New build layout issue found one year after purchase

FirstTimeBuyer_

Hi guys, 

I have got a huge anxiety as when I reserved and bought my house, the plan of the house that was given to me by the developer included en-suite in the master bedroom. At the time I thought that they decided not to build en-suite for 2 bed properties and emailed them after completing asking for the amended plan to reflect the factual layout of my property. Unfortunately I think they simply made a mistake when they were building my house and forgot to build en-suite for it, as initially they marked my house as “shared ownership” on the overall plan, which meant less things included, and perhaps master bedroom without the en-suite is one of the things that separates shared ownership from freehold property. I have looked at my exact model of the house being for sale now, and it clearly states that master bedroom has en-suite, so I feel that I have been cheated on the money I paid for the house that didn’t include en-suite and should have for the freehold property. How can I now get a refund for the missing en-suite? It will be one year in March since I purchased my house.

Thank you for any advice you can give as I can’t sleep at night. 

hazyjo

I'm a little confused. Why have you waited a year? Surely if it was a concern, you'd either not gone ahead with the purchase, or would have asked for a discount before moving in. 

knightstyle

It all depends on the contract you signed with the plans and description.  So have you had a good look at them?
IMO you are not entitled to anything, like the people who bought a new Tesla car last month only to find the price is now some £6,000 less.

powerspowers

I think this is something you should have raised before you completed and don’t think there’s anything you can do now. 

What has changed now and why is it causing you anxiety so much you can’t sleep? Is there another issue going on? I think trying to understand why this is bothering you might help. 

Personally, I think I’d prefer not to have an en-suite in a 2 bed property as it will give you more room and there aren’t lots of people in the property. 

bobster2

FirstTimeBuyer_ said:

Hi guys, 

I have got a huge anxiety as when I reserved and bought my house, the plan of the house that was given to me by the developer included en-suite in the master bedroom. 

So did you buy "off-plan"? i.e. you paid a deposit and exchanged contracts based on seeing a plan that included an en-suite (being legally committed to buy the property from that point). Then perhaps a year later the sale completed - you paid the balance - moved in and there was no en-suite?

If so - when did you exchange and pay your deposit? And when did the sale complete?

FirstTimeBuyer_

hazyjo said:

I'm a little confused. Why have you waited a year? Surely if it was a concern, you'd either not gone ahead with the purchase, or would have asked for a discount before moving in. 

I just wanted to move in quickly, and instead of thinking logically and raising it back then, somehow I thought they changed the plans and no other 2 bed properties in this development will have the en-suite, so instead of raising it as an issue and trying to get a discount I stupidly emailed them with the words “I have realised I am missing the actual layout plan of my house. The one I had initially provided during reservation includes the en-suite in one of the rooms, which is not the case for my house. Can you please provide the updated layout for both, downstairs and upstairs of my house? ” 😭 

FirstTimeBuyer_

knightstyle said:

It all depends on the contract you signed with the plans and description.  So have you had a good look at them?
IMO you are not entitled to anything, like the people who bought a new Tesla car last month only to find the price is now some £6,000 less.

It is all on me then 😭 as mentioned in my response above, I wanted to complete quickly and there was other issues going on with amending T1 etc. and the developers were very unhelpful to me and my solicitor which was already causing delays and stress and instead of thinking straight I just assumed that they changed the plans for every 2bed house. Didn’t even occur to me that the other houses might still have en-suites and mine doesn’t as it was missed. So instead adding it to the list of issues, considering how unhelpful developers were, I just asked them to amend the plan and attached the new one when we were signing the exchange… but I have reserved it originally with en-suite being on the plans and to be build when the house was not finished. 

FirstTimeBuyer_

powerspowers said:

I think this is something you should have raised before you completed and don’t think there’s anything you can do now. 

What has changed now and why is it causing you anxiety so much you can’t sleep? Is there another issue going on? I think trying to understand why this is bothering you might help. 

Personally, I think I’d prefer not to have an en-suite in a 2 bed property as it will give you more room and there aren’t lots of people in the property. 

