10/03/2023
Some Considerations For New Build Purchasers.
Over the past few months of surveying new build properties, we have seen a huge variation in the quality of a build. The following highlights a few of our findings that may be beneficial when choosing or buying a new build property.
The quality of a new build home is not solely down to the reputation of the builder. Ultimately it depends upon which site it is on.
One of the very best, and the absolute worst houses we have seen, was built by the same builder but on two different sites.
A substandard home is normally down to a poor finish. Usually this is the result of one of two reasons.
REASON 1 – Time Constraints
Either the developer is behind and the mortgage offer of the purchaser is running out, or the developer is approaching an end of year, bonus or reporting period.
Over the last Christmas period this was very evident. One builder, with two brands, was behaving despicably.
One new home owner was threatened with their home being put back on the market if they did not complete before Christmas., another that was forced to complete, had to wait with removal wagons outside until they were given the keys at 6pm, at which point the decorators left leaving all the gloss work wet.
In many of these similar cases the houses had large amounts of unfinished work. This is despite many new purchasers offering the builder more time to complete work before completion. The builder did not take this opportunity and now families are living in unfinished homes with large amounts of ongoing work.
A sample survey of this time period can be downloaded from our website
https://newcastlesnagging.co.uk/
Some times customers are invited in to the property for a home demo before completion. If you are offered this, take it. It will give you a good indication as to whether your new home will be finished on time. If it is full of workmen during the demonstration and you are a week away from completion, the chances are its not going to be finished properly.
REASON 2 – Quality of Management and Tradesmen
On a modern site the operational site team has less influence over which subcontractors they use. These are normally appointed by the Quantity Surveyors who’s remit is to make as much money as possible. This is false economy as the cheapest is not the best or most reliable.
The quality of management is directly related to the quality of finish and aftersales care.
When visiting a site, if it looks tidy, safe, well maintained and the roads around site are kept in good order, then there is a very good chance that the end product will be good.
One of the best houses that we surveyed was on a site where the site manger had purchased a house for himself! He would not want to live amongst dissatisfied neighbours.
When visiting a site, look at the quality of the earlier completed homes, look at the brickwork and groundworks. If presented well then this is a good sign.
THE POSITIVE SITUATION
Its not all doom and gloom out there, most homes we inspect are of a good or very high standard. A well-managed, on time site allows the site team to inspect and resolve their own defects and ultimately deliver a good product.
Once your have snagged your new home and issued the list to the builder, your biggest asset to getting the snags completed is the filling in of the client satisfaction survey.
If you have any questions or would like to book a snagging inspection, please call 07764787284
Newcastle Snagging Offers Professional Inspection Services in North East of England. Buying a home is often the single biggest financial purchase you will ever make. Therefore, it makes sense to have it thoroughly and professionally examined to check compliance and finishing standards. Defects that....
