About to complete but........

gazter

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Are you using a solicitor who you independently identified and instructed, or are you using one that the developer recommended to you?

Sounds like a kickback solicitor, dependent on leads from the builders. Most solicitors would have been telling the builders to pull their finger out, and that there is no way that they will be advising their client to complete in the current condition.

Would a mortgage company be happy about completion without a working bathroom or kitchen on day of completion?

Slinky

Are you taking photos of the property with all the stuff yet to be completed? I'd have emailed the one of the unconnected toilet and asked the solicitor which pot she expects you to p!ss in when you move in?

notanewuser

G_M wrote: »

But your last sentence makes no sense.

The 'fabric' of your friends' house was completed. It was the carpets, garden, decor that was the problem.

I class fitted carpets not needing to come out as the fabric of a house if I'm moving into it. Not being able to unpack in any rooms but bathrooms and kitchen isn't exactly "ready to move in". Neither is having to move out for a fortnight while the completely replaster, paint and recarpet, or being unable to use the garden because the whole thing is being raised and returfed, replanted and repaved. Okay, the house wouldn't have fallen down, but they weren't ready to complete!

Vampgirl

notanewuser wrote: »

I class fitted carpets not needing to come out as the fabric of a house if I'm moving into it. Not being able to unpack in any rooms but bathrooms and kitchen isn't exactly "ready to move in". Neither is having to move out for a fortnight while the completely replaster, paint and recarpet, or being unable to use the garden because the whole thing is being raised and returfed, replanted and repaved. Okay, the house wouldn't have fallen down, but they weren't ready to complete!

We completed on a house with no carpets and with a garden just a patch of mud (as did pretty much everyone else in our road). OK we chose not to pay the developer for those things, but anything that is an option shouldn't really prevent completion. We thought it'd be touch-and-go for a while whether they would manage to finish tiling the kitchen floor in time, but it never occured to us to not complete because of that.

But belfasgal's problems do seem a little more serious if the bathrooms and kitchen aren't done and there's no safe access to the house. I would have thought these kind of things would be covered in the CML/NHBC/Building Control final inspection though. And as far as I know most mortgage companies will not release the money until the house has been signed off - belfastgal hasn't mentioned whether this step has happened yet.

G_M

notanewuser wrote: »

I class fitted carpets not needing to come out as the fabric of a house if I'm moving into it.

You can, of course, class anything you like as constituting the 'fabric of a building'. Whether anyone else thinks likewise, particularly the ourts, is another matter.

Carpets are not, in legal or construction terms, part of the fabric.

mumps

notanewuser wrote: »

Okay, so good friends are relocating across the country and opt for a new build house. It was due to be completed in March this year. That became April. Then May. They finally get the date in June and it's all systems go. They complete and pick up the keys and discover that someone has walked gloss paint right the way though the house. "No problem," says the site manager "we'll replace them. And we'll landscape your garden for the inconvenience." New carpets go in 3 days later. The carpet fitters damage the first plaster and paint on the walls and skirting as they do. "No problem," says the site manager "we'll send someone in to sort that out."

So they don't unpack and they keep the kids out of the way while the plaster gets patched up in all but 2 rooms (the plaster wasn't right anyway so it all got reskimmed) and then again a week later when the painters return. The painters get paint on the carpets in 3 rooms plus the stairs. "No problem," says the site manager, "we'll clean them." They can't clean them. "No problem," says the site manager, "we'll replace them." And so on. Oh well, at least the garden was landscaped. They move out at great inconvenience for 2 weeks while the things get sorted out.

They return to discover that their garden fence, previously 6ft tall, is now over 10 ft tall. Next door weren't happy about their sloping garden so they built it up on that side and raised the fence without a mention to my friends. When they pointed out that it was unacceptable (and not covered by planning permission) they were told "no problem, we'll raise your side too." Another week of disruption as their lovely new garden was destroyed in the middle of summer and raised by 2ft, then re landscaped.

This is without all of the normal snagging, by the way. They've been there 6 months and still have tradespeople in every week sorting something out. Their stuff is still in boxes. All because the builder wanted completion before their year end. This is a £600k house.

So make sure the fabric of the building is sound before you complete whatever you do.

I think my bloodpressure has gone up while reading your post, I don't know how your friends must feel as I feel stressed out just reading that.

notanewuser

mumps wrote: »

I think my bloodpressure has gone up while reading your post, I don't know how your friends must feel as I feel stressed out just reading that.

They weren't good. It's getting better. They were annoyed because they hadn't sold their house here so there was no need for them to be uprooted and move into an unfinished house with 2 small children. The site manager confessed that they had told head office they needed another month but they wanted completion by year end so pushed them into it.

Just makes you wonder why the contractors weren't able to do a good enough job first time though. They've had to have electrics replaced, curtain poles (fitted as part of their compensation) fell off the walls without a curtain even being wafted in their direction, the outdoor security light was fitted backwards so it shines into the bedrooms instead of over the garden. It's seriously hopeless.