There is a lot snags that haven’t been repaired and I’ve been trying to get it all done since I moved in. My developer is just very unhelpful and I’ve heard of people from shared ownership properties getting discounts to do new patio simply because they didn’t like it etc. whilst me as a freehold property - I had an issue with slabs being damaged by the paint and they argued with me for months and tried to clean them rather than replacing it. That’s just one example. Now I have mould growing and infestation of tiny bugs due to humid environment in my bathroom due to extraction fan being too weak for no windows bathroom and one of my skirting boards is damaged because of water dripping somewhere around the bath as they didn’t fit the bath and over bath panel correctly and they argued they will not replace the fan for more powerful one. Something that is cheaper than the £1,5k discount they gave some entitled Karen simply because she didn’t like it. ☠️ I also have more snags that they haven’t rectified, but that is the most urgent as I am a clean freak and the infestation of bugs is due to the mould and humid environment not because it’s dirty etc. Now on top of it I found out about other properties having en-suite and it means I paid more for my house than others did as en-suite adds to the value of the house no matter how small it is. (My house is big for a 2 bed as it has 77m2 and I’ve seen 3 bed new builds having only 80m2 or 75m2). 

pinkshoes

FirstTimeBuyer_ said:

It is all on me then 😭 as mentioned in my response above, I wanted to complete quickly and there was other issues going on with amending T1 etc. and the developers were very unhelpful to me and my solicitor which was already causing delays and stress and instead of thinking straight I just assumed that they changed the plans for every 2bed house. Didn’t even occur to me that the other houses might still have en-suites and mine doesn’t as it was missed. So instead adding it to the list of issues, considering how unhelpful developers were, I just asked them to amend the plan and attached the new one when we were signing the exchange… but I have reserved it originally with en-suite being on the plans and to be build when the house was not finished. 

So you wanted a house with an ensuite bathroom, you agreed a price of a 2 bedroom house with an ensuite bathroom, yet you discovered BEFORE exchanging that they had not added the ensuite, yet still exchanged??!?!?!

Essentially you have agreed to not having an ensuite for the same price as one with an ensuite. It would have been sensible NOT to exchange until plans were made to either reduce the price or add the ensuite.

If they'd changed the plan after exchange then you might have some power, but as you exchanged knowing there was no ensuite any more then unfortunately there is nothing you can do.

bobster2

bobster2 said:

FirstTimeBuyer_ said:

Hi guys, 

I have got a huge anxiety as when I reserved and bought my house, the plan of the house that was given to me by the developer included en-suite in the master bedroom. 

So did you buy "off-plan"? i.e. you paid a deposit and exchanged contracts based on seeing a plan that included an en-suite (being legally committed to buy the property from that point). Then perhaps a year later the sale completed - you paid the balance - moved in and there was no en-suite?

If so - when did you exchange and pay your deposit? And when did the sale complete?

FirstTimeBuyer_ you haven't answered this key question. Did you buy "off-plan" with a long time period between exchange and completion?

If so - when you exchanged contracts - you were committed to buying the property - and the developer was committed to giving you the property as described when you exchanged.

Forget about all the other houses in the development. They are irrelevant. The key here is what documentation/plans were given to you when you exchanged contracts?

FirstTimeBuyer_

pinkshoes said:

FirstTimeBuyer_ said:

It is all on me then 😭 as mentioned in my response above, I wanted to complete quickly and there was other issues going on with amending T1 etc. and the developers were very unhelpful to me and my solicitor which was already causing delays and stress and instead of thinking straight I just assumed that they changed the plans for every 2bed house. Didn’t even occur to me that the other houses might still have en-suites and mine doesn’t as it was missed. So instead adding it to the list of issues, considering how unhelpful developers were, I just asked them to amend the plan and attached the new one when we were signing the exchange… but I have reserved it originally with en-suite being on the plans and to be build when the house was not finished. 

So you wanted a house with an ensuite bathroom, you agreed a price of a 2 bedroom house with an ensuite bathroom, yet you discovered BEFORE exchanging that they had not added the ensuite, yet still exchanged??!?!?!

Essentially you have agreed to not having an ensuite for the same price as one with an ensuite. It would have been sensible NOT to exchange until plans were made to either reduce the price or add the ensuite.

If they'd changed the plan after exchange then you might have some power, but as you exchanged knowing there was no ensuite any more then unfortunately there is nothing you can do.

I know it is on me, but like I mentioned those developers were the most unhelpful my solicitor ever worked with and at the time people were fighting for the houses in this area, so if I said I’m not going to exchange, they would sell my house to someone else who was in the queue if that makes sense. It was mental. Not like now when it is easier to negotiate. It was just before the interest rates went up and every minute counted. I would rather buy a second hand house, but there was nothing worth the price as people were paying way over the odds. So in the middle of fighting for changes on the t1 and hearing from my solicitor “ They have emailed back and again refused any changes whatsoever. I am afraid that it is likely you will have to proceed on the documents as they are even refusing to make amendments to the mistakes that they have made on the contract and told me to hand amend them.

 

I do not agree with their stance at all but they are being so rude and unhelpful and we are in their hands.“