Barratt Homes

Ciderarmy1987

Hi,

A friend of mine is looking at buying a house on the the following estate:

http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/south-gloucestershire/H439401-Hanham-Hall/

Does anybody have any feedback on what Barratt after-sales service is like and also are there anythings that are important to find out about before putting down a deposit.

Also how easy is it to negotiate on price with a new build?

Any advice would be great but if you could avoid the "dont buy a new-build" advice

Cheers

Abbymoo

In re. discounts, we got ours for 167k, asking price was 180k.

Now for Barratts after sales service?

Pretty useless.

We've had quite a few problems. I'll make a list:
The builders somehow messed up something to do with the land registry, despite numerous panicked phone calls this wasn't resolved until 5pm on the day before we were due to complete, so until then we had no idea if we were actually moving next day or not.

On the day of completion their solicitors didn't bother to ring ours to say we could pick up the keys, we had to keep ringing the sales office ourselves and chasing to find out if we could move in or not.

Then came the phone line saga, the builders hadn't connected the cables up to the property which resulted in a 6 week broadband and phone-less merry-go-round of BT vs Builder with us in the middle.

One of the bathrooms has a tap that works backwards, cold when it says hot and vice versa.

One kitchen cupboard was left totally unfinished.

Noone bothers to get back to us when we ask for stuff to be fixed, now we've paid for the place that's it, they don't want to know. Even simple questions like asking for the name of the paving slabs so we can extend the patio get ignored. They always say they'll get back to us (we're up to 5 times now on the cupboard alone) but never do.

The finishes are poor quality (standard emulsion in kitchen/bathrooms, that kind of thing) I had to clean a bit of paintwork in the kitchen yesterday and now have a bit of bare plaster where the paint came off.

On the plus side the lady at head office was helpful, the build quality is fine, no noise from next door unless they're drilling or something, and the room sizes aren't too bad.

Would I buy another one? Not sure!

ceh209

I used to live near this new estate, so went to have a nosey when the sales office opened.

Fair enough if your friend likes the properties, but the opinion of all the local residents was, well, interesting to say the least , definitely overpriced for the area.

I've just bought a new build on the other side of town which appealed to me so much more!

They seem to be selling well so probably limited scope for discounts at the moment.

Oh and don't forget to ask about the service charge on the estate, from what I remember it was VERY high, and rising as more were built.

Abbymoo

ceh209 wrote: »

I used to live near this new estate, so went to have a nosey when the sales office opened.

Fair enough if your friend likes the properties, but the opinion of all the local residents was, well, interesting to say the least , definitely overpriced for the area.

I've just bought a new build on the other side of town which appealed to me so much more!

They seem to be selling well so probably limited scope for discounts at the moment.

Oh and don't forget to ask about the service charge on the estate, from what I remember it was VERY high, and rising as more were built.

That prompted me to check out the site - yes, interesting designs indeed. I know it's all a matter of taste but...well...

Mr_Moo_2

Barratt after sales service - expect nothing and you'll not be disappointed.

Barratt house fittings quality - ditto.

okborednow

Oh dear :eek: I'll be exchanging contracts on a Barratt home soon. Maybe i did the wrong thing?

Ciderarmy1987

ceh209 wrote: »

I used to live near this new estate, so went to have a nosey when the sales office opened.

Fair enough if your friend likes the properties, but the opinion of all the local residents was, well, interesting to say the least , definitely overpriced for the area.

I've just bought a new build on the other side of town which appealed to me so much more!

They seem to be selling well so probably limited scope for discounts at the moment.

Oh and don't forget to ask about the service charge on the estate, from what I remember it was VERY high, and rising as more were built.

What part of Bristol did you end up buying in?

I think that the service charge was about £300 for the year but is subject to change.

What else do you know about the estate?

fragmast3r

we were looking at barratt homes in kingsway gloucestershire, rude sales staff, uninterested in making any deal, wouldnt include carpets, the show home quality left a lot to be desired, went to taylor wimpey again in kingsway, a world of difference, friendly staff, only to happy to make a deal, house was at the completed stage when we reserved, so got to look round the actual house we are buying, loads better than barratt quality, back garden turfed, every room had flooring put down, knocked £8k off asking price and paying our solicitor and valuation, so for me unimpressed with barratt homes

HildaM

Our experience was very different. We were looking in January and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
We got £14,500 discount and £1,000 towards our legal fees. All carpets and floor tiles were included, garden was turfed and garden shed and washing line included.
When the sale of our flat was stalling they were very helpful in chasing things up and getting things started again.
Things went very smoothly on moving day (end of March) and snagging issues have been dealt with quickly - and their workmen have done over and above what they needed to (helped with making good some work that we had done privately - I'm sure they weren't meant to do that!)