Outstanding issues on a new build when it is sold on etc,

Madeinireland101

Hi,
We are in the process of buying a recent new build property (2018) after our offer was accepted. The property currently has tenants.
We are now aware via social media that properties on the same estate (and the property we are buying due to comments from tenants) are having issues with dangerous electrics, squeaky floors, puddles in gardens in heavy rain, glass substandard in the windows etc.
We also think in our excitement we probably overpaid a bit on the property judging from some of the price valuation sites.
How can we best protect ourselves from these issues. Should we insist for example on an electrical test certification? The builders appear to be sorting some of the issues in some of the properties but we are not sure if the seller has pushed the builder on this and has any outstanding work to be done or whether he doesn’t care as he doesn’t live there. The tenants along with some of the other residents have received a letter about the glass but I don’t think any work has been done yet. Can the builders just walk away when the property is sold on? I suppose via our solicitor we could ask about any outstanding issues and we may have to just accept that it will be up to us to fix some of these issues (squeaky floor and Garden for example) if we want the house.

On the possible overpayment I suppose we could react when the mortgage lender has done their valuation depending on what that says and walk away. We were intending to just get the cheap valuation done as it’s a fairly new property but maybe we should do more. If for example the mortgage valuation was to be more than £5k under the agreed price we could threaten to walk unless the seller adjusts price  - losing just the valuation fee and and payments to solicitors at that point if they refused. We don’t think it would affect the mortgage as such as we have a fairly healthy deposit. It would just be frustrating I suppose to start over again.

Any views and experiences of people who have faced similar issues appreciated.
Thanks...

tinytiddles

Most developer warranties are for 2 years so that ship has sailed, but the balance of the NHBC warranty or equivalent would transfer to you as new owner.

Personally I would get a really thorough survey done and take it from there. You can ask the vendor to do an electrical test but they aren’t obliged to - and they will probably be reluctant to because the property should have a valid NICEIC certificate anyway if it is only 3 years old. 

What I would say, as a recent buyer of a new build, is don’t take what is on social media as gospel. You only tend to hear about new builds when they go wrong but for every one or two which are a disaster that developer will be pumping out thousands of good quality ones. Also I would say that people’s expectations can be a bit much as well - definitely lots of ranting on my estate about things that are very obviously the remit of the owner. 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. 

Madeinireland101

tinytiddles said:

Most developer warranties are for 2 years so that ship has sailed, but the balance of the NHBC warranty or equivalent would transfer to you as new owner.

Personally I would get a really thorough survey done and take it from there. You can ask the vendor to do an electrical test but they aren’t obliged to - and they will probably be reluctant to because the property should have a valid NICEIC certificate anyway if it is only 3 years old. 

What I would say, as a recent buyer of a new build, is don’t take what is on social media as gospel. You only tend to hear about new builds when they go wrong but for every one or two which are a disaster that developer will be pumping out thousands of good quality ones. Also I would say that people’s expectations can be a bit much as well - definitely lots of ranting on my estate about things that are very obviously the remit of the owner. 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. 

Thanks - The tenants posted a picture of the main earth connection to the property showing the screws had been screwed into the insulation rather than the actual conductors meaning they that there was no earth protection for the entire property. I’m not sure what actions and follow up there was with the builder on this but it’s a worrying example of why I’d like to know that it’s now been made safe as much as possible. I suppose I could confront with the post to see what action was taken. They obviously must have fixed that issue but what other checking was done at the time and yes it passed its NICEIC testing despite this issue of no earth??? so I’m not sure I fully trust that 😀

eddddy

Madeinireland101 said:

I’m not sure what actions and follow up there was with the builder on this but it’s a worrying example of why I’d like to know that it’s now been made safe as much as possible. I suppose I could confront with the post to see what action was taken. They obviously must have fixed that issue but what other checking was done at the time and yes it passed its NICEIC testing despite this issue of no earth???

