Persimmon house

[John D v2.0]

Sounds awful. Although regarding the pot thing some trees and plants should only be planted still in the pot otherwise they'll take off like a rocket and fill your garden. We had the same confusion in our garden (not a new build) and the neighbour mentioned why it is.

 

[Notch7]

he roof has a flat 1 foot approx walk way round the base of the tiled roof part.

The box gutter is incorrect. It should sit lower so the tiles finish over the box gutter which should be deeper - exactly like a normal gutter.
Underneath the tiles there should be lead flashing or some of the box gutter material running up the roof.

Box gutters are prone to leaking during snow because they get filled up with snow drift.
Same problem with leaf build up.

Housebuilders are driven by shareholder profits. Completion dates are achieved by taking shortcuts, there is a desperation to convert houses into money, they dont care if that means years of remedial works.

 

[billyb24]

Sounds awful. Although regarding the pot thing some trees and plants should only be planted still in the pot otherwise they'll take off like a rocket and fill your garden. We had the same confusion in our garden (not a new build) and the neighbour mentioned why it is.

We could not see the trees prior to moving in as next door was being built, the boundary fence was 6 foot into my garden as they had scaffold up. When I moved in the fence was in the correct position, it was then we could see the trees. They were dying or dead. They were Red Robins full of a leaf disease. We did not agree to buy a dead hedge. There were smaller type trees in the front. My garden boundary was shortened to match plans. Whoevever dug these trees/shrubs up by chopping all the roots off. They then stuck them in my now smaller front garden. Needless to say after a week they were dead.

 

[billyb24]

The box gutter is incorrect. It should sit lower so the tiles finish over the box gutter which should be deeper - exactly like a normal gutter.
Underneath the tiles there should be lead flashing or some of the box gutter material running up the roof.

Box gutters are prone to leaking during snow because they get filled up with snow drift.
Same problem with leaf build up.

Housebuilders are driven by shareholder profits. Completion dates are achieved by taking shortcuts, there is a desperation to convert houses into money, they dont care if that means years of remedial works.

The second roofers installed a membrane running from under the coping stones, down the inside of wall, across the flat part and slightly under the tiles I believe.

The debris did gather up, in summer it turned to the green slimy mess, then when it rained enough, this would flow out and down the white render because there was a slight gap between the exit box and the roof. Water would also run down the back of drainpipe, hitthe fixings and spread dirty stains everywhere. The downpipes are not straight, they are warped, touching the render in multiple places.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Watchdog on BBC 1 might be interested, they often run features on this sort of thing.

It reads like a complete nightmare, you certainly have my sympathy - horrible situation to be in, when there is so much money involved.

If you are buying on a mortgage, might the mortgage company have an interest?

 

[billyb24]

Watchdog on BBC 1 might be interested, they often run features on this sort of thing.

It reads like a complete nightmare, you certainly have my sympathy - horrible situation to be in, when there is so much money involved.

If you are buying on a mortgage, might the mortgage company have an interest?

I have no idea if the mortgage company which is Natwest would be interested, able or willing to do anything.
I've wrote to Watchdog, no reply.
It certainly is a nightmare and ongoing.
My house is cold and draughty, so it probably has not got the correct insulation etc.
these developers can do what they like as long as they keep donating to the political parties and pulling the strings.

 

[catlad]

That roof was obviously beyond their pay grade unfortunately for you.

 

[Leofric]

these developers can do what they like as long as they keep donating to the political parties and pulling the strings.

I also sympathise but probably best to avoid these sort of controversial statements ! I had water coming through my bedroom ceilings from dummy chimney stacks on my new house and was having trouble getting it fixed until I rang a local councillor , who was also chairman of the district council planning committee, and lo and behold scaffolding started going up within about 3 days, the stacks were taken down and rebuilt with a dpm across the brickwork. If John Bloor is still owner of Triumph I would write to him ?

My developer(he owns Triumph motorcycles) deny liability for everything. Said my house was sold as seen, meaning in there eyes it came with all these faults.

That can't be right.

They even lied to LABC saying I got a discount to accept these faults.

After a long battle and going through LABC they finally accepted the render cracks, roof problems and DPC levels were structural and needed fixing.

