Persimmon new build...advice needed.

New Build Inspections

ADAM001

New Member
Hi,

My wife and i are in the process of a part ex with persimmon,we have reserved the plot,and the house is pretty much complete,as it being used as a show home,athough not in the classic sense - i.e its just been decorated,carpeted and turf laid - and as part of the deal we are getting the carpets and garden thrown in - we really like the house but iv'e already noticed a few snags,which when i asked the sales advisor about them he assured me that they haven't snagged the house yet,and they will be sorted by the time you have your new home demo some time before handover,two of the snags are really bothering me as its a french door not closing and the master bedroom window doesn't close properly and you can literally poke your finger through the gap - theres a few detials on the finish im not happy with also - i was told last week by the sales advisor that they were coming to sort the french doors and window on thursday last week,i was back round there Saturday just gone and they were not done,i asked again and the sales advisor said "havent they? - they will most likely do them next week" now i'm worried that they wont be sorted in time for completion,and im reluctant to exchange contracts until they are resolved - ive contaced a snagging surveyor who say the best time to snag is AFTER exchange,which concerns me - as at that point i have no way out of the deal if im not happy and lose any leverage i have,because as its stands i am not satisfied with the finish of the house - all i have is assurances that it will be done by the sales advisor.
Should i have cause for concern ?I do realise that snags are inevitable but i at least expect the doors and windows to close properly.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Adam.
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
The home you are buying is called a "View Home" a show home without furniture.
So this is a home that Persimmon are using to show people what they build and have to offer and the sales advisor is claiming it hasnt been properly snagged yet!!!!!!
This is nonsense as all show homes and view homes are thoroughly snagged several times by both site, sales and their respective managers.
Not only that but show homes are snagged on an ongoing process to ensure they are always "in tip-top condition"

My guess is this is a home they have had trouble selling and is a stock unit that sales need to shift to meet their end of year figures.
This is why they have added carpets and turfed the rear garden as it makes the house look better.

By the sounds of it, you are already experiencing broken promises with regard to fixing some quite bad and obvious snags and an appalling level of customer care.
The 'best time' to snag a new home is thoroughout the build process!
But failing this a new home should be snagged by anyone thinking of buying it, as soon as possible, you certainly do not need to wait for exchange of contracts when it will be too late!
People don't wait until they exchange contracts to get s structural survey on an older house do they?

Assurances by sales advisors mean nothing. They will tell you anything to buy time to get a sale reservation or exchange.
The house is supposed to be finished.
You do have genuine cause for concern. If you buy this house I doubt you will be happy.
Clearly it has so much wrong with it and beacuse you are being messed about already, you should walk away.

Don't believe what anyone promises - actions speak louder than words and a lack of action speaks volumes about their customer care!

You may like to get your existing house valued by three local estate agents, I think you may find the offer you got was well below its true market value.
 
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ADAM001

New Member
Certainly food for thought - heres a bit more info - Persimmon have offered us 5k less than market value,which seemed reasonable to us,they have marketed it at 15k less than they have offered us and an offer has gone in from a buyer and been accepted,so our house is as good as sold.
I spoke to new build inspections and they have said the best time to snag a propety is after exchange,as at this point NHBC have signed it off as saleable,i would ideally like a snagging inspector in there before exchange,so at least i can refuse to exchange until issues are sorted,it seems the only way sensible way to me,i was also considering a retainer in the contract until all issues are resolved.
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
Certainly food for thought - heres a bit more info - Persimmon have offered us 5k less than market value,which seemed reasonable to us,they have marketed it at 15k less than they have offered us and an offer has gone in from a buyer and been accepted,so our house is as good as sold.
I spoke to new build inspections and they have said the best time to snag a propety is after exchange,as at this point NHBC have signed it off as saleable,i would ideally like a snagging inspector in there before exchange,so at least i can refuse to exchange until issues are sorted,it seems the only way sensible way to me,i was also considering a retainer in the contract until all issues are resolved.

New Build Inspections should know better! You don't need to wait until it is "signed off" by the NHBC. All that is needed is for the home to be completely finsihed before a professional snag is carried out.
If you tell the site manager that a copy of the snag list will be sent to the house builder's regional managing director, then you can be sure that your home will be 100% finished when you get it snagged!

However, if your house is not yet built you are normally have to exchange of contracts within 28 days.
In this case you will have to exchange without snagging being done before as the home will be finished.

I agree in your case I would refuse to exchange until snagging is done or as most buyers should; not complete until all issues are resolved.
Keeping back a retainer would be legally complicated (perhaps expensive) and no house builder would allow it.
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
If i pull out of the deal,can Persimmon pursue me for Estate agents fees as they have accepted an offer on our property,or can we walk away now and just lose the reservation fee?
How would this work in a part ex situation? I presume we can pull out at anytime before exchange?

