...to ask has anyone brought a Barratt Home and loved happily ever after??

[LurksNoLonger]

Not sure if I am in the right place and this is my first post (hence username 😁) but all constructive advice would be welcomed...We live overseas but are planning on returning in the next twelve months. We were hoping to build our own home but felt it might be a bit tricky to project manage from abroad. We recently spotted an advert for a new development in the area we were considering (Kent) that ticks most of our boxes and thought this might be a easier, more straightforward way to get the spec we were after with less stress. They had never appealed before but on paper this one seems spacious and well thought out. However, a few googles later and it seems like a massive gamble as the internet is positively brimming with people claiming to have had their lives ruined by shoddy workmanship at the hands of development builders. Just wondering if there are any positive stories out there that might reassure us not to kill this germ of an idea off before it's really taken hold. Surely there must be some folk out there sitting in their Barratt Homes who love them and who are living happily ever after 😁...Thanks!

lived not loved!

We love ours! The whole process of moving in was a joy, friendly and efficient site manager who sorted all the snagging out with no problems. The house is spacious and large with plenty of storage and we love the layout.

I think it depends a lot on the site manager tbh.

Also bought not brought, since you're fixing.

it's like anything, most will be fine, a few won't. Bad reputation though, I'd want to see the quality before I signed anything.

🙈 yes - is there an edit option on this? I usually a grammar nerd but was tired and rushing. Thanks DaftJelly. Is nice to hear there are some satisfied customers out there 😁

Grrr...I am!

I hate ours.

You have the 10 years guarantee on a new build and buildings insurance etc so should be fine. Most people hate their new build as the area is untested so can turn into a horrible area if a lot of undesirables are moved into the "affordable housing" section of the new build estate.

Why is this in AIBU?

My husband is a builder and wouldn't in a million years, sorry. He said the short cuts and bodges are terrible. He said developers such as Hopkins are passable.

We bought ours off plan because of the location and have lived here now for nearly eleven years. There were one or two glitches in the beginning but as the builders were still onsite they were quickly rectified. We've been very happy with it.

Most people hate their new build as the area is untested so can turn into a horrible area if a lot of undesirables are moved into the "affordable housing" section of the new build estate.

WOWZERS. Is this because you think only scumbags live in 'affordable housing'?

I don't hate the area, I hate the house. Too many rooms in too little space, badly thought out and clearly designed by someone who'd never had to do washing or store a hoover. I will never buy off plan again and as soon as the bloody thing has been remodelled to make it workable we're flogging it. We had terrible problems with flooding in the gardens too. We're just shy of ten years and we need to replace all the windows and the French doors are fucked and won't open. Never again!

Sorry but we too had problems from the part of the estate which was set aside for housing association tenants. I've never lived somewhere where women were arrested in the street and people sprawled offensive graffiti on each other's houses. Absolute nightmare. Thankfully they were moved on fairly quickly but do your homework op because it's not what you expect when you buy a brand new house.

Wouldn't touch a new build with a bargepole. Especially if it's not detached.

Working in the building trade (builders' merchants), never in a million years would I buy a new build. Nor would any of the tradies who come in. It's because we see the bodges and the short cuts first hand. No-one loves those houses when they are being put up and everyone is in a rush and trying to do it cheap. You'd be mad imo.

I've never lived somewhere where women were arrested in the street Not the women ?! Appalling. Ladettes.

We have bought two new builds. I would only do it again if we were towards the start of the development so that there was a site office available for initial snagging and the 1 year snagging. Once they have moved offsite it gets a lot lot harder to get hold of them.

My husband worked in one site for a white helping with one of the trades. Their saying was 'if it don't fit, fill it with muck and shit' I.e filler and anything else that fills the hole etc. The price paid for these bodged, rushed builds is excessive! From what he's witnessed I would never touch one!

Hi,
I am new to this too!
I am an estate agent, and personally if I was going to buy a new build, I wouldn't buy off plan from Barratts. I hear and see a lot of people who wish to move off their estate as it wasn't the house they were expecting. My cousin bought one recently, asked them not to fit appliances as he wanted higher quality ones so he would do it himself. They didn't leave the correct sized gaps, and the plumbing for the washing machine was nowhere near where it was supposed to go!
My advice is with the right person, working just for you on an individual build would get a far better result. Or have a look at some smaller local builders, they tend to take more care in their developments and usually a higher quality of fixtures and fittings too. They will often offer to let you see another development they have worked on beforehand too.
I find it confusing that anyone could spend such a vast amount of money, on something as important as your family home, without seeing it first!

My DD's boyfriend lives on a pleasant looking Barratts estate that is approx 6 years old. But I was giving him a lift home and he was telling me how awful it was. Everyone was having problems and having to fix things that in such new houses shouldn't need fixing. He also said they seem to have VERY good lawyers and all bar one case against them lost.

You'd think new build certificates and the independent inspections of new houses should pick up on problems, but they seem not to.

My dad and his wife bought a Taylor Wimpey new build 2 years ago and they love it. They have since upgraded a few things like the front door and some tiling but that's down to their personal preference rather than necessity. There were a few snagging things at first but they were quickly rectified.

My gran bought a barratt 12 years ago and has never ha a problem. However, hers is a 3 bed detached and she lives alone so storage or noise to worry about. It's also just a cul de sac rather than an estate.

Previous poster is right about the affordable housing sometimes being a problem. I know quite a few people who have had problems.

Oh I should say we bought ours late. It was built and we just had time to choose carpets. We got free kitchen flooring (£££) and all light fittings as it was about to be turned into a show home to sell it. It was one of the last three to go.

The rest of the (small) estate was already established so we knew what we were moving into.

The social housing tenants are lovely.

We are detached so no problems with noise or anything.

You also have to consider what is included in the price. So far as I am aware, Barratt don't include things like flooring, white goods and that sort of thing. Also, the spec they show in the show homes, is not what you actually get in your house. They upgrade the spec to draw people in , but what you have in your house is more basic, unless you choose to pay for upgrades. Many developers do the same thing though. I know of someone who left a sales job with Taylor Wimpey because he was fed up of telling people they had to pay extra for a doorbell.

There are some developers who have a good spec without having to pay extra. They're generally the higher end ones, or small local builders.

We loved our Barratt home bought 25 years ago and only moved when we needed more space. Stayed very local and moved into a Wimpy house which on the surface seemed much higher spec but we have had more niggles with in terms of electrics and plumbing. Given our time again I would have stayed in our Barratt house and extended rather than move. Not sure I'd be brave enough to buy unseen, however.Maybe try to visit the site yourself or ask someone whose judgement you trust to give the area a look.

Our last flat was a Barrett new build, got free floors bag and appliances thrown in. I lived it And in t had really good soundproofing. We have moved the another new build estate to get a house. The best thing about it is the really knowledgable and proactive site manager. Had a small boiler leak and went out to find him, 20 minutes later three guys were taking boiler apart to fix it. One of our smoke alarms was knackered snd kept beeping despite battery being changed and he came to door after I grabbed a site guy and simply changed it. There was also a biography fuck up by another company and it was fixed the next day (it would put me saying much more) also he noticed something we hadn't and put it right. Actually love the guy lol.