False advertising? Already exchanged contracts - Any advice?

emjaybeee

lee111s wrote: »

Explain how it adds value because of the colour of the brick?

There's no way they'll change it. It's a brick wall, if it was bright green I'd uderstand but it's brick wall.

As for the first picture, that'll be for illustration purposes only and unless you were told that it's exactly who it would look when it was built, including the colour of the wall, you're not going to get anywhere.

Looks like you're out of luck, but really, it makes no difference.

There's houses on my estate the same colour brick as yours, their gargen walls however are the same colour as my house, which is thr same colour used on the wall you're unhappy with and it's never once occured to me "that looks out of place" or "that house is worth less than mine because thier wall is a different colour.

The problem is we're the very first house into the estate so it has made our property look disconnected from the rest of the estate.

Your last paragraph is subjective.

The colour of the wall would have been from that spec and that's what we were told.

Consumer code quote below:
(See 3.3 below).
Minor changes which do not significantly and
substantially alter the size, appearance or value of the
Home should still be notified, but the Home Buyer’s
agreement is not required.

We weren't notified.

lee111s

It doesn't affect the appearance or value of the home though. The wall is not the house.

Were you told specifically that the wall would match the house?

emjaybeee

lee111s wrote: »

It doesn't affect the appearance or value of the home though. The wall is not the house.

Were you told specifically that the wall would match the house?

We bought the house off the CAD drawing which they were fully aware of.

The wall is part of the house. We own the wall half way up to the second property even if it doesn't look like we own the wall.

You can't see from the photos the over all visual impact of the property which now looks odd. The photos may not ultimately demonstrate the shocking contrast of the two colours.

Friends and family have even approached us and advised it looks rather odd.

It looks like the same spec property which is next to us in red is more value than ours. It gives it a stronger presence on the estate, ultimately adding value to their property or devaluing ours.

G_M

kinger101 wrote: »

In the same way I'd expect someone in a shoe shop to sell me two black shoes rather than one black and one brown. It's not rocket science.

Errrr, no.

If the shoe shop sells me a pair of black shoes, there is no reason the shop cannot sell a pair of brown shoes to the next customer, even if that customer is sitting next to me at the time.

emjaybeee

G_M wrote: »

Errrr, no.

If the shoe shop sells me a pair of black shoes, there is no reason the shop cannot sell a pair of brown shoes to the next customer, even if that customer is sitting next to me at the time.

We are more than happy with the colour of our brickwork. That is not the issue. We were aware of both properties having a different colour brickwork.

The issue is the colour of the brickwork.

kinger101

G_M wrote: »

Errrr, no.

If the shoe shop sells me a pair of black shoes, there is no reason the shop cannot sell a pair of brown shoes to the next customer, even if that customer is sitting next to me at the time.

I wasn't implying the houses were sold in pairs. More that the brick house should match the brick wall. The CAD drawer could see the the harmony in having the wall and the house the same colour. Why not the the builder?

stator

I agree it does look crap, I wouldn't be happy with it. I'm afraid I don't know if you have a hope in hell of getting it changed though.
Rendering the wall and painting a neutral colour would look best for both houses.

jamie11

'Reputable builder' = 'One that agrees with me'

sinizterguy

emjaybeee wrote: »

Isn't the picture and the spec of the house enough to go off? The picture clearly shows the brick wall is the same colour as the house.

No. No more than the model show home is demonstrative of what you get inside the house.

emjaybeee wrote: »

Would you personally move into the house with a red brick wall attached to your Cotswold style bricks?

If it came to that, yes. I have been picking houses based on travel time to work for both of us, child care, local amenities, etc. The colour of the wall was not a factor that played into it - at all.

emjaybeee wrote: »

Just bear in mind we cannot change anything for 5 years on the estate.

Those are the terms you signed up to. It's neither here nor there.

You can try negotiating with the builder, or threatening them. I don't think you have a leg to stand on or that they will change it.

stator

http://imgur.com/a/BANak