What would you do in our situation?

TBagpuss

What is the problem with the road not being tarmacked? Do you just not like how it looks, or do you have other concerns?

Other than not having somewhere to dit, what's the problem for you personally with the 'green' area not being finished? Is it in your line of sight from your home?

Personally, I wouldn't have bought in the first place but having bought, I would not sell now as you'd probably lose a lot of money - if you like the house itself (presumably you do, since you chose it) and the wider area, stay put and think about what you ca do to counteract any specific issue the delays cause. For instance, if the lack of green means you have a view of raw earth, consider whether planting something attractive in your garden to screen the view would improve things (or if you prefer, invest in a big sack of grass seed and pop out with a rake and some seed in your spare time )

If the situation with the road surface is actually causing problems (for instance, damage to vehicles) then raise this with the developers directly - see whether there is any short term action they can take. Check what your contract says

dlmcr

This kind of stuff is pretty usual in new developments, things are going to look "raw" for a few years until plants grow, houses become establised and things get finished off. New build price will always be higher than second hand houses so if you want to move now it is likely you would make a loss. Regardless of how it looks do you enjoy being in your house or are you looking at things like no bench on the green being code for the fact that you don't really enjoy your new house?
Is the green and the final layer of surface in the detailed planning proposals. Did you consider clubbing together with your fellow householders and getting a bench for the green ( a layer of tarmac is pretty pricy though and may be stretch). I suspect your problems may be minor in the grand scheme of things...

Cakeguts

You bought a cheap house on a cheap estate in a not very desirable area? The builder is having trouble selling the other houses because many people don't like the area that the houses are in? You knew all this though because you chose this house. You also chose the house without the roads or the green being finished so if it didn't bother you then why is it bothering you now? New housing estates take time to finish. Depending on the size this could be many years. You often pay a premium for a new house so you don't get your money back when you sell.

I don't understand what has happened to make you not like the actual house anymore. Roads are often left like this on housing estates and they aren't going to do the landscaping until the whole estate is finished. You will either have to wait until the whole estate is finished or sell at a loss.

Sheep

Wow some fantastic points of view.

The only downnside to thr green area is that we were originally told this would be completed last year and now we are told itsnyears away. The kids cant really play on it at present.

In terms of the road the main issue is that im not sure I trust the builder to ever finish it.

Thanks everyone

Sheep

Just an update on this. Again looking for your thoughts please.

There has been alot of interest in the houses since I last post and 4 houses have sold in the last couple of days leaving only 4 left before the remaining phase 1 has been built. The builders sale lady believes she rest will sell fairly quickly.

Now what I would like to know your thoughts on is.....

I have just found out the builder is now building huge blocks of flats in a near by student town and this is taking all his time and (i believe) funds which now means he isnt building the rest of phase 1 or phase 2.

So what does that mean for us? I dont trust the builder one bit and it appeara he is waiting for the remaining 4 houses to sell and then we simply wont hear from them again leaving is with no top layer of the road/paths/parking areas etc. The green open area will just be left. The area seperating phase 1 and where phase 2 should be is seperated by a tiny little fence which looks very untidy. The sales lady are saying another builder will probably buy the land for phase 2 and build (my builder doesnt own that land but did have an agreement to buy).

When the planning permission was granted I am sure it stated on there that they had to complete the open area in order for permission to be agreed. Also I am sure it stated 22% of the houses had to be social housing but that hasnt happened either as they are not building any further houses.

What is to stop the builder selling the remaining houses and not completing our estate? The council are saying no agreements are in place regarding the road.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

S

TBagpuss

When the planning permission was granted I am sure it stated on there that they had to complete the open area in order for permission to be agreed. Also I am sure it stated 22% of the houses had to be social housing but that hasnt happened either as they are not building any further houses

Well, step one would surely be to look up the palnning permission and see what it says, and whether you remembered correctly, and likewise with your contract.

You could then contact the planning office with your concerns.

Mrs36

I would be contacting your local councillor and or MP to see if they can lean on the builder a bit. I know an estate here was left unfinished and our local MP sorted it pretty quickly (any excuse for a photo op in the local paper :rotfl:)

Crashy_Time

Penitent wrote: »

I wouldn't sell in that situation because I wouldn't be willing to swallow a (potentially large) financial loss just because there was no bench on the green. I'm not you, though.

If you're completely miserable and are willing to take the hit, then market the property, but be prepared for the fact that in addition to the loss, it may also take a very long time to find a buyer.

But that isn`t the reason they are looking at a large financial loss, the reason is the credit markets/economy/Brexit etc.? I would sell now if you can.

Sheep

For me I dont thinkit would make sense to sell right now. I have been thinking it over. The fact that there are still 4 homes left to sell would make mine more difficult to sell and I would have to significantly lower my price. If there are no further houses left to sell and the street was full then surely I can get a better price for mine of someone wants to live here.

In terms of planning permission that is my next step. If the roads get finished the estate will look beautiful and Im confident of a good resale price. I just dont trust the builders to sell the remaining 4 and then never see them again

Cakeguts

The builder's job is to build flats, houses, student accommodation etc. If he builds some houses somewhere in a not very desirable area and they take a long time to sell he isn't going to hang around waiting for them to sell he is going to continue building somewhere else that is his job. He also isn't going to finish road and green areas on a half finished estate. He will wait until the estate is finished otherwise the road could be come damaged by heavy machinery and the green areas could become churned up. For health and safety reasons he doesn't want children playing on green areas when there is heavy machinery moving around so he isn't going to create those play areas until the estate is finished.

It is quite possible that the roads won't be adopted by the local authority until the estate is finished and that is when the road will get their top smooth surface.

You bought a new house on a new estate. When you bought your house you knew that the estate wasn't finished. You also knew that you had bought a new house in an area that wasn't very desirable you would have been able to tell this by the price of your new house. The builder isn't in control of how many houses sell his job is only to build them. If the estate had been in a very desirable area it would have sold easily. The fact that it hasn't means that there are a limited number of people who want to live there or who can afford to buy the houses. What the planning permission said we don't know because we haven't seen it but health and safety means that you can't have children running about over a part built housing estate. If your children need to play somewhere they will need to use your back garden. Unless the green space is going to have children's play equipment on it, it isn't designed to be a play space for your children it will be an open space for anyone to use and they don't want to be disturbed by lots of children running round if they want to sit in peace on "the at the moment missing bench."

The green space is just that it is a green space it isn't a play ground. If you have a back garden then your children play there. If the back garden isn't big enough you should have bought a house with a bigger garden or take the children to a local park where there is a children's play area. Lots of new estates have open green spaces they are not play grounds. The play areas have play equipment in them. The green spaces are for anyone to enjoy. The original plan of the estate that you looked at before you decided to buy your house will have the areas that will contain children's play equipment marked on them. These will not be installed until the whole estate is finished.