So you have bought a new house and finally moved in and things are not quite as they should be or perhaps as you were led to believe. You could have used a professional snagging service such as Brickkickers and now you may be starting to realise that this would have been money well spent.
New homes nearly always have something wrong with them. Sometimes called snags but in essence they are defects. There are many reasons why new homes have so many defects, however the severity will be related to the attitude of the site manager and the tradesmen who built your new home as well as the builder's own commitment (or lack of) to quality.
The larger plc house builders typically make a profit of between 15% and 25% on each house they sell depending on the prevailing market conditions at that time. That is up to £50,000 on a £200,000 house! They can afford to bring your new home up to a reasonable standard. Indeed, many of the builders have actually budgeted for dealing with problems, although this is a modest figure typically around £500 per home. They rely on the majority of their customers not complaining, especially about minor defects as most of this budget (and more) is spent dealing with those customers who insist their house is to an acceptable standard.
Remember it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil!
What should you do when you discover a problem? Complain and keep on complaining until you are fully satisfied. Why should you put up with a sub standard home?
NHBC warranty - The first two years The NHBC Buildmark warranty gives cover against any defect arising in your new home during the first two years. However, the Buildmark booklet defines a defect as "a breach of any mandatory NHBC requirement by the builder or anyone acting for him." In practice this normally results in the builder attending to any defects that occur, but it must be remembered this is not necessarily a requirement under the Buildmark warranty.
Remember, "the builder is responsible for investigating your complaints and for putting right defects and/or damage caused by defects".
