House builder won't allow snagging prior to completion

[LookingForInfo]

First time poster here.

I am thinking of buying a new build home - one of the questions I asked is whether we could have our own snagger look around prior to completion.  It was a firm no, we could only appoint our own snagger after completion.

As someone who is risk averse I am not particularly happy with this.  Equally though, playing devil's advocate they will no doubt sell the house regardless (it's the last one) so it probably doesn't make sense for them to sell to someone who is going to do snagging before completion and then potentially pull out or renegotiate.

I just wondered what people thought about this, since it says on this site (and others) to appoint your own snagger before completion.

I also wondered what experience people had viewing their property as it's in the process of being built.  They did say they would take us around the site during the build but I didn't ask how often or in how much detail.  My main fear is sinking my life's savings into something that is "unseen" and then walking in on the day of completion and finding lots of disasters.

Thanks

[New Home Expert]

Be afraid, Be very Afraid!
There is nothing wrong with being risk adverse. 

The question to ask the housebuilder is WHY can't I have my own professional inspect my house before legal completion?   It is soon to become a legal right, but as I understand it is not at the present time.

My guess is there are worried the inspector will find hundreds of snags, defects maybe even something serious and expensive to put right, all of which they don't want you knowing about until after they have all of your money.  Then, they can fudge, delay and deny and make you fight to get your quality new home rectified to the standard you thought you were buying.

In addition, buying the last house on a site is bad because all of the trades and site manager will  be gone very soon after you move in and you will be forced to deal with the regional office who always seem to find it mostly beyond them to arrange for trades to come back to fix issues when they say they will.  You will also be paying top dollar for it!

[Willis]

So at the end of the day, the builder is shy when it comes to dealing with a snagging list. What is stopping the homeowner giving the builder a cut off date to put things right and if not, inform the builder you will get trades in to put them right yourself, send them the invoices and if not paid, take them to court?

I also note :New Home Expert that you say section 5.2 of the Code states the builder must liaise with the home owner's expert, but this appears to be after one has moved in and is experiencing problems. If I am incorrect, please explain why, thanks.

[New Home Expert]

You can give all the deadline dates you like and when they fail to do the work try taking them to court.
It will take many months and cost a lot of money with no certainty you will be successful in getting judgement.

Why buy a new home when it is clear the housebuilder isn't proud of his quality and they won't let it be inspected and checked until after they have your money?  Do you need more of a red flag?

Who is the housebuilder?

[Willis]

Thank you for your reply. If you wouldn't mind explaining as I requested in my previous post why you can invoke that particular clause please?

Why would it cost a lot of money to take someone to the small claims court? No one can recover their fees unless unreasonable behaviour comes into play and each side pays for their own legal costs. Yes it will take several months to get to court but in the meanwhile you have had trades in to rectify the issues.

[New Home Expert]

Clause 5.2 of the soon to be defunct Consumer Code for Home Builders states:
Page 28
Requirement: The Home Builder must co operate with appropriately qualified professional advisers appointed by the Home Buyer to resolve disputes.

This would in my opinion, include snagging inspectors and allowing them access prior to legal completion.
It is also soon to be a legal requirement and included in the new Code of Practice which replaces the Consumer Code for Home Builders.

There are limits of the amount you can claim in the small claims court.  Housebuilders could drag out the process and your own legal costs may be high.

[Willis]

£10,000, small claims limit. One would assume this should cover most things unless house actually falling down.

Wouldn’t cost me a penny as I would represent myself and also fee exempt.

A while ago you actually replied to a post advising the poster to take the builder to court just as I am suggesting. Why the change of mind?

[New Home Expert]

£10,000, small claims limit. One would assume this should cover most things unless house actually falling down.

Even the proposed New Homes Ombudsman upper claim limit id £50,000 and that is not high enough to cover serious defects.
If you are only talking about snagging issues even £10,000 could be eaten up quickly.
Perhaps you should read this post"
http://forum.brand-newhomes.co.uk/snagging-and-defects/asbestos-under-turf-in-garden/msg5493/#msg5493

Wouldn’t cost me a penny as I would represent myself and also fee exempt.

"Anyone who represents themselves in a court has a fool for a client"

A while ago you actually replied to a post advising the poster to take the builder to court just as I am suggesting. Why the change of mind?

I cannot recall very reply I have made or what advice I gave at that time. Clearly any advice given would be based on the individual buyer's problem.  It is always better to avoid any court proceedings and these should be viewed as a last resort.

[LookingForInfo]

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate it.  Unfortunately, snagging turned out to be the least of our issues.  They attempted to coerce us into using their preferred solicitor, so we walked away (and never heard from them again).  It cost us a fair bit of time, effort and heartache, but fortunately nothing lost financially.

I will make a separate post about it.

[shipova]

Thanks for posting.
Planning to buy a new build and reading this has been really helpful.

[New Home Expert]

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate it.  Unfortunately, snagging turned out to be the least of our issues.  They attempted to coerce us into using their preferred solicitor, so we walked away (and never heard from them again).  It cost us a fair bit of time, effort and heartache, but fortunately nothing lost financially.

I will make a separate post about it.

Who was the housebuilder by the way?

I am so pleased you walked away no harm (financial) done after the builder tried against their own Code to force you to use their choice of solicitor.  It is high time this was made illegal.  It makes all the advice and information I have provided here and on my main website Brand New Homes and my New Home Blog over the years worthwhile.

[LookingForInfo]

Who was the housebuilder by the way?

I am so pleased you walked away no harm (financial) done after the builder tried against their own Code to force you to use their choice of solicitor.  It is high time this was made illegal.  It makes all the advice and information I have provided here and on my main website Brand New Homes and my New Home Blog over the years worthwhile.

It was Bloor Homes.  I will make a separate post detailing the whole sorry affair.