If your existing home being part-exchanged has not sold, that is Exchanged Contracts with Persimmon or whoever they have sold it on to, then of course you can pull out anytime before "exchange".

You may find you could be persued for some expenses although Estate Agent's fees are not payable on sales that "fall through" anyway and your reservation fee should cover most of the rest of Persimmon's costs.
My advice is talk to your soliciotr before doing anything.
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
I have been in new home 7 months and have to chase up snags every month, most of the time without even a reply. After sale service is a shambles and After sale 'care' is non-existant as they dont care. I would never buy or advise anyone to buy a Persimmon home.

This is typical! Why dont you give Persimmon's CEO Mike Farley a call on his mobile phone 07957 837442
His e mail address is mike.farley@persimmonhomes.com
They pay him £1,900,000 a year.
Make the Farley earn his keep - bombard him with complaints!
He should and must start to get involved.
 

Emmaelsewhere

New Member
Adam,
Did this get resolved? We are going through something similar just now with persimmon. We have a home which was previously landscaped etc for the previous reserved, who 'had to relocate' so pulled out. They r now insisting on leaving a snagging clause in the missives and our solicitor is not convinced about it.
Did u move forward with the purchase? Any advice great fully received.

Thanks,
Emma
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
Unless someone (the previous reservers) actually lived in the home Persimmon are still liable to all and any snagging works.
You would be mad to sign anything that lets them off the hook!

However, if Persimmon are referring specifically to works that the previous purchaser arranged and got their own contractors to carry out before they moved in,
then Persimmon are quite right to want to specify that they will not be responisble for any defects arisng from this work.
No one would want to undertake repairs and snagging on work they have not been responsible for.
The rest of the home would still be Persimmon's responsibility though.

You should be able to play 'hard-ball' with Persimmon as they are nearing their 'end of year figures' date (31 December) and will be keen to get the sale on the books.
 

Emmaelsewhere

New Member
Thanks for your reply.
All work has been completed by persimmon, this is not something that they are saying because the property was previously reserved but a clause in their 'standard' missives.

We are hoping they will cave (as you say the year end is coming up and if they are confident on their build quality, it shouldnt be an issue), if they don't cave we will be homeless and house hunting again i think!

Thanks,
Emma
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
This is ridiculous!
Persimmon cannot wriggle out of their responsibilities under 2-year (snagging) new home warranty just because the home in question was previously reserved but never occupied.
Let's face it if this was possible, they could get everyone on site to "reserve" every plot then after a week cancel.

If you do go ahead, make sure you get your new home PROFESSIONALLY SNAGGED and inspected and re check any work has been done before completing the purchase.
I hear warning bells!
 

alex1templeman

New Member
Don't do it

This is ridiculous!
Persimmon cannot wriggle out of their responsibilities under 2-year (snagging) new home warranty just because the home in question was previously reserved but never occupied.
Let's face it if this was possible, they could get everyone on site to "reserve" every plot then after a week cancel.

If you do go ahead, make sure you get your new home PROFESSIONALLY SNAGGED and inspected and re check any work has been done before completing the purchase.
I hear warning bells!


Emma, my advice would be to walk away and find another property. Seriously, once they have your money, they don't give a fig. Over a year I have been in mine, and I am still ongoing with snags, every month something else comes up. Some have been very major ones, like my electrics not controlling the heating property, my solar panels wired up incorrectly, leaks from bathroom through fire alarm downstairs, boiler housing done so that you can't actually get the boiler cover off!!!! Windows that have scratches in them, still waiting a year later for these to be sorted. This is to name just a few of the things wrong with my property. Their customer service is atrocious. One minute they get back to you, and the next cannot even be bothered to email you back.

Walk away.
 

ADAM001

New Member
We did end up going through with the purchase,all the initial snags were dealt with within our first week of moving in,the site manager came in and sorted them,however I found,whilst in the loft,that it was soaking with condensation,I found a bathroom extract vent not connected! Got site manager in to re connect it,but my loft insulation is soaked,SM says not to worry as it will subside and the moisture is not excessive,I'm not so sure...there are other things I'm chasing up,but after a couple of weeks in the house the speedy repairs seem to have dried up,pity my loft hasn't,am I wasting time phoning and accosting SM -should I be now logging snags and writing in to customer service,are Persimmon legally bound to address snags and issues with the property?
 
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alex1templeman

New Member
We did end up going through with the purchase,all the initial snags were dealt with within our first week of moving in,the site manager came in and sorted them,however I found,whilst in the loft,that it was soaking with condensation,I found a bathroom extract vent not connected! Got site manager in to re connect it,but my loft insulation is soaked,SM says not to worry as it will subside and the moisture is not excessive,I'm not so sure...there are other things I'm chasing up,but after a couple of weeks in the house the speedy repairs seem to have dried up,pity my loft hasn't,am I wasting time phoning and accosting SM -should I be now logging snags and writing in to customer service,are Persimmon legally bound to address snags and issues with the property?

