Advice On A Wimpy New Build!!!!

bunking_off

terrierlady wrote:

I think its called Pride in the Job.

Sadly, something missing in my experience and those of other owners on my estate (Wilson Connolly now Bryant, Betts, Ansar).

If our sales lady was rewarded on the same basis as you, she'd get no money : 192 snags, we moved in just before Christmas 2002 and the last of these "snags" (doorframe to be replaced as it's an inch shorter than all the others) is finally due to be completed next Thursday. NB I'm home based so scheduling appointments is rarely an issue. Some street lighting on the estate is only now being wired up, after a campaign in the local press.

Be interested to know how the commission between fault free and on-time stacks up. A lot of the issues with our particular property were because they were desperate to get completion before their financial year end : they actually forced us to take legal possession two days before Christmas. The cleaners didn't turn up so the sales lady earned her salary by assisting me and my wife getting the building crud out. It'd be nice to think we had a uniquely bad experience, but all the hearsay evidence I've come across indicates not. As I said earlier, the labour market in construction is so tight that there's a regular turnover of staff so no continuity = no-one gives a monkeys if only half a job is done.

My house was completed before half of them on my street, and working at home, I had a good view of construction of the others. Laying a front lawn was generally done in approx 10 minutes, and I didn't see *any* of them get watered in, other than by the splendid northern weather.

Hunnymonster

I can only echo bunking_off's comments - I've watched at least 14 houses being built nearby, and having their gardens "done professionally" - and only one of the 6 firms that have been employed has taken the time to prepare the ground ahead of turfing. Some of the others laid it in a dry period (the guys laying it were choking on the clouds of dust from the subsoil - yet I read on the basics section of BBC gardening that you should never lay on dry ground) and watered it for max 30 minutes in full sun.....

Next door's turf has been down for a month, and has curled up at the edges, and when I weeded the perimeter of my patch, I was pulling weeds out from under their turf (as in the top growth, not the roots).

So it's reassuring to know that you have about a 1 in 6 chance of getting a (professional) job done properly (as defined by a basic technique) eh ?

terrierlady

Bit off target here but snag the home at least one week prior to completion and keep two copies one for your solicitor and one for you, fax yours to the developers head office and follow up with a call to the sales manager stating why you will not complete,make sure your solicitor keeps funds back for any snags not corrected.
Each home is built to NH BC standard and the homes are not bespoke.
With our company The site construction manager signs off a home and then the sales negotiator then the new owner, so if he/she gets a complaint against the plot no bonus /commission is paid on that plot.
Yes, Iv worked for some builders who don't care,Iv been told more than once that I am not buying the property but I consider I am the purchasers rep on site and will fight to get the jobs done pre occupation, people pay good money to buy new build and expect value for money and good workmanship.
Sadly reading your valued responses some customers are not getting it.

bunking_off

Thanks Terrierlady.

What you say is indeed what should happen. I only wish we'd had someone like you who was prepared to be so assertive with their management.

To be honest, I think since we moved in the banks have tightened up on what they'll release funds for so a situation like ours would not occur today. I'd also concede that with a house a couple of months late and having spent three months living in my parent's spare room with the prospect of spending Christmas there (both my wife and myself are in our thirties, had previously had a 4 bedroomed house, and all our belongings were in storage), our judgement at the time was somewhat clouded.

However, suffice to say that the advice from our solicitors was that we were not at liberty to reject the property for snagging issues, only anything seriously structural. This meant that the snagging list was enormous, the sales negotiator was not happy at the house being handed over but was over-ruled, and the senior sales staff served us notice to take possession before their financial year end : had we not, we'd forfeit our (either 5 or 10%, can't remember which) deposit. On the day we moved in, my wife and the sales lady were clearing rubble one room ahead of our carpet fitters, who also came physically to blows with the plumbers, who were having to recommission the central heating after the original system had blown the week before because it wasn't big enough. In general houses aren't bespoke, but ours was the first of this particular design that they'd built (Top Tip for original poster - buy one that the builders are used to building!). Ironically, since the company was subsequently taken over, it'll probably only ever be 1 of 2 of this design.

As for doing things a week before, at that stage we weren't allowed in the property without a hard hat, and the plaster was still going on the walls. Oh, and the amusing bit - serves me right for having 3 ensuites, but at that stage they'd fitted the sanitary-ware/tiles from bed 1 in bed 2, bed 2 in bed 3 etc so had to refit all that in the meantime.

I have had correspondence with the CEO of the company in the meantime, but events largely overtook all of that when Taylor Woodrow/Bryant took over and all the involved personnel jumped ship.

Mental note : must remember never to get a newbuild again....

john0612

*GULP* YIKEEESSSSS!!!

And there ment to be hassle free homes lol

terrierlady

as you say tight control needed, in the sales office a build programme is kept and on each stage of build the sales negotiator must check the details, ie correct tiles,in correct rooms, correct number of power points in the right places etc, a weekly site meeting is held with all plots progress being discussed and stages etc,
sometimes when a number of homes are built to the same design the contractor gets lazy and fits the points/etc where they have always fitted them, no more/ no less so again needs chasing up and walls marking,
Your right the developers wear heavy boots and some solicitors do buckle under but yours was right only structural items would stop completion, not having hot water and sanitary wear would also be included, we have had people complete because of year end figures, but we put them in hotels until the home is A1 and/or offer incentives to make this worthwhile.
Yes buying any new home is stressfully imagine doing 20 completions in one month!!!
Perhaps this has shown how our job work, we don't just sit inside and wait for sales we are out up ladders chasing contractors and site managers etc to get you our valued customers a good job at the right price.
Maybe thats way our repeat business is so good ie FTByr now married having brought his 4th home with us,a 5 bed detached with d/garage.

bunking_off

Terrier,

Would agree with you on that. Seemed clear to me on the estate I was on that the rough a*sed builders were definitely more scared of the little sales lady than they were of the site manager...

Personally, I do believe that the situation is symptomatic of a wider problem in society - there's a massive shortage of skilled craftsmen (so they definitely hold the upper hand on site and are unconcerned about keeping their job), which is largely caused by the fact that we're investing in sending all our young people to university rather than training them for jobs where there are shortages. Must put my soapbox away...