charge about the same (350 ish) but i chose HomeSnag (homesnag.co.uk) TEL 0161 6158187 as they were recommended (whichnewbuild) as the best one. They found a tonne of things wrong, it was quite upsetting really but alot were rectified before i stepped through the door which helped. If you're buying taylor wimpey, definitely get a professional snagging company or else they'll pull the wool over your eyes and they take ages to rectify

sam3103

I have no first hand experience but a friend of mine has bought a Taylor wimpey home and is still waiting to move in despite being initially told it would be ready in January.
I guess this could be down to the individual development though and not an indication of the company itself

Pete9501

lozzabrotherton wrote: »

I was completing on my taylor wimpey house nr Chester when i watched the watchdog programme on them so I got onto a professional snagging company straight away. They all charge about the same (350 ish) but i chose HomeSnag (homesnag.co.uk) TEL 0161 6158187 as they were recommended (whichnewbuild) as the best one. They found a tonne of things wrong, it was quite upsetting really but alot were rectified before i stepped through the door which helped. If you're buying taylor wimpey, definitely get a professional snagging company or else they'll pull the wool over your eyes and they take ages to rectify

So you are about to complete, but have already managed to get the property snagged and more importantly fixed even before you have completed. That's wonderful isn't it, or could it be a fib and that as its your first post you have recommended this company because you have a connection to homesnag?

so what is it?

bradderslondon

Between us we've lived in all kinds of places over the years. I've rented houses and flats of pretty much every era and there are some themes. In London there are tonnes of 80s and 90s crap flats and houses. 70s to early 90s builds are the ones I avoid most. Mostly single glazed economy seven heating and EPC G kinda crap where you can hear next door going for a pee from the other side of the flat. Our current place is in a 1950s modernist block with high ceilings and a generous living room. Reasonably sound insulated but upstairs took it upon themselves to mount speakers to the main wall and take up all the floor insulation so that's kinda ruined.

I've been in late victorian through to 1940s semis with no foundations, insulation and only a single brick thick wall seperating the two homes (when digital TV came in and next door had it and I didn't it was entertaining hearing their TV a few seconds before ours!).

No doubt there are wonderful older homes but these tend to be out of the reach of the first time buyer.

So experience of newish build estates of the 80s and 90s leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Fast forward to 2017 and we're in the process of buying a new TW home in Kent. We looked at different builders and some older properties and agreed that a new build was the way to go for a few reasons. More affordable thanks to the current schemes, bus passes included and paid for by the commercial units and we could ensure that all the wiring was hidden away such as the data connections that run around the house (I cannot stand trunking or pipes being visisble). So far the build quality is good. There are some oddities as we were told that the rear elevation wouldn't have the thermowood cladding that the show home did but it does afterall. They've gone to great lengths to prevent flood risks. It's not far from the Thames and another river but is deemed by the EA to have a very low risk of flooding (once per 1000 years) without defences. There are good flood defences in the area to begin with. On top of this they raised the ground by six metres and have included swales to act as a sump.

The sales team on the other hand are annoying. You can choose from six colours of kitchen but can't add extra units or pick one work surface from one to have with another. Any time you ask about something they trot out the line "we're not a bespoke builder". One took offence when we said we weren't a fan of the kitchen in teh show home (I think she picked it). For example all the 1-3 bed homes have a single large oven. The four and five beds all have double ovens. Unfortunately they're edouble-under ovens which are smaller than a normal double oven. We weren't allowed to downgrade to a single oven. They trotted out the line that time. There were no handleless kitchen choices either. The options brochure was pointless as half the stuff in it isn't available on the development and other things are like induction hobs.

The showhomes all had tiled in mat wells. These aren't available on the development. We also weren't allowed to not have splashbacks in the bathrooms (we plan to do the wall tiling after completion as the options price for this is horrific and they don't have any real stone). Again we got the same response on this "we're not a bespoke builder".

Overall the only real gripe about the houses they build verses those by Redrow and Barratt is that there aren't many storage cupboards. There is a cupboard under the stairs and an airing cupboard, that's it. Barratt and Redrow both had multiple storage cupboards in theirs but unfortunately no detached homes available (I have misophonia and cannot cope with things like other people's music and it would be nice not to live with ear plugs in as much as I do now). TW had bigger doors than Barratt and on this development *slightly* taller ceilings than the nearby Barratt homes.

There also was no option to have vanity units rather than pedestal sinks on this development. This is a shame as the window is above the sink so storage isn't as easy but still doable.

We don't have a particular need for a larger garden as it's just more work from our perspective. This is a consideration for many though. We noted this weekend that the top soil is a thin layer on top of the infil material so the underlying soil will have rocks and stones but the lawn is included. We've documented this and will use it as evidence should tehre be problems with the garden later.

The site manager and construction manager have both been great so far. They've explained everything in detail and some things which you'd imagine are set in stone like the side of teh garden the garage power is run through are actually up to us. We wanted a spotlight over the top flight of stairs. This isn't normally done as it's too high to change the bulb without the right ladders. We explained that we're planing to get the ladders anyway and use LED and so this was acepted. Again a very grown up way of doing these things. We certainly got the impression that if we'd been dealing with them for the options we'd have aligned more with what we wanted.

We fully accept a certain amount of snagging is a part of life. I've worked in housing myself and occasionally as technical inspector. We did plan to engage a snagging company but have had a recent financial hit so this will be dropped. It's very important to get every detail in writing. When we go for the demo day (two weeks before completion) the house should be basically ready. We will be going round the house checking and testing every last detail and making sure that things like outside lights match. Everything will be measured, photographed, videoed and documented. Even the slightest issue such as a painted in bristle will be logged. In the end you're putting everything you have into the property and they're making a huge return so it's right to do this.

Annoyingly they emailed to say that the date may have slipped due to the bad winter (in construction terms this winter has been exceptionally good and all concrete work and roofing was complete before winter). This is a poor excuse of course and has been taken up with them. Another annoyance was the legal plans they sent through some had the right plot marked and five copies had a completely different one. This included the land reg copies. We got it sorted out but it's pretty bad that their legal team and our slicitors missed this. I can see how those situations happen where flying freeholds were missed and apartments where everyone owns the wrong flat occur after this.

We're going into this eyes open though and are certainly still looking forward to getting in and settled.

I'll post again to update as things progress.

GDB2222

I expect you have more leverage over the options if these are chosen before exchange of contract.

martindow

If a developer does not deal with snagging in a timely way, could you not write to them giving 28 days, say, to do the necessary repairs or you will arrange for the work to be done. If they don't respond, you could get your own contractors in to do the work and open a claim to get your money back.

You would need to have very good evidence of the snagging faults and the work needed and get several quotations for the work.

You would need to pay out before you could claim the money back, but is this a feasible way of resolving problems?

Chanes

Love new builds but these stories put me off so I bought a less new house instead :http://www.leaseholdknowledge.com/taylor-wimpey-rejects-responsibility-resale-buyers-facing-doubling-ground-rents?utm_source=Carlex+%2F+Leasehold+Knowledge+Partnership&utm_campaign=d732272e47-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_99bed8a4b2-d732272e47-112547873

bradderslondon

Just wanted to add that at both Barratts and Taylor Wimpey we checked the semis and terraced homes for sound proofing. Variously my partner and me talked louder and played music (speaker against the wall) and could hear nothing from the other side. This is a far better experience than I've ever had with any kind of attached property. This is a very important test for any home purchase.

We set our options as early as permitted but made no difference. It was long before the contract exchange though.