You mean confront the builder?  I don't think that will do any good because you have no business relationship with the builder - as far as they're concerned, you're just a random stranger.

And in any case, the builder's warranty probably expired after 2 years - so they have no liability to do anything to the property.

You should be directing your questions to the seller, and maybe getting your own surveys carried out.

If the seller is unable or unwilling to answer questions about the property via solicitors, you have to factor that into your buying decision. e.g. Do you want to reduce your offer because of that, or do you want to walk away, or whatever?

tinytiddles

Madeinireland101 said:

tinytiddles said:

Most developer warranties are for 2 years so that ship has sailed, but the balance of the NHBC warranty or equivalent would transfer to you as new owner.

Personally I would get a really thorough survey done and take it from there. You can ask the vendor to do an electrical test but they aren’t obliged to - and they will probably be reluctant to because the property should have a valid NICEIC certificate anyway if it is only 3 years old. 

What I would say, as a recent buyer of a new build, is don’t take what is on social media as gospel. You only tend to hear about new builds when they go wrong but for every one or two which are a disaster that developer will be pumping out thousands of good quality ones. Also I would say that people’s expectations can be a bit much as well - definitely lots of ranting on my estate about things that are very obviously the remit of the owner. 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. 

Thanks - The tenants posted a picture of the main earth connection to the property showing the screws had been screwed into the insulation rather than the actual conductors meaning they that there was no earth protection for the entire property. I’m not sure what actions and follow up there was with the builder on this but it’s a worrying example of why I’d like to know that it’s now been made safe as much as possible. I suppose I could confront with the post to see what action was taken. They obviously must have fixed that issue but what other checking was done at the time and yes it passed its NICEIC testing despite this issue of no earth??? so I’m not sure I fully trust that 😀

I wouldn’t trust the certificate either if the electrics look dodgy but the vendor will still probably say that it has a certificate and that’s the end of the story. If they or you tried to go back to whoever did the test they will more than likely say that the system has been tampered with since the certificate was issued. The only way to guarantee getting a new test done would be for you to arrange and pay for it with a trustworthy contractor - but the vendor may not grant you access if they know there is a problem and may lose the sale. If the electrics are dodgy as you say then personally I’d be running a mile from this one regardless of the test results. 

tinytiddles

Also - are you absolutely certain that the pictures from the tenant are actually from the property and they aren’t just peed off because they have to move and are putting as many people off as possible to delay matters?

user1977

I would treat it like any other property - you're buying it in its current condition, if you want things like the electrics investigated further, you get your own people in to do it. If anything gets sorted for you in the future by the developers, treat that as a bonus.

getmore4less

New estate lots of outstanding problems not fixed after 2 years.
Walk.t
Still won't be fixed in another 2 years.

You will probably end up starting again with the developer.

At min pause while you get on the social media and make a lot more enquiries.

Check the planning there will be stuff there no one will tell you.

paulj2021

If the tenants are raising concerns to you about the electrics, presumably they’ve raised these issues with the seller/landlord? If so maybe you could ask your solicitor to officially write to the seller, asking what issues the tenants have raised and how the seller/landlord has dealt with them? If their answer is not satisfactory or seems evasive that would help you make your decision?

Madeinireland101

paulj2021 said:

If the tenants are raising concerns to you about the electrics, presumably they’ve raised these issues with the seller/landlord? If so maybe you could ask your solicitor to officially write to the seller, asking what issues the tenants have raised and how the seller/landlord has dealt with them? If their answer is not satisfactory or seems evasive that would help you make your decision?

They haven’t raised any concerns with me but I have seen they have raised some concerns in a Facebook group for the development. I think your suggestion is good so I may try that approach.

Madeinireland101

tinytiddles said:

Also - are you absolutely certain that the pictures from the tenant are actually from the property and they aren’t just peed off because they have to move and are putting as many people off as possible to delay matters?

These issues were raised before the house was put on the market and part of a general discussion on issues found with properties on the new estate.