Advice on buying a brand new home > General discussion

Meet the Site Manager

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246980uk:
Hi Vineet,

How did your Options meeting go and have you moved in yet? I was wondering if you could share your experiences of Loddon Park here as we are considering purchasing one of the plots there!
Thanks.

vineetpanicker:
Apologies for the late response but unfortunately we still haven't moved in while the promise was made around June 2014. We are now being promised a date of Oct 24th 2014. So, please plan these delays in advance. I am not sure how we are going to be compensated for this. I had instructed them that we would rather wait than getting a house that is finished just for meeting a timeline. All the discussions I have had on these forums including with the Site Admin have been helpful and I have used their comments in my discussions throughout.

The options meetings went well. The sales/front-office staff at Loddon Park have been very helpful, yes their attitude will change slightly when you have confirmed the deal as they generally get busy with sales but it's a tough job they do as well. The real pain is with the several sub-contractors they employ who while constructing the house cause damage as we have noticed in our own house. These however will be caught as part of snag check.

Neighbours have reported several snags but all of these are being looked at by Taylor Wimpey, none denied so far.

VP

New Home Expert:
It really comes to something when, despite having an agreed building programme, the site and regional offices cannot forecast a completion date to the nearest month, or as in your case three months!  I would be very concerned about their ability to organise anything!

This is a clear breach of the requirements in the Consumer Code for Home Builders:

"Requirement
The Home Buyer must be given reliable and realistic information about when construction of the Home may be finished, the date of Legal Completion, and the date for handover of the Home.

Guidance
a) Information given to the Home Buyer before Exchange of Contracts
You should warn Home Buyers that weather and other matters beyond your reasonable control make the time needed to construct a Home difficult to predict.
It is unreasonable to give or expect to be given a definite date months in advance; however, certainty should increase as the Home nears completion.
What you tell the Home Buyer about when the Home is likely to be ready will depend on what stage it is at when you provide the information.
3.2 Timing of construction, completion and handover.
You may follow your own process and methods. However, you may wish to use the following approach:
* Before completing the foundations and ground floor - give the calendar quarter when the Home is likely to be ready.
* When the roof is completed and the building weatherproof - give the month when the Home is likely to be ready.
* When the Home is decorated and main services are connected - say what week the Home is likely to be ready.
The construction stages and time periods will vary according to the type of development; for example, whether you are building flats or houses."

All the house builders signed up for this and most don't follow their own rules and requirements.
Make a claim to the CCHB using the adjudication scheme, especially if you have lost out financially.

As for sales, of course they will be "helpful"  they are selling to you and will get commission on anything you buy, the home, the extras, the mortgage, carpets, curtains etc etc.
It is not a tough job!  A monkey could sell a new home at the moment. People are queuing up to buy because of "Help to Buy"
The site manager (if done properly) is a tough job!  They can work from 7am to 5pm not 11am to 6pm like sales! 
most drive for an hour or more each way too.

Finally all new homes should be snag and defect free. 
Clearly, from what you have said no care is being taken by the trades on site to protect their work and the work of others. 
But.......Taylor Wimpey selected these companies and the site manager should be properly managing them and if they cause damage they need to be charged.  It soon stops when the individuals have to pay!
It is because this is not being monitored, and homes are not being properly snagged (at every stage) that those buying Taylor Wimpey find no end of issues once they move in, defects that should never occur.

vineetpanicker:
Thanks a lot NHE for analysing my experience. I will raise these issues in my next meeting with them. I am sure you have given me a contact for a professional snagging expert!

I guess sometimes our patience and softness is taken for granted.

New Home Expert:
Yes I did!
Professional Snagging Inspector
Martyn Maxwell of Brickkickers
Mobile: 07711 381939
Telephone: 0845 226 6036
E mail: martyn@brickkickers.co.uk
Website: www.brickkickers.co.uk
Please remind him I recommended him to you!

Good luck with the new home and remember to be firm and stick to your guns.
"The squeaky wheel gets the oil"

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