House Purchase - Help Asap Please!!!

CheekyLittleMonkey

I'd appreciate any advice on this one please as I'm now quite dubious about going ahead with the purchase.

We have been only twice to view, the second time Saturday just gone. It was very sunny day. The garden gets no sun whatsoever apart from a small beam of light to the left of us which filters through between houses. We have the shadow of the house on the left hand side falling all over the garden (it is also slightly in front/ahead of our house) if you understand what I'm trying to say? On the right, we have our garage, which is separate from the house/detached. This also throws its shadow onto the garden. Grrrr.
We spent 3hrs there and absolutely no sun. Went outside to assess the situation, grass/turf has not knitted together at all, there are big gaps/lines between pieces. The ground is very squishy and boggy. The garden was laid to lawn in September (I asked the sales office) us now being in February, surely it does not take 6months to see some improvement? My guess is that its because the garden gets no sun at all, nothing is able to dry out. Along the edges of the grass that border the patio'd area, is all wetness seeping over. I have aired my concerns with the sales office and was told that this has been passed onto the construction manager to deal with and that they are considering putting in some kind of drainage.

Now, this house is a new build which is the last one on Phase 5, they are now building Phase 6. This house was 'held' on Phase 5 to use as a 'show home' because they do not have a 'show home' of this type on Phase 6, although they do have about 8 of these houses of the same model to sell (I also think they have sold) on the new phase.

The house is 3 storey. I'm thinking that they knew this all along, that this was the reason why it hadn't sold. That this was the reason they had reduced it 20k from the asking price of today. I mentioned this to the sales office today and she told me that this was not the case at all and it was purely a case of keeping that house on hold for viewings.

The aspect of the garden is slightly north west.

I'm very annoyed having been looking forward to lying in the garden and doing a spot of gardening etc. My 28 days to completion are up today although I have managed to get a further 2wks by arrangement thru my solicior and their legal dept. I'm seriously thinking of pulling out now.



Any views/thoughts would be welcome. Thanks. x

hearts

Just going on what you have said. You don't want the house. Pull out if you can. I say IF because with new builds here in Scotland there are procudures which you by now would have reached after which you are commited to buy.

Doozergirl

North West is the worst aspect to have apparantly. The sun doesn't rise nearly as high during winter though so it mightn't be as bad as you imagine. Not sure if I had a choice of more than one house that I'd choose one with that aspect though.

I don't think it's the best time of year for wet ground though! I was almost wading in water in the garden of a house we owned last February, but it was absolutely fine throughout the summer.

If you have exchanged and don't complete, you'll lose your entire deposit!

CheekyLittleMonkey

hearts wrote:

Just going on what you have said. You don't want the house. Pull out if you can. I say IF because with new builds here in Scotland there are procudures which you by now would have reached after which you are commited to buy.

Thanks. I'm not committed to buy although I would lose my deposit of £500 and the £450 valuation fees I paid (are they supposed to check for these things when they value the property). Sorry to sound thick, I have not got a clue.

MJMum

Personally, I'd pull out but it does all depend on how much time you really are going to spend in the garden. It will probably be less than you think!

clutton_2

you clearly hate it - why would you want to live there ?

it will cost you a lot more than £945 if you buy t and then sell it on immediatley with legal and EA fees etc etc

clairefun

I've lived for the last three years in a sunless garden - well at winter anyway. It gets a little sun in summer, enough for me to sunbathe if I'm clever. We've taken up the pointless lawn and made a gorgeous little wildlife garden which is small and tidy and really quite 'magical' - you know, like a little secret garden. Apart from a bit of cutting down that I've not got round too, it even looks good now, it's just a case of clever planting. And really, sunbathing is just bad for you anyway!

I think if you like the house itself then you can work with the garden fine. In fact if you want to pm me at any point and ask for planting advice as to what grows in my garden, feel free!

inmypocketnottheirs

My back garden faces due south and is a muddy quagmire!

chant1l

A surveyor will only check the fabric and build of a property not its aesthetic values, it sounds to me like you are past missives/contracts stage so there may be penalties in your contract for dropping out now. Get your solicitor to check these out, if it is only the £900 ish you mention, this may be less of a cost than living with a mistake.

chant1l

A surveyor will only check the fabric and build of a property not its aesthetic values, it sounds to me like you are past missives/contracts stage so there may be penalties in your contract for dropping out now. Get your solicitor to check these out, if it is only the £900 ish you mention, this may be less of a cost than living with a mistake.

Lil_Dee_2

CheekyLittleMonkey wrote:

Went outside to assess the situation, grass/turf has not knitted together at all, there are big gaps/lines between pieces. The ground is very squishy and boggy. The garden was laid to lawn in September (I asked the sales office) us now being in February, surely it does not take 6months to see some improvement?

In light of the above comment, I would suggest that what Clairefun has said will probably be the only way of you having a 'garden' at this house.

To give you an idea, a neighbour of mine (new build estate, we moved in in May last year) had her lawn re-turfed (due to the poor quality job done first time around) in late October, and it now looks great.....even though she has done nothing to it since they laid it. So, going from your comments above, I'd say you were realistically looking at a non-turf garden.

If you feel that the amount of water found in this garden is so much greater than surrounding gardens, make sure that one of your conditions to the builder is that they install a proper drainage system before you move in.

Although, overall your comments do make me question if you really want the house, which if you intend to make it a home, you should.

Good luck, whichever way you go with it !