Unfinished development

AVB_31

Sort of secure but having this 5 metres from our house  four years on  is depressing and stopping us being able to sell. 

OldMusicGuy

Basically you are the mercy of the developer. We were nearly in a similar situation, buying the third house on a development of three. We were told it would be completed by late 2019, it is scheduled for completion soon. It's about 15 to 18 months behind schedule, there were so many excuses for the delays. In the meantime, occupants of the other houses are living on a building site. We backed out of the purchase for a bunch of reasons but we felt sorry for the people in the other houses that were in a similar situation to you, although there is an end in sight for them.

Like others said, there is very little you can do, apart from maybe complaining to the council about the safety of the site like edgex says. You could also check the initial planning approval to see if there were any conditions imposed on the developer (check your local planning portal) that might give you some grounds for complaint.

AVB_31

If we could get them to give us some indication when they might resume building it would help - the first house was build six years ago. It’s hard to understand why they are not selling them - they are worth about £1.6m. There has to be a financial motive but it seems very unfair that a developer can make us live like this. Light at the end of the tunnel would be good!

justworriedabit

Anyone reading this thread. Be aware of the dangers of buying before built or as worrying is like the OP's example.

We know someone that bought on a gated estate - they  one of the 30 odd detached houses and it was one of the top 3 or 5 houses - abot 20 were semis i think - they moved in and it was several years later than anticipated that scheme was completed. To add insult to injury they decided not to build a few semis and detached houses but instead  2 small blocks of flats.
We were last there a couple of years ago, area looks nice and people living in the flats and semis look like professionals and in the det houses familys with nice 4x4's etc but it could have been worse.

OP, there is not a lot you can do and it may cost you loads to get nowhere far.

justworriedabit

AVB_31 said:

If we could get them to give us some indication when they might resume building it would help - the first house was build six years ago. It’s hard to understand why they are not selling them - they are worth about £1.6m. There has to be a financial motive but it seems very unfair that a developer can make us live like this. Light at the end of the tunnel would be good!

IMHO the highlighted bit, if you do get it it won't be worth the paper its written on.
If time was not of the essence re all completions then there is little you can do other than to sell and move. Yes, there will be a line of buyers there are the right price.

comeandgo

Are the builders trading as a ltd company?  I would have a look on companies house and see how profitable they are, it might give you an idea as to whether your situation could be over soon due to their financial situation being dire.

AVB_31

They are trading as a limited company, 100 shares and both are directors. Unfortunately we can’t sit it out and will have to sell at a big loss which we can ill afford. I just don’t understand how a developer can get away with this sort of practice. Once they eventually finish this site, assuming they do, they’ll be legally allowed to move on and do the same to other people.  We may invest a bit consulting a solicitor specialising in property. 

GDB2222

Scotbot said:

So the father and son own 3 of the 4 houses and live in 2 of them, 1 is empty and you live in number 4.  If the father and son are not developing the site what are they doing all day? How are they earning a living? It doesn't sound as if they are wealthy given their sparse accommodation. Why isn't number 2 up for sale? It all sounds rather odd.

If you like the house why not pay to have some of the rubble cleared up and a bit of landscaping done? It will cost less than losing 100k. It may even help you sell

I have to say that's the obvious solution. A few £k, at most, I guess.  

We have a house in Norfolk. Behind the house is quite a large field, owned by some builders. Every year, they build a couple of houses, then sell them off. They regard it as their pension. They've been at it since 1980, and I reckon they've at least another 10 years to go. When we got our house, it backed onto a field that we knew would be built on, so no complaints. In fact, we had rural views for around 20 years longer than we had any right to expect.

AVB_31

The main issues are the mess, and the lack of neighbours. We don’t want to continue to live in (un)splendid isolation, that’s why we we brought the promise of a development of six family sized homes. The builders won’t let us do anything to tidy the site outside of our own property boundary, even if we were willing to. it’s like they want to keep it a mess - whilst still charging an annual covenant, albeit not a very big one. 

davidmcn

AVB_31 said:

We may invest a bit consulting a solicitor specialising in property. 

With the aim of doing what? Your rights begin and end with what was in your purchase contract and what the title deeds say. I doubt there's going to be anything there which will help you.