New House Building Error

gemmypaddy

A further question.

Should I contact our solicitor about this?

He is recommended by the builder and has been involved in nearly all house purchases on the development, so could potentially be a good bridge between us and the builder?

Any thoughts?

gemmypaddy

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Depending on the design of the rest of the house, a change like this is the kind of thing I'd forever regret, and it might make me likely to pull out. Financial comp. might lessen my regrets if I wasn't planning on being there very long, but... but...

On the other hand, presumably there is a window somewhere else your design did not have? Are there advantages to this layout?

I'd certainly press the builder hard - but politely - for as much as possible.

Any chance of a skylight or light tunnel?

I agree about being polite, I always try to be.

The only advantage would be to have a window in the en-suite as this is now on an external wall. However, this has not been built, so we are effectively one window down from the agreed plans/specifications.

I'm not sure about a skylight or tunnel but that is a good idea that may help.

I will take that along in my arsenal!

Building_Surveyor

These are the risks of buying a house off plan...

Unlikely to be an error, more than likely a legitimate reason for the change...something you need to enquire about.

You haven't exchanged so you can pull it if you wish

gemmypaddy

Building_Surveyor wrote: »

These are the risks of buying a house off plan...

Unlikely to be an error, more than likely a legitimate reason for the change...something you need to enquire about.

You haven't exchanged so you can pull it if you wish

Thanks for your reply.

I agree it is a risk of buying off plan, but it doesn't make it right. I would not sell something to someone and alter it before I give it to them and certainly not without informing them. If it is a legitimate change, then they should contact the buyer out of courtesy at the very least. If it is an error, then it should be rectified or compensated for in my opinion.

The plans shows a window and house layout (I have pictures of all documents we were shown) which has not been built, I have identified it before the roof has gone on, which I'm willing to bet is quicker than 90% of other buyers would notice.

I don't think it is a legitimate change as the window does not overlook other dwellings, so cannot see any reason for the change.

I will certainly enquire and update on here when I've done so.

I know I haven't exchanged yet and pulling out is a genuine option, but the legal fees, mortgage fees etc are all things I need to consider before I do this.

You're name suggests you have experience in this area. If (go with me on this) this is a genuine error and there is no reason for the change, what do you feel would be a reasonable outcome?

Thanks again.

gemmypaddy

Also worth noting, I drove around the rest of the development and all other houses of the same type have an external window on the detached side of the house.

More for reference than anything else, but worth knowing.

robatwork

This is very annoying and typical of the sloppy way that these companies market/sell houses off plan.


When I bought one of these I knew it was "back to front" but all the appliances and work surfaces were put in the way round the plan showed. Which was wrong. Had a hell of a job getting the builder to put right as much as possible, which included getting a friend to take pictures of an identical house this way round in another part of the country to show them the correct way!


For me this could be a deal breaker depending on how they handle it - I think your idea of a window in the en suite is a very reasonable compensation. I would actually prefer it to a landing with a window - I hate bathrooms without windows.


Good luck.

gemmypaddy

robatwork wrote: »

This is very annoying and typical of the sloppy way that these companies market/sell houses off plan.


When I bought one of these I knew it was "back to front" but all the appliances and work surfaces were put in the way round the plan showed. Which was wrong. Had a hell of a job getting the builder to put right as much as possible, which included getting a friend to take pictures of an identical house this way round in another part of the country to show them the correct way!


For me this could be a deal breaker depending on how they handle it - I think your idea of a window in the en suite is a very reasonable compensation. I would actually prefer it to a landing with a window - I hate bathrooms without windows.


Good luck.

Thanks for your comments.

Your situation doesn't sound dissimilar!

I just hope they are reasonable about it. It may not be a big thing to them, but a window in the hallway is all my wife kept going on about at the top of her wishlist for a house and now the house we are buying turns out to be the only one of it's type without one!!!

I'm convinced it is a mistake and I'm not sure anyone even knows about it!

bouicca21

Consider whether there are any advantages to this. Presumably you now do not have a common wall between your living room and next door. That might mean that the sound insulation is better.

gemmypaddy

bouicca21 wrote: »

Consider whether there are any advantages to this. Presumably you now do not have a common wall between your living room and next door. That might mean that the sound insulation is better.

Thanks for your response.

The living room actually spans the width of the house, so that isn't an advantage.

However, 2 bedrooms now do not have a common wall, which is an advantage, although the third bedroom now does.

SO while there are advantages, they are still strongly outweighed by the disadvantages.

Thanks though, it does help to give perspective.

Building_Surveyor

gemmypaddy wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

I agree it is a risk of buying off plan, but it doesn't make it right. I would not sell something to someone and alter it before I give it to them and certainly not without informing them. If it is a legitimate change, then they should contact the buyer out of courtesy at the very least. If it is an error, then it should be rectified or compensated for in my opinion.

The plans shows a window and house layout (I have pictures of all documents we were shown) which has not been built, I have identified it before the roof has gone on, which I'm willing to bet is quicker than 90% of other buyers would notice.

I don't think it is a legitimate change as the window does not overlook other dwellings, so cannot see any reason for the change.

I will certainly enquire and update on here when I've done so.

I know I haven't exchanged yet and pulling out is a genuine option, but the legal fees, mortgage fees etc are all things I need to consider before I do this.

You're name suggests you have experience in this area. If (go with me on this) this is a genuine error and there is no reason for the change, what do you feel would be a reasonable outcome?

Thanks again.

I'm not sure you have much bargaining power as you haven't exchanged yet I'm afraid. If you ask for compensation and they decline... Then what? I'm not saying that's going to happen but think you will need to weigh up your options.

If you threaten to walk or indeed walk then there could be someone around the corner waiting to snap up the house despite what the house design was.

A question you need to ask you self is are you willing to walk away if it came down to it? Not because of principle, but because of the changed layout...

If they do agree to change the layout back to the original, are you prepared for the time delays this may cause, disruption etc...

I'm afraid losing mortgage fees, legal fees etc is a normal part of house buying something everyone needs to be financially prepared to lose when you enter the house buying game, it would be no different if a seller pulled out at the last minute. Be prepared worse case scenario of not getting them back.

I think in the first instance ask the developer why it was changed. They don't legally have to consult you about any changes the house isn't yours yet. That's probably not much comfort and common courtesy would suggest that they should.

If you are not satisfied with the reason they give or some idiot didn't work to the plan then yes I would challenge it and come up with a REASONABLE solution. Rebuilding the whole house is not financially viable or reasonable. Adding a window to the en suite sounds reasonable to me. I doubt a few hundred quid would leave you satisfied. Ask about the optional extras too. Worse case they say no.

I bought a New house several months ago. The house was complete but the gardens weren't done. The plans showed bricked driveways.... That never happened. All the drives are tarmaced. I wasn't consulted but it was a change that didn't bother me.