post exchange delay on new build

worrypants

Dont suppose we have aleg to stand on but any advice much appreciated

we exchanged contracts on a new build on December 15th and at that time the house would be ready by end of January at the latest.
we checked checked and checked again that they could forsee no dealys otherwise we would not have exchanged.

weather cannot be blamed for any delay as roof on windows in etc at that stage

On Friday December 22nd I contacted the builders again as this was the last working day for them prior to a 2 week christmas break, I was once again told that there were no dealys and the build was on target and we would be by end of January at the latest.

I contacted them again on there first full working day in the new year january 8th and guess what property now not ready until 3rd or 4th week of Feb:eek:

So in the space of one of their working days there is all of a sudden a dealy of 3 weeks plus

In the grand scheme of things what is 3 weeks I agree however for us it has a major impact, husband is travelling 140 miles a day to work until we move etc etc etc every single day counts for us.
We would not have considered the property if we had known it will be Feb before we get in we really wouldnt, at the time of reservation it was going to be mid Jan:rotfl:

Of course the contract clearly states the builders can do whatever they like, I cant think of another single business transaction so heavily weighted in favour of the seller that what occurs when buying a new build.

My solicitor is great but her hands are apparently tied. She states they have to complete in a reasonable time but what I ask is " reasonable" it means different things to different folk surely???

if we were moving 20 miles or so a delay would be disapointing but not the end of the world but our circumstances are such that this 3 weeks is a huge delay, expense and inconvenience?

I cant get to the bottom of the real reason for the delay,
one thing mentioned is that the kitchen will not arrive until next week ( like when did they order it I ask??//) but if this is the case it sure dont take 4 weeks to put in a kitchen.
Sorry to rant but so angry to be mislead like this , of course we have no choice to put up with it do we as we have exchanged contracts, in theory just how long could they make us wait if they so choose?

any answers , comment much appreciated
thanks

marcovan

I can sympathise enitrely with your post as my girlfriend and I are in a similar position. Our flat was originally scheduled to be completed Nov/Dec 06 however, they blamed the delay with problems with the utility suppliers ( I wonder if they have a pre-defined set of excuses they work there way through for each project!). So our latest update has been end of Jan.

Meant to be getting our familarisation visit in third week of Jan (which in my book is now) but have heard nothing from them as yet......not holding my breath to get keys for end of month. It is very frustrating but at the same time I wouldn't want them to rush the job in order for us to move into bad workmanship that will have to be fixed at a later date.

so I think all we can do is just sit tight and wait........Hope it all works out for you eventually.

lynzpower

one thing I thought is surely if you have exchanged, your sol must have a completion date.

If they have got a completion date, then Im sure there are repercusions if the keys arnt given to you on that date

Someone will be able to throw light on this

Lil_Dee_2

You will probably find that as a new build, the contract you signed is soooooo much in the builders favour it's untrue. I too found myself in a position whereby we moved in with his parents - for SIX MONTHS - because our house was delayed for so long.

My solicitor at the time advised me that the contract that we had signed - and most everyone else buying a new build will sign the same type - refers to the completion date as (in different words, but same meaning) 'When the builder states, and within a reasonable time scale'.

As I say, ours was six months late. My solicitor at the time stated that very little could be done, and that it would be difficult to do anything about the delay from a legal standpoint, because of the contract we had signed.

I ended up writing to the MD of the company - what a waste of space - and was given a paltry offer of £500.00 off the price at completion. Just don't hold out too much hope for anything other than sitting, waiting and a bit more waiting....:rolleyes:

samspam

Maybe I can help as I sell houses for a builder.

It is of course impossible to predict delays so build dates are always an estimate. It is a pain when you are trying to plan a move, I know.

If the property looks almost ready but there is a delay on the completion date it is normally down to a delay with services. The builder is at the mercy of the company who connects the services so if they miss their 'window' it can be weeks before the services are booked in again. In my experience every delay I have seen has been down to services, I have a block of apartments which should have been ready for end Dec that are now running into March as we can't get services until 12th Feb.

If you can plainly see that there is electricity on in your property then I would ask the sales consultant what the delay is. My new house was delayed for 6 months (largely due to high winds earlier on the build programme) but if I'd known exactly what the delays were I would have been happier than just being fobbed off).

Don't forget that the builders all work to budgets and sales forcasts and that they want your money, plus most site managers and sales managers are on targets and will miss their bonus when things don't complete on time so they will do everything to get properties ready for when they are forcast for.

Which builder is it out of interest? Is it a large or small builder?

worrypants

many thanks for all your replies you reflect my thoughts

the estate has 125 properties and ours is one of the last 5 to be completd so I dont think it can be a problem with connecting mains services?

This is my 5th new build purchase and in my experience a completion date is never set at exchange the buyer is always at the mercy of the builder:rolleyes:

I have had delays with the previous new builds but never going over one week and never in circumstances like we are currently in , and always the builders have been frank and open giving understandable reasons but not this time.

getting to the point where I dont want the so***ing house to be honest as their customer service over all this is non existant but of course we have exchanged so just have no options open to us gggrrrrr!!!!

Richard_Webster

As a Conveyancing Solicitor (http://www.rwco.co.uk I always try to point out at an early stage to people buying a new house that this kind of hassle could happen.

It is one of the things to bear in mind when buying a new house.

Another point is the snagging. If yours is one of the last ones on the estate there may not be any sales office which you visit (when other potential buyers are around) with loud and frequent complaints about anything that hasn't been finished properly!