Snagging

soafloafie

Me and my partner have reserved a new build and had an appointment with the Sales Advisor today who stated we will have a home demonstration which is the only chance we will get to snag the property. This has concerned me a bit. I was wondering if there's any advice around this?

We are thinking of hiring an external company to complete the snagging for us which I mentioned to the Sales Advisor who basically brushed it off and said there is no point to it and there shouldn't be any snags to find which increased my concerns further! 

Has anyone only had the time of the home demo to snag their property? I understand it has to be done prior to moving in the property.

Racky_Roo

Snagging doesn't need to be done before you move in. Most developers will give you a time period to report issues so find out what they are and then make sure the snagging report is sent over before then.

I had a snagging survey done about a week after I moved in - there isn't that many companies around so book ahead. It has 43 issues but about half were so minor I didn't even bother to tell the developer, the others weren't that major but good to get fixed. I think it depends on how fussy you are and if little things would bother you.

The benefit to the survey is the issues are found quickly as the snaggers are specialist so they check things which might take you months to find yourself and by then you may have missed the deadline for submitting issues. It's also easier to forward everything on at once rather than drip feeding as you find them.

daveyjp

Check out new home snagging videos on youtube so you have a basic idea of what to look for.

TuppenceWorth

Am I the only one to misread the title of this thread on initial glance? 😐

ComicGeek

Don't be pressured - there will always be things that you can't possibly spot until you move in and start using things. 

We only noticed after moving into a new build that the ceilings didn't have final coats of paint - there were lots of pencil circles indicating all the areas that needed repair/repainting, and only noticed them when laying in bed without the lights on and in natural daylight...

This is a basic snagging sheet from NHBC  https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/content/assets/nhbc/homeowners/moving-in/view-the-new-home-checklist.pdf - personally I would use a more detailed one, but this is a good start.

[Deleted User]

If they are saying that's the only opportunity to do snagging then it's a scam. The fact that they want to "demonstrate" it to you is a huge red flag too - they want to distract you and then get you to sign off so you can't complain later.

They either need to agree (in writing) to a long period after moving in to do snagging, or you should ask for you deposit back.

peter3hg

You can raise snags up to 2 years after completion for anything that doesn't meet the NHBC requirements (or equivalent new home warranty provider).
Obviously though the NHBC requirements may not cover the more minor stuff and the longer you leave it, the less likely they are to agree that things like paint damage were present at completion so most recommend to get a snagging survey within 2 weeks of completion.

You will be sent the HBF Customer Satisfaction Survey 8 weeks after completion and then have 12 weeks to complete it. You will probably find that the developer is more responsive to resolving snagging in this period than after as they want you to submit a positive survey.

TripleH

Even then, snagging can take time.

We moved in in October and had raised issues a month earlier that even now still haven't been fixed.

I would tell the sales rep that you don't accept that term and will advise your conveyancer that it is to be removed from your contract.

We had friends move into a nearly new house that the previous owners had for 3 years from new (but lived abroad and were rarely there), they found a number of issues then that would have only come to light after a period of living in the property that would have been picked up on snagging (according to plumber who came to fix them).

GixerKate

You will be able to report snags up to 2 years after the property was purchased, I've been in my new build for just over a year and am still reporting snags.  Its not a 'can only do one snag list' its more a case of keeping an eye on settlement and other things and report as and when the issue occurs, up to 2 years.

Willis75

I had mine snagged a week after moving in. 128 snags. Lots af major issues. Not bothered about some minor issues. Several breached NHBC and one breached building regs.

Would definitely recommend. I used Homesnag who are the only RICS registered snagger .