Defects reported to the builder during the defects liability period don't have to be confined to structural matters
Can you mention the name of the developer/builder

 

[billyb24]

I also sympathise but probably best to avoid these sort of controversial statements ! I had water coming through my bedroom ceilings from dummy chimney stacks on my new house and was having trouble getting it fixed until I rang a local councillor , who was also chairman of the district council planning committee, and lo and behold scaffolding started going up within about 3 days, the stacks were taken down and rebuilt with a dpm across the brickwork. If John Bloor is still owner of Triumph I would write to him ?
That can't be right.

Defects reported to the builder during the defects liability period don't have to be confined to structural matters
Can you mention the name of the developer/builder

It is the company owned by the guy who owns Triumph. My MP did nothing to help me when I complained to him and cc him on lots of emails.

Developer said to LABC I got a discount to buy the house sold as seen with all the faults. The solicitor confirmed to me in writing this was not true.

I have so many other things wrong or that have been wrong.

I did write to all the directors of this company, they refer you back to the local office and the run around begins all over again.

They even tried to blame me for delaying works.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Developer said to LABC I got a discount to buy the house sold as seen with all the faults. The solicitor confirmed to me in writing this was not true.

In which case, the developer will have a piece of paper with your signature on it, which indicates you accepted it with the faults. That seems very unlikely indeed that they could even sell a house with such major faults. I suppose a deal might have been possible where a house has very minor cosmetic faults.

 

[Leofric]

New houses are not things that are 'bought as seen'. Possibly try a local councillor in the building control local authority area. Keep your records of the faults and take photos. Sounds like it might end up as a legal wrangle unfortunately.

 

[billyb24]

In which case, the developer will have a piece of paper with your signature on it, which indicates you accepted it with the faults. That seems very unlikely indeed that they could even sell a house with such major faults. I suppose a deal might have been possible where a house has very minor cosmetic faults.

On their sales order/deposit form it says sold as seen. There are no terms and conditions or a description to say what sold as seen meant.

The developer blamed the solicitor for not doing their job, the solicitor blames the developer for going back on their word. I have all this in writing.

I asked the sales team what sold as seen meant, she lied saying it meant the cooker, lights, fridge which were out of warranty were not covered but everything else - the faults would be fixed for moving in.

My rental was ending, I was excited about the new house, I had no reason not to trust or believe what they said. The site manager lied to me.

I now know every house on this development that has some flat part on their roof have had problems. There is one other house on my street with my roof, he has had it repaired completely 2 or 3 times before I bought my house. They knew there were problems with these roofs. When I look closely at the ceiling and walls I can see where it's had touch ups, probably where it leaked.

The amount of inconvenience and upset this has caused is unreal. The amount of hours taken off work for repairs, half the time they haven't turned up. Developer sent 5 separate contractors out over several months to quote for groundwork. They all said the same to me, deck needs ripped out, all levels lowered and drainage added. Developer then disagrees with these quotes and drags it out for months and months. In the end they agreed the deck was wrong/rotten. I ripped it out for them so the scaffold could go up again. Now I have a swamp in the back garden because the water won't drain through the clay.

 

[billyb24]

New houses are not things that are 'bought as seen'. Possibly try a local councillor in the building control local authority area. Keep your records of the faults and take photos. Sounds like it might end up as a legal wrangle unfortunately.

I had someone I'll not name come out from building control from the council. I showed her all the ongoing issues. Pointed out all the ground levels were incorrect, stating it should not have been signed off. When I spoke to her on the phone she agreed to bring a copy of the sign off sheet. As she was getting in her car to leave she handed it to me.
Guess what.... She was the one who signed it off. Apparently she went on the sick and now works in a different dept. their building control won't reply to my emails.

I have kept every email, there are hundreds. I have hundreds of photos and videos too.

I have a voice recording of one of the sales team agreeing with me that they said all would be fixed. I caught up with him in the street when they had sold the last house. My phone just happened to be in record. The site manager was there too, he heard him say his boss had agreed for if all t be fixed. I emailed the developer informing them I had this recording and I've used it to write down notes. I asked for a meeting with the boss and this salesman. Their response, we as a company don't condone these underhand tactics etc, you have breached hispersonal data protection etc and we will not have a meeting with you. They made out I was in the wrong and had done something terrible. They always try to blame me. I asked them for a schedule of works for this job, I asked at least 5 times over 7 months. They never sent one. Then they sent an email with a start date. I said I want the schedule of works before agreeing. They send another email saying as I'm not allowing access they will take this as I do t want them to do the work and will cancel. Trying to blame me because they had failed to send what I asked for. Perseverance paid off, I got a vague schedule of works. And now they are attempting the work at possibly the worst time of the year weather wise.