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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To pull out of buying new home

33 replies

Blackpoollassy · 30/08/2015 17:13

So DH and I went house viewing yesterday. Ended up putting 500 deposit down to reserve a lovely house on a small site with Charles Church (Persimmon homes). Very rash decision. Not really my style.
Anyway, came home to google and really, really poor reviews. Mainly saying do not go with this company!
My gut is to pull out. DH is raging that I'm basing it on reviews from t'internet. Not sure what to do!
So AIBU to pull out?
Thanks

OP posts:

LetTilikumGo · 30/08/2015 17:19

Do the reviews say why you shouldn't go with them?

I'd say if you're not sure and it's not your style then better to pull out now than later on when you've spent a lot more money. In the grand scheme of buying a house, £500 is not very much to lose.

Applesplease · 30/08/2015 17:24

What part of the UK are you in? The Charles Church properties round here are lovely!

SeraOfeliaFalfurrias · 30/08/2015 17:31

Our old house was a Charles Church built in 1985; it was well-built, well-insulated and the whole development was lovely. Of course YANBU to consider pulling out - buying a house is a huge commitment. But I wouldn't base the decision entirely on bad reviews. Remember that unhappy customers are far more likely to put the effort into actually writing a review than satisfied customers. I'd say go and look at the house again, the speak to the sales office about the concerns raised in the reviews and see what they have to say for themselves.

Original poster

Blackpoollassy · 30/08/2015 17:32

Thanks for the replies
We're in the South. It is a really lovely home in a lovely village etc.
reviews basically say they're dodgy feckers, snagging never happens, dodgy workmen, don't touch with a barge pole.
While I accept that people with positive experiences rarely leave reviews, so experiences are skewed, I can't get over the sheer scale of negativity.
DH and I are basically sat in silence as we can't agree on this
X

OP posts:

LIZS · 30/08/2015 17:32

I think they featured on Watchdog regarding snagging issues and lengthy resolution. However many builders will have experienced similar so don't think it exclusive to them. There are often subcontractors involved which means consistency can be an issue. Are any of the properties occupied yet, can you speak to any residents about the quality and communication.

Original poster

Blackpoollassy · 30/08/2015 17:40

Yes LIZS we thought we might go ask some who had already completed.
Sera, I think CC used to be fabulous and known for excellent quality until they were bought out by Persimmon in the 90s....

OP posts:

QforCucumber · 30/08/2015 17:42

They've been on watchdog, however - i'm in a persimmon home, been in 18 months. Was terrified after reading all the scare stories, until I realised most house builders have terrible online reviews.
House has been perfect, structurally there was a leak in the roof - fixed within a week. Cosmetically the standard drying cracks, a broken paving slab, and a wonky door frame - dp and I both work mon to Fri 8-4 the only issue we had was arranging a time and day for persimmon to come repair it all as their contractors work the same hours, I took a days annual leave in the end. If the builders are still on site when you move in its a lot easier as you can just pop and see them rather than arranging appointments. Our main issue with them was the delay - due to get keys in December (6th) didn't actually get them until March 3rd! Got lots of compensation for that though.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 30/08/2015 17:49

They all have to meet building regs and you have a ten year nhbc guarantee. If you like it I would stick with it. Like you say the Internet is full of horror stories.

I'm considering a new kitchen and no matter what company i Google all I get is tales is doom and gloom.

Blu · 30/08/2015 17:53

Check the small print and the law v carefully : is there a 'cooling off' period? Check the legality of stopping the cheque?

To give you time to research and consider.

However, if you like everything about the house except its reputation , you may be ahead anyway . Buying a house is always a bit of s gamble, but at least with a new house you are covered!

Maybe being on Watchdog made them up their act.

Fluffyears · 30/08/2015 21:47

The Charles church houses near us are beautiful. We are in another companies new build and I really like it.

derenstar · 30/08/2015 22:02

We are in a Charles Church home. It's 2.5 years old and the most serious snag we found when we moved in was the exposed wires behind the radiators. We had absolutely no problem getting them to come in and sort the snags out when we needed them to. The one thing they did ask was for them to come in and do multiple jobs at a time rather than small ones each time. You will be given a dedicated customer service person post sale who will handle all of it for you. You have two years from when you move in to get any snags and warranty issues sorted for free, including any appliances they've installed. This is in addition to your 10 year NHBC. The sales lady told me when we were buying not to bother with a professional snagging company as most snags come to light once you actually live in the house day to day, we did anyway and the professionals still missed the exposed wires behind the radiators. We found loads of minor ones ourselves too, like no sealant around the bath and bits of carpet missing from backs of cupboards etc. remember they sub contract nearly everything so in our case, they just got the shoddy plumbing company and carpet fitters to come back out to put things right!

Love our new build, go for it if the layout is right, you have enough room and the location is good.

suchafuss · 30/08/2015 22:07

We nearly did the same with a Persimmon house about 5 years ago.Show house was lovely but we went and sat in each room to plan where things would go and realised just how small the room were and that all the furniture they had in there was undersized.

DaleTremont · 30/08/2015 22:14

We bought a new Charles Church last year, 4 bed detached. Yes we had some snags, you always will with new builds. Had to go on at them a bit to sort them out but I think a lot of the delays were due to the lady we were dealing with; she always sounded mega stressed, she left and our new contact was a lot more efficient. All snagging now done.

