Worth hiring a snagging company for a new build house?

[Deleted User]

Hi all, 

I am in the process of buying a new build house in London and developer has confirmed that they did not compile a snagging report when the property was finished. I viewed the show home (which had furniture etc) and only did a quick walk around of the actual (empty) house I am purchasing and I am wondering if it worth hiring a snagging company to do a more detailed check to ensure toilets are flushing, water is running and the fittings and finishes are ok? I have found a company called 'New build inspections' online who seem to have very positive reviews on Trustpilot and are charging £350 including VAT which seems reasonable. 

Thanks in advance

theartfullodger

I would, initially report just for your eyes, and also (before you read their report) do your own: Then compare. And then you do it again 3 days later. £350 against price of house in London? Cheap.  I'd not trust developer further than I could throw them, and I've a bad back.

Alter_ego

Saint4805 said:

Hi all, 

I am in the process of buying a new build house in London and developer has confirmed that they did not compile a snagging report when the property was finished. I viewed the show home (which had furniture etc) and only did a quick walk around of the actual (empty) house I am purchasing and I am wondering if it worth hiring a snagging company to do a more detailed check to ensure toilets are flushing, water is running and the fittings and finishes are ok? I have found a company called 'New build inspections' online who seem to have very positive reviews on Trustpilot and are charging £350 including VAT which seems reasonable. 

Thanks in advance

You'll soon realise if the toilets are flushing and water running, lights working, sockets, built in appliances working. Hopefully you'll see any cracks, damage, wonky walls. etc etc. What do you think a snagging company will add?

TonyJ2021

We bought a new build back in 2013 and both my partner and I are not very good when it comes to DIY, so didn't know what we should be looking out for.  Fortunately, we had a member of the family who was part of the 'new build trade', so to speak, and was quite happy to do a walk round for us. He picked out quite a lot of things that hadn't been completely properly, from poorly finished paintwork to gaps in the mortar on the external brickwork.

Most of the work we identified was quickly rectified by the developer and didn't cause us any delay moving in. The only thing I would say is, you could have to wait longer to move in, depending on what snagging, if any, needs to be rectified.

I would recommend it personally. Like my uncle said, you wouldn't buy a car that hasn't been finished to a high standard, so why should it be any different when buying a house!

Titus_Wadd

Can anyone recommend a snagging firm in the Durham area? 

Worth doing?

yllop1101

My parents brought a new build this year with a small 'luxury' developer and the list of snags he found was huge. Some a really 'minor' details which you may never notice or care about, e.g. extractor fan in kitchen in x decibels louder than it should be, but other things were important to them, e.g. poor quality tiling in the bathroom, shower leaked.

The only thing to note is you can often only do this after exchange, so you'll be faced with a long list of snags but be legally required to complete the purchase, so leverage is still somewhat limited. However, you're covered by your warranties etc for certain things.

I think it's worth the money to have an official person list and compile a report, which you can just handover and ask for the issues to be sorted, rather than discovering snags in dribs and drabs as you live in the house. 

[Deleted User]

Snagging inspection all booked for next week. £350 for a 2 bed new build house in London which involves 2 hours of inspection work plus a final report including photos and written findings. Seems like excellent value to me and gives peace of mind knowing that the expert knows what to look out for. It would likely cost a lot more to get Tradies out to fix any issues post completion/exchange. 

Owleyes00

Alter_ego said:

Saint4805 said:

Hi all, 

I am in the process of buying a new build house in London and developer has confirmed that they did not compile a snagging report when the property was finished. I viewed the show home (which had furniture etc) and only did a quick walk around of the actual (empty) house I am purchasing and I am wondering if it worth hiring a snagging company to do a more detailed check to ensure toilets are flushing, water is running and the fittings and finishes are ok? I have found a company called 'New build inspections' online who seem to have very positive reviews on Trustpilot and are charging £350 including VAT which seems reasonable. 

Thanks in advance

You'll soon realise if the toilets are flushing and water running, lights working, sockets, built in appliances working. Hopefully you'll see any cracks, damage, wonky walls. etc etc. What do you think a snagging company will add?

A lot of housing associations have a policy where they will only make repairs for free of faults are reported within a certain amount of time after completion. Sometimes this is very short, maybe 24 or 48 hours. A snagging report would identify anything in time to be reported so that the OP would not need to pay for the repairs 

Racky_Roo

One further tip, I moved into a new build in Dec and used a snagging company. One thing I have noticed is a few extra things have cropped up since the snagging was done like the front door needing adjusting and the screws in the ceiling joists now visible due to settlement so ensure when you hand over the survey you make it clear to the developers that's what was picked up there and then and others may come along later and you'll let them know. It doesn't seem possible to pick everything up straight away if the house is literally just completed as it needs time to settle before you see some issues

plucas9

Titus_Wadd said:

Can anyone recommend a snagging firm in the Durham area? 

Worth doing?

Sorry to just wade in so late in the day. Did you go with anyone in the end? I'm currently on the same path 

980233

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6308138/new-build-snagging

How many threads?