New Builds, Surveys and Snagging.

ML420cdi

At what point with a new build should you pay for a survey to be done?...

I know new builds come with something called an NHBC so you would think they are perfect but I hear its worth nothing.

Also whats the deal with Snagging and paying a professional to do it....do new build companies care a fig for any snaggs?...have you them over a barrel at all by refusing to complete until things are satisfactorily resolved?

dgtazzman

NHBC is mostly for structural problems, while most snagging issues will tend to be more of a cosmetic nature.

You will not be able to start making a snagging list till after you complete, you probably won't have access to the property before that time to do it, and you will most likely be contractually obligated to complete as soon as the house is signed off on by all the regulatory bodies.

If you hire a snagging company, it's best to get them in as soon as you complete, they should have a far better eye for issues than you and they can work with you to keep the pressure on the builders to resolve the issues they find, especially if your builder isn't very cooperative.

With the new build we recently bought, we've found the builders to be brilliant on issues, most getting resolved the day they were reported, it does help that the development is ongoing though, so all the staff are on site to assist, it does however vary greatly between builders and site staff how well snagging issues are handled.

ML420cdi

Thanks, did you get a full survey done on your new build?...I know some people don't bother.

dgtazzman wrote: »

NHBC is mostly for structural problems, while most snagging issues will tend to be more of a cosmetic nature.

You will not be able to start making a snagging list till after you complete, you probably won't have access to the property before that time to do it, and you will most likely be contractually obligated to complete as soon as the house is signed off on by all the regulatory bodies.

If you hire a snagging company, it's best to get them in as soon as you complete, they should have a far better eye for issues than you and they can work with you to keep the pressure on the builders to resolve the issues they find, especially if your builder isn't very cooperative.

With the new build we recently bought, we've found the builders to be brilliant on issues, most getting resolved the day they were reported, it does help that the development is ongoing though, so all the staff are on site to assist, it does however vary greatly between builders and site staff how well snagging issues are handled.

chanz4

no point on full survey

MadelinesMum

We didn't have a survey on our new build. I would get someone in to do the snag list though as there were a few things I missed. Luckily the estate wasn't finished and the foreman came back to sort the problems.

northerneng

MadelinesMum wrote: »

We didn't have a survey on our new build. I would get someone in to do the snag list though as there were a few things I missed. Luckily the estate wasn't finished and the foreman came back to sort the problems.

Could you give us an idea of the sort of things that you had missed?

Vampgirl

MadelinesMum wrote: »

We didn't have a survey on our new build. I would get someone in to do the snag list though as there were a few things I missed. Luckily the estate wasn't finished and the foreman came back to sort the problems.

What things did you miss? Did you follow a snagging checklist or did you just look for things yourself?

I've downloaded the snagging checklist mentioned here http://www.snaggingchecklist.co.uk/ - I was hoping that using this list I'd be able to do our own snagging.

dgtazzman

No survey done, no pro snagging done, didn't follow snagging list, just used my own common sense what to look at (and I do have a bit of eye for detail, even if I don't have any background in building work). Mostly took the easy route as the builders were being very cooperative in our case and I was given quite a few opportunities to visit the house during the final building stages, points I had made then had been resolved on completion, so I didn't get the impression our builders were going to pull a fast one on us.

ethank

I bought a snagging list from https://www.snagging.org and did it myself.

MadelinesMum

northerneng wrote: »

Could you give us an idea of the sort of things that you had missed?

Hi, the things I missed weren't major too major:
Sink in wc was at an angle so water gathered around taps

Step in kitchen was wonky and broke tiles. Turned out they hadn't tiled right to the edge of the room.

Side Edges to the window ledges on the outside missing on a few windows.

Fence had been broken then just nailed together (badly). First time there was a bit of wind it snapped and blew down.

Kitchen units had odd handles.

There are probably more but most things you can't really notice until you live there.