Yes they do, you have two years to get snags sorted out. They won't do anything they claim is normal wear and tear if that makes sense, but to be honest, the majority of what you will call them back for won't be normal wear and tear!!! We had the stench pipe come disconnected up in the loft, when we went up there to find out why we were getting a horrible damp patch in our en-suite my other half found the stench pipe lying on the loft insulation, like you, it was soaking wet. We have managed to reconnect it, and they have wrapped tape around the seal!!! ha ha but the classic thing is, it is meant to go straight up into the roof, but nope, ours comes out of ceiling into the loft and then digresses off at an angle and then another one - oh and then goes out of the roof!!!! unreal

Oh forgot to say, yes start logging emails, letters, do not ring unless you back it up with written proof!!!!
 
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NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
We did end up going through with the purchase,all the initial snags were dealt with within our first week of moving in,the site manager came in and sorted them,however I found,whilst in the loft,that it was soaking with condensation,I found a bathroom extract vent not connected! Got site manager in to re connect it,but my loft insulation is soaked,SM says not to worry as it will subside and the moisture is not excessive,I'm not so sure...there are other things I'm chasing up,but after a couple of weeks in the house the speedy repairs seem to have dried up,pity my loft hasn't,am I wasting time phoning and accosting SM -should I be now logging snags and writing in to customer service,are Persimmon legally bound to address snags and issues with the property?

Not connecting up the bathroom extrator fan shows just how well new homes are inspected these days.
The NHBC inspector must go inot the loft and check it all complies before issuing a final certificate. Clearly he didnt and the Site Manager couldnt be bothered!
If house builders all provided loft laddders as standard this may never have happened.

Do not accept that the roof insulation will dry out over time! It could take years!
In the meantime you will end up with mould and may even get some rot, although roof trusses are supposed to be treated!
Whilst it may be messy, It will probably only be the top layer of insulation that is wet and this should be replaced.
Dont, whatever you do leave the loft hatch open to dry out the roof space - it won't!

You should have written to Persimmon's regional office about all your snags, not just the one(s) the Site Manager isnt doing.
This way there is a written record of all your problems which may be important later on.
At the very least it will alert Persimmon to the problems in the houses they are building.
Whether they do anything about it is another matter!
 

NewHomeExpert

Well-Known Member
We had the stench pipe come disconnected up in the loft, when we went up there to find out why we were getting a horrible damp patch in our en-suite my other half found the stench pipe lying on the loft insulation, like you, it was soaking wet. We have managed to reconnect it, and they have wrapped tape around the seal!!! ha ha but the classic thing is, it is meant to go straight up into the roof, but nope, ours comes out of ceiling into the loft and then digresses off at an angle and then another one - oh and then goes out of the roof!!!! unreal!

Sorry but you are not correct.
The Soil Vent Pipe (SVP) quite often reaches the vent tile by going off at an angle. It would be almost impossible to position the vent tile directly under the SVP for each house variation.
In addition, quite a few SVP are located at the eaves which would not give any headroom to connect the pipe to the vent tile without using bends and pipe.
What has propably happend here is that either the adaptor (elephants trunk) was not properly secured with the large steel ring or the bends and SVP extension pipe where not fixed and supported by the roof timbers.
I agree using tape is a bodge job. When the loft gets hot in the summer the tape will dry out and it will detach again.
Your SVP goes through the roof? This is quite old fashioned! Most are vented using in-line or button ventilation tiles. Much neater.
At least you have complained in writing (havent you!) so there is a record of the potentially failed rectification.
 

ADAM001

New Member
Not connecting up the bathroom extrator fan shows just how well new homes are inspected these days.
The NHBC inspector must go inot the loft and check it all complies before issuing a final certificate. Clearly he didnt and the Site Manager couldnt be bothered!
If house builders all provided loft laddders as standard this may never have happened.

Do not accept that the roof insulation will dry out over time! It could take years!
In the meantime you will end up with mould and may even get some rot, although roof trusses are supposed to be treated!
Whilst it may be messy, It will probably only be the top layer of insulation that is wet and this should be replaced.
Dont, whatever you do leave the loft hatch open to dry out the roof space - it won't!

You should have written to Persimmon's regional office about all your snags, not just the one(s) the Site Manager isnt doing.
This way there is a written record of all your problems which may be important later on.
At the very least it will alert Persimmon to the problems in the houses they are building.
Whether they do anything about it is another matter!

mmmm,ive also noticed my bedroom window sofit doesnt run straight above the window and there is a gap either side could this be contributing to the condensation,you can also see the loft insulation stuffed under the rafter trays and into the sofits,there are also areas of the loft floor that are not covered,whilst most of it is 18in thick,should the loft floor be completeley covered?
 
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