...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!

Dp is a roofer mostly on new builds he wouldn't touch them. Blood being the worst but Barrat not much better.

My friends a builder and he says that big developments are the worst with no care or attention given to the homes and the actual build quality.

I wouldn't buy off plan unseen and I would go through the proposed contract with a solicitor.

I bought mine after it has been built and most other people had moved
onto the estate. It helped to see
my actual house before committing. So far so good, a few niggles but they did fix them quickly as builders were still on site (just). I love the space in mine but there is just the two of us in a three bed semi.

Sorry OP, never lived in a Barratt house. I personally prefer an older style of house and wouldn't want to live on an estate. You mentioned thinking of building your own which would obviously contain your individual style - are you going to be happy living on an estate where all the houses are identical?

Reallyy
Why is this in AIBU? confused

This is the second post of yours asking this question and making no other contribution I have read on the forum today. Unless MNHQ have appointed you forum prefect why don't you mind your own bloody business

I've only heard negative things from tradesmen- I also read an article saying a lot of new builds were now leasehold only so do check that.

I work in construction, and wouldn't. Barratt have a reputation as being one of the lower quality developers.

We bought our Barratt home from new 12 years ago and have had no problems with it whatsoever.

If I were buying from a volume housebuilder, I would avoid a property completed at the end of a quarter.

If I were moving to Kent, I would look at Pentland Homes for new builds. (work in the industry & have a lot of new build clients and they stand out for professionalism. Possibly also Jones Homes.)

Never in a million years would I buy a Barratt home.

DS is in the trade and wouldn't either.

We've heard they are shoddy. I suppose they can vary from estate to estate though. We're no where near Kent but would no way buy one of our local Barratt development. I don't like new builds, or the estates they are on. They have a reputation around here for being noisy and a bit rough. We're a young family but decided to buy on an old street of a traditional semis. Our neighbours are all elderly and we love it.

I wouldn't do it again, for numerous reasons.
We were naive and ended up with a leasehold (fairly common on many new estates) which was a massive problem.
The site manager was lovely when we just moved in but as problems cropped up they were dismissive. New shower, boiler repairs, sealing the bath! plus others within a year. They were not interested.
Obviously just my experience (and that of my neighbours)

We have a new Barratt home and love it. A few issues but nothing major however others in the street have had some bigger problems.
We needed to do lots of chasing to get things done, but it all got done.
I think all new builds are the same, I don't think Barratt and any worse than any other builder. If I bought a new build again I would defo go Barratt

DH bought one. On moving in day the driveway took out the underneath of my car costing £££s to repair, the bay window wasn't attached to the house, they'd fitted the wrong kitchen, got gloss paint all over the stair carpet and cut every internal door 3inches too short (you could see someone on the loo from the front door). We didn't move in, demanded they fix everything, then dressed it and sold it on for £30k profit.

I threatened to sue them for my car. They paid but didn't accept liability.

Wouldn't go near them again.

Dp works vaguely within the trade and wouldn't touch one.

My partner works on new builds and the only new build he would even consider is Redrow.

They do have 5 stars and I personally think they are one of the good house builders. i am in the industry. Lots of structures put in place right from the start to the end to give you the best service possible although yes there will always be horror stories. I'm in the East Midlands so obvs a different area.

Recently bought a Taylor Wimpey new build and we've had no issues whatsoever. The delivery men scuffed a few of our walls and the painters nipped in one day to fix it, with no other issues in sight. A family member of mine is in the trade and said the finish is to a high standard and he'd only heard good things about our development (it is fairly small, perhaps less than 100 plots with 1/4 being flats and no affordable housing).
We were one of the last phases but the sight office is still here and we plan on asking them to touch up our paint work as we've noticed a few cracks in the paint near joins, something even my family member told me to expect.

My parents have been in a new build for 22 years with no issues.

It depends entirely on your site and the tradesmen there.

I love my Barratt home :) only been in here about 6 months but so far so good. No major snagging issues, but all issues sorted within a few days. We bought off plan, and one of the first houses in the development.

I live in a Barrett home, but it was 4 when we moved in, so all the snags (if there were any) had been sorted. However, my friend moved in to a new build Barrett 2 Christmas' ago and has nearly ended up having a nervous breakdown with all of the problems they've had with that house. She said "never again"

I am currently 'browsing' for a new home. I have looked at new builds, but what really puts me off is how small the gardens are and how close you are to everyone. I went to a friends house on a new estate and even after only being there an hour or so I was desperate to get out, which ever window you looked out of there was just houses right there. It seems really imposing.

I don't live in the middle of the country or anything but we are not overlooked at the back and our neighbours don't seem imposing. (our house is about 17yrs old)

Also a lot of our new developments seem to be being built along the main dual carriageways, some of them the road will be your view. It obviously doesn't bother some people but it is worth thinking how any development fits into the wider area if you are likely to be bothered by the noise.

I think I can trump most Barrett horror stories with mine - bought a new build flat and after 2 years (of admittedly very happy time spent living in it and enjoying it) a fire broke out in the cupboard where the electrics were kept.

The fire brigade managed to control it and thankfully nobody was hurt but I was told that the blaze was serious enough that another 5 minutes would have meant the entire block of flats came down because my flat was top floor and the fire had almost got into the roof space which of course means it quickly travels the whole length of the building and everything comes down.

I was also told that the fire was caused by a faulty part which Barrett had fitted and known that it was faulty due to a number of similar incidents but had gone ahead and continued to use. Their insurance paid out but I swore never to touch Barrett again. T'was more than 10 years ago now so maybe they've improved. But losing your possessions, seeing your home left unihabitable...well it put me off them for life. And many of my neighbours too because the smell of that fire lingered for many, many months.

I live in one and wouldn't recommend it, to be honest. Poor quality materials, poor workmanship, poor customer service.

We also bought off plan and they kept delaying completion date, I was nearly 38 weeks pregnant when we finally managed to move in. Their houses tend to be pretty and well laid out, but for a long time after we moved it felt like a day didn't go by without a Barrett worker fixing something. The first time I had a shower, water started dripping through a spotlight in my kitchen. They fitted the bath the wrong way around. Things were missing. Also, as the development grew, the quality of fixings decreased - some friends who bought about a year after us have worse door handles and light switches, for example.

And just as a side note, my husband was told when complaining about a list of things that needed fixing that they would fix it as long as he gave them 5 stars in the customer satisfaction survey, so I'm not sure how accurate that is - though I am sure that plenty of people rated them 5 spontaneously.

We're still here 8 years later so it's not unliveable but I'd say there are wiser ways to spend your money.

Can I also add don't buy on a new estate if you enjoy gardening - not only do the gardens tend to be miniscule but two of my friends moved onto new estates and both discovered that under approx 2 inches of top soil, all of the gardens were filled in with builders' rubble. Growing anything was pretty much impossible and they had to rely on potted plants - not great if you're a keen gardener.

Oh yes our garden quality (size is great) is shit.

BUT they did offer to relay the lawn and we didn't take them up on it. It's fine for our purposes (lots of outdoor play equipment) and we're not gardeners.

We live in a Taylor Wimpey ex showhome and it's fine. All (small) issues resolved quickly, within a day. Off to touch a fuck load of wood now though, just in case