New build persimmon home, plagued with mold.

mikeyranson

Asking on behalf of my daughter.
She purchased a new 1 bed flat from persimmon and had an inspection before handover was carried out. The property was full of snagging issues including patio doors and windows in wrong rooms being the first of serious snags. All the rest were cosmetic and bad quality of workmanship on various parts of the property.
She had not signed the contract until those issues were dealt with. There was a water leak from the flat above that was hidden and she found alot of mold inside the kitchen units. Site staff informed and said they would take the kitchen out. They did this and behind the kitchen units, there was  carpet of mold on the back wall. When i saw the pictures, i'm no expert but i stated that is more than a water leak, that is something more serious. The mold had spread on the skirting boards working away from the kitchen units.
Long story short, when she was on holiday for two weeks, persimmon said they had cured the mold and fitted another new kitchen. When she went to the flat to have  alook, she said that the mold was already back inside the kitchen units. The builders are saying to buy a dehumidifier which i said they should be supplying but i am not convinced as the source of the mold needs to be dealt with which they have not. I think they have just painted over and hidden it away again.
She has already started paying mortgage payments where persimmon say they will re-reimburse for the period she is not living there. 
They seem to be trying to wash their hands of the problem as after another week, still nothing has been addressed. She has booked a surveyor to inspect and hopefully will find the problems.
what are her options? she still has not signed the contract.
Can she cancel her mortgage and walk away?
persimmon are slow on their complaints and not responding. 
Can she contact NHBC and will they take up the case.
any suggestions or good advice to fight persimmon on.
Persimmon has an appalling  record of shoddy build and ignoring new buyers of their homes.
many thanks

Okell

I think you might get more relevant and helpful advice on this board:  House buying, renting & selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Probably easiest if you report your own post (red pennant flag bottom left of your post next to Quote and thanks) and ask the site team to move the thread

MorningcoffeeIV

mikeyranson said:

Can she cancel her mortgage and walk away?

No, absolutely not. If you tell her to do that, her problem will be many, many  times bigger than currently.

She needs to pursue her complaint with Persimmon in the first instance.

p00hsticks

I don't understand why she has started mortgage payment if you say she has not yet signed a contract. 
Has she actually completed the purchase of the property ? 
Who has the money provided by the lender that she is making mortgage payments on ?

RefluentBeans

p00hsticks said:

I don't understand why she has started mortgage payment if you say she has not yet signed a contract. 
Has she actually completed the purchase of the property ? 
Who has the money provided by the lender that she is making mortgage payments on ?

Think the top paragraph of snagging issues were reported prior to signing a full contract. They completed the snagging issues, and OP’s daughter signed the contract. 

Then some time later mould appeared and they replaced the kitchen, and reimbursing the mortgage payments whilst it’s being repaired and non-liveable. 

OP - I Agree with Okell - you’ll likely get general consumer advice here. Potentially some specific advice but the best bet is to post in the homes forum. I’ll mark it to be moved, but likely won’t happen til Monday so could cross post there to expedite the process. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Could she seek advice from her conveyancing solicitor?

eddddy

mikeyranson said:

She has booked a surveyor to inspect and hopefully will find the problems.

That's a sensible way forward.

However, has she booked a 'proper' RICS building surveyor (who will probably be charging her a few hundred pounds)?

As opposed, to googling 'Damp Survey' and finding a damp proofing company - who might be offering a free survey.

'Damp Surveys' by damp proofing companies generally have a terrible reputation. The 'surveyor' is typically just a salesperson with very limited knowledge, whose main goal is to sell as many of their services as possible. (And 'proper' surveyors would often say the 'salespeople' make the wrong recommendations.)


Once she a has a survey report from a RICS surveyor, she can discuss it with the developer.

MSE_ForumTeam5

Moved as suggested

ProDave

More information please.

What is the layout of the flat? does the kitchen have a window? Are the trickle vents on the window open?  does it have a more sophisticated mechanical ventilation system (fans in simple language) are they being used?

But more importantly, this wall with the mold, what does it back onto?  another flat?  an outside wall etc?

Any other damp or mold issues anywhere else in the flat?

I assume we are talking about this time of year?  e.g not particularly cold outside and heating probably not needed so even an outside wall you would not expect to be cold enough to cause problems.