Aside from this I love our house. We are a small estate, a street really, but the way they have styled the houses is lovely. For the house itself, proper size double bedrooms, no 'box' bedrooms. Big bathroom. Skylight above the top stairs landing so it feels light and airy. Solid interior doors, good for sound insulation and also fire safety.

We moved on a whim and part-exed, was a smooth process and took 14 weeks start to finish.

Has anyone already moved into the site? If so just ask them for their experience. Our neighbour's house was the first to be finished, ours was the last, they were more than happy to chat as we had a mooch about.

If you love it go for it, you've always got the NHBC back up too.

Brummiegirl15 · 30/08/2015 22:21

I'm in a brand new Persimmon home, moved in December.

I love our house, we've had no problems with it all - however Persimmon are a nightmare and will charge you for everything!!

We had a view home so we got everything included. But the standard now is nothing is included. And I mean nothing.

You don't even get a garden fence, not even a gate. It's a wire separating the gardens. So no outside light, no turf, no fence. You want the fitted appliances, you have to buy the carcass for it to go in as well.

Outside tap is £500 for example.

I appreciate all builders are probably the same but Persimmon are particularly bad!!!

derenstar · 30/08/2015 22:42

Bloody hell brummiegirl that sounds horrendous! We found CC to be relatively generous with their fixtures and fittings. Ours came with carpets, built in appliances, shed, turf, outside taps and lights as well as light in garage came as standard. You could ofcourse pay extra to upgrade but we rarely found any need to. The only thing I thought they were mean on were mixer taps. Only one mixer tap in the main bathroom is standard, every other tap wasn't and we had to pay to 'upgrade' them. They also tried to charge us extra for the courtesy door to the garage but we refused on account of it already being built (apparently they made a mistake, I dared them to brick it back up, they didn't).

Perhaps some developments are worse than others or do you think the upturn in the property market has lead to their being more stingy?

Welshmaenad · 30/08/2015 23:05

My sister had an appalling experience with CC who basically lied to them about the proportion of social housing allocation on the very small site they put s deposit in.

They ended up getting their deposit back but it was a battle and I'm afraid the behaviour of the sales agent has seriously coloured our view of them as a company.

QforCucumber · 30/08/2015 23:11

brummie didn't realise quite how expensive but I have to agree, as part of the sale we negotiated stamp duty paid, carpets and flooring throughout and turf to the rear garden. Then, due to the delay we managed to also get glazed internal doors that we were going to buy anyway, washing machine, dishwasher and fridge freezer and 6ft fence between us and our neighbour . We paid for 1 extra and that was the internal garage door. Everything else we are doing ourselves - dp is a tradesman so got an outside tap ftted by his colleague for £20, dp is doing all light fittings, alarm install etc -would have spent a fortune. I still have their price book somewhere too.

Aeroflotgirl · 30/08/2015 23:26

I live in an 18 year old Persimmon home, it is wonderful, no problems. I bought it in a chain, not brand new, no issues.

Getuhda348 · 30/08/2015 23:49

I have 4 friends who have persimmon houses. All them have trouble with the company. Once they had paid the money they didn't want to know and one friend had her move delayed for nearly 8 months. Then walked in to a broken toilet and uneven floor ( significantly, it felt like being at sea ). One friend has lived in one for I think nearly 5 years and can't sell it due to massive cracks in the walls. She also had faulty electrics but thankfully her dh is an electrician. After this I seen them on watchdog for the poor quality work. I would personally never buy from them. My advice run and don't look back!

Getuhda348 · 30/08/2015 23:53

Oh and friend with broken toilet had paid extra for a fence, which took them 18months to do and it wasn't even wood! It's was like chicken mesh

WhirlyTwos · 31/08/2015 00:11

OP, you say the house is not your style. In what way? What are you seeking that this house did not offer? Conversely, what did this house offer that you were not seeking, that made you put down a deposit so quickly?

Also, are you a 1st time buyer?

Don't feel you must progress just because of the deposit. It's a small amount in the context of buying the right home.

Original poster

Blackpoollassy · 31/08/2015 08:08

Thanks for the responses - food for thought.
Without outing myself, although I probably have to those that know me! - we live in one of the most expensive areas in the country. Our deposit will not give us the home we would like, but a new build with Help to buy allows us to get the layout we would like.
When I said it wasn't my style I meant making such a rash decision.
I'm still deliberating! Thankfully the bank holiday has given me a day's grace to decide. No silent treatment anymore though

OP posts:

Brummiegirl15 · 31/08/2015 08:13

I've had absolutely no problems with the house - we love it. But Persimmon are very aggressive with their sales tactics. I mean a wire separating gardens rather than a fence????

So the price of the house is not the real price if that makes sense

frangipani13 · 31/08/2015 08:21

You will only ever hear bad things about new builds - its a hangover from the 80's where building standards and regs allowed them to get away with lots of shoddy workmanship. Plus people just love to bash new builds "they have no character/my friends nans cousin bought a new build and the whole thing fell down! " etc. We've been in ours just over two years and we absolutely love it. There have been minor issues that have been addressed by the builder, yes you have to chase them but in the grand scheme of things the positives outweigh the negatives.

frangipani13 · 31/08/2015 08:23

Hopefully you haven't agreed on a price yet, don't be afraid to haggle and the other people they say are interested probably don't exist. Plus try and get as much as possible thrown in ( turf, white goods, flooring etc)

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