Linden Homes - Feedback wanted.

New Build Inspections

arunakb

New Member
There is photographic evidence of what clearly is structural damage to the brickwork of this Jerry built house. Linden Homes just do not want to know.

The exterior damage to the property has also manifested itself significantly inside the property. This can be seen by cracks in the plaster work in almost every room throughout the property which first appeared very shortly after purchase. This has gradually got worse and was reported to the Linden Homes Site Foreman. However, it was asserted by him that the house was simply “drying out”. A few months after purchase skirting boards throughout the house moved to such an alarming level that several tubes of caulking were necessary to conceal the unsightly mess. Again, this was reported to the Site Foreman but this was met by a refusal to investigate and rectify matters. A recent inspection has revealed that this issue has started up once again. These matters form part of a catalogue of problems which arose very shortly after purchase. The first issue was discovery by my tradesman that Linden Homes contractors drove a nail through a skirting board and into a gas pipe. But for the fact that I was laying oak flooring down this wholly negligent act would not have been discovered until what would have been inevitably a fatality.

There have been numerous other issues from water damage on a number of occasions due to slap happy plumbing workmanship to problems with electrical installation works.

Clear evidence has also recently emerged of door frame movement which compounds my belief that this is not simply a snagging problem but amounts to a serious underlying structural problem.

Very recently it was necessary to instruct a plumber to rectify a leak from under floor pipe work due to negligent installation works which has caused water damage to a ceiling in the property. Linden Homes really must realise this issue is not going to go away. I just wonder how many homes on this new development have similar issues. Time will tell.
 

DonKiddick86

New Member
Have lived in two new Linden homes in North Yorkshire to date, the first was a rented house in Bedale on 'The Nurseries' site (2 bed Dalton housetype). This site started out as a Shepherd Homes site until Linden purchased their housebuilding business. We were extremely happy with this site. There were teething problems but nothing that was a real problem. The house design was inherited from Shepherd homes and was a strong feature, and in my opinion, Linden's new house designs aren't as good.

If I was to pick fault, I would say that:
Some of the door internal door latches could have been fitted much neater
The upstairs store cupboard door wasn't a great fit
One or two window sills weren't finished well in terms of paint coverage

I didn't raise any points with Linden as it wasn't my house, and probably would have anyway really. Our landlord did say that Linden had agreed to turf the rear garden but didn't, but if it were me I would have got that in writing - as should he.

We went on to purchase a 3 bed Hampton house design on Linden's Marne Grange. This site was also a Shepherd Homes site that was not started but had planning, and so the Hampton is also a Shepherd Homes house design. Great layout and design with storage and 3 double bedrooms, rather than pokey box rooms. Decent-sized integral garage at 9 x 17ft. We bought this house during the later stages, so we were able to get much better idea about the quality of fit and finish, and the size of the drive/plot. I would never ever buy off plan, even though I once considered doing so - I wanted to see what the actual house and estate look like, and more importantly, I wanted to look at the finish. I come from a family of (great) builders and so I know what looks right.

In my experience, estates can have a totally different look and feel once they are built, when compared with their image on the site plan. Some plots which I thought that I would really like, I have hated once driving back at a later date. You might find that the drive is on a slope for example. Our current estate has a spacious feel with a wide road and longer front gardens - much more spacious than our previous Linden site in Bedale.

We are really happy with our house, and are glad that we bought it. No real issues to speak of here, the painting could be better in places, but it is by no means unsightly or splattered over the walls. This will obviously vary immensely from one site to another. Linden Homes do seem to have much more of a standardised spec than other builders. Taylor Wimpey noticeably cheapen the spec of their houses in less-desirable areas. A Fairfax home on our site is circa £260k, yet in the desirable village of Morton-on-Swale, they are priced at circa £380. Yet aside from the Kitchen carcasses, the rest of the house is the same, such as taps, bathroom suite, taps, doors, door handles.

New-builds in this area and also showing increases in value when placed on the market, with pre-owned houses selling for often 10k or more above their initial purchase prices, even though other new-builds are still being sold.
 

hangemhigh

New Member
Bought a linden home on the cincinatti site birmingham , felt from the start we had been rushed in and started the snagging from day one. Many issues all over the house that gave the impression everything had just been thrown in fitted where it fell and painted, the stairs rails are way out of alignment as the posts have not been set right. Doors are either cut downs or fitted in a 50mm frame of foam, the standard of work is appalling and so onto the main feature the tiling is a total disgrace and when asked to replace this utter shambles of shoddy work the tiler reply was i did it in the dark, more like with both eyes poked out began the task to remedy his attempt at tiling. What a mistake that was returned home to find an even worse mess of a tiling job than before onto the so called brains behind this outfit only to be told the industry standard was far lower than i expected, it was like blaming the passengers for the sinking of the Titanic. I WOULD NOT BUY A LINDEN HOME AGAIN .
 

DonKiddick86

New Member
Unfortunately, whilst it is not acceptable, there is a lot of variation of quality/finish from one site to another, and from one house on that site to another. The standard of building is never going to be what it once was as the country just doesn't have the same standard of pride, work ethic, training or ability anymore - perfection doesn't exist anymore, or at least amongst 90% of the tradesmen/women. My father is a joiner, and my grandfather was too, they have both made strains, cabinets, windows etc in years gone by working in a joiners' workshop. People call themselves a joiner today because they can fit a pre-fabricated MDF door casing following an apprenticeship where they watch others fitting these same casings. This is however the case for any property where building work is carried out; cowboys can also be found working on old properties as well as new ones.

My house isn't perfect, but I do believe that I have got as good as I could have bought in today's market. The standards set by the NHBC/builders aren't very high, and so that has a lot to do with the variations in quality.
 

hangemhigh

New Member
My site agent gave the we cannot get tradesmen anymore speech and seemed quite resigned to the fact, wish they would put that in their brochure when all that was presented was glossy images and perfect houses. This outfit behave like the old gypsy gangs that tore your drive up demanded large amounts of cash and scarpered to their next victim, surely this is not how every builder works using the might of the big company against the little dreamer who wants a nice house.
 

hangemhigh

New Member
Cincinnati bungles

My site agent gave the we cannot get tradesmen anymore speech and seemed quite resigned to the fact, wish they would put that in their brochure when all that was presented was glossy images and perfect houses. This outfit behave like the old gypsy gangs that tore your drive up demanded large amounts of cash and scarpered to their next victim, surely this is not how every builder works using the might of the big company against the little dreamer who wants a nice house.[/

Quick update
If only they put the problems right as fast as they throw these houses up. All gone quiet on the western front with no response to my snagging list and can only assume that the caravans have left town.
 

brooky

New Member
We've had a fantastic experience with Linden Homes. They have gone above and beyond and we are delighted with our house. Some of the contractor work is a bit shoddy in places but they have done all they can to put it right.

I think with any developer it all boils down to the quality of the site managers. We got lucky as a customer of "The Boulevards, Northstowe, Cambridgeshire".
 
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