BELLWAY HOMES DO NOT BUY

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BELLWAY HOMES - DO NOT PURCHASE A HOUSE FROM THIS BUILDER - UPDATE

I thought I would share a few photo's of issues I had / have with my new build.
Other issues heating system not installed correctly heating on constantly for 7 days until they realised the valves were fitted the wrong way around
Different shades of tiles in the ensuite, tiles also have lips on. Their was a bulge in my cloakroom wall under the sink, the pipe work stuck out and the plasterboard was fitted over, it's now been fixed, skirting boards are not straight, concrete was left in the drain outside my garage, block paving is absolutely shocking and a huge socket that is not centred which is called a media plug. it looks hideous. Subfloor still an issue. Spotlights in kitchen look uneven and they won't change. I've managed to source an electrician who is moving them for £20, you pay £255k for a house and they won't move 3 spotlights.
it's probably because I have given them a 1 for the quality of the house. i wonder if I had given them a 5 would this have changed the outcome 🤔

All I hear is it's within tolerance what the hell!! why is this not put to buyers when they reserve? explain to them that if you have scratches on window panes and you stand back so many metres and you cannot see them then this is acceptable, tiles with lips on them and not straight this is acceptable if it's within the tolerance again, skirting boards on angles again. why are we paying a premium for a forever new built home for this to be allowed. I should not have to get all my tiles fitted again at my own expense because I am not happy with how these have been fitted. I am awaiting for the tiler to come back to me on what is within tolerance and what is actually being repaired.

LABC have been out to my home but I'm not holding my break, someone on my last post stated they are all for the builders. I will see what the report states and make judgement then.

I have spoken to my MP and awaiting what avenue we will go down

what issues have you had with a new build property and would you ever buy another one again?

please share just so home buyers are aware what actually can happen when they move into a new build home. When you reserve a property please think long and hard about the above issues I have had. I'm not saying everyone goes through this but if I stop one person / couple from making a massive mistake then I have done something right.

thank you in advance and for sharing 😊

I wouldn't buy a new build from a big company - crest, bellway, persimmon, bloor, taylor wimpey etc

They don't care about after sales, they can always build more and people buy them because they think a well known name is a mark of quality.

@ShapedLikeAPastry

*If I'd bought a brand-new house I'd be absolutely furious to have had to sort 'a couple of new front doors', flooring and a mud pit of a garden all in the space of 2.5 years!

I'd never buy a new build*.

I previously had an old house and it was a nightmare, poorly insulated, the boiler packed up, tiles slipped on the roof etc. was a complete money pit in terms of repairs and bills were astronomical, would hate to think what they are now.
Only one bathroom, kitchen was over 20yrs old so really needed modernising, plumbing needed improving as water pressure wasn't great the list went on

None of these things an issue with my new build, lovely modern clean lines, the "issues" I had in the new build were absolutely nothing to stress over, just a call to someone to fix them.. was like renting again 😂

Each to their own, but I'd never buy an old house again, I'd do my research as I did with this estate and never look back

@ChristmasPudd1990

Mostly people who can only buy with shared ownership so people that can't get on the property ladder any other way

What a snobby and judgemental comment!
There aren't any shared ownership on our development (there are some HA)
Myself and our neighbours bought our houses just the same as anyone living in an old house, just because it's not for you that doesn't diminish our choice

I bought one as a single thirty something woman in 2000. It was a nightmare and I felt gutted and conned. Basically they have date targets and rush to finish them, get you in and expect to sort out any problems after you move in. I had pages and pages of snags, some of which they told me as I was moving in.
A cracked sink, cracked window, badly scratched kitchen work top. I cut my hand on a jagged ceramic tile on the kitchen windowsill. Loads of cosmetic snags. It really got me down but I had to accept in my mind about some stuff and let it go (such as my bay was longer on one side than the other so wasn’t square).
Also the site office would send someone around and it usually was the same man, one day he was a plasterer, next a plumber, a jack of all trades and master of none.
The day I moved in, a very cold winter’s day, late Friday when they finally gave me the keys I found I had no heating or hot water. It was freezing. The site office told me that someone would be round but they all disappeared for the weekend.
Another time I had to borrow a friend’s car, which was running on leaded petrol. I then discovered that my integral garage had not been sealed from the house as my own carbon monoxide detector was showing high readings when I removed or put the car in the garage!
I hated giving them the keys to my house to sort things out when I wasn’t there, it was a massive invasion of my privacy. At one point I learned that my front door keys had been missing from the site office for weeks! I went ballistic on the site manager and my locks were changed immediately. I had indeed thought that I had heard someone put a key in my door one night, but I always leave the keys in the locks so the door could not have been opened.
I had to let things ‘go’ in my mind about the house and after accepting it, I did enjoy living there.

The thing is with an older house you can get a survey and negotiate the price to do the jobs.

New builds you can’t do this and even worse they sign off their own building control! My friend discovered after a few months that one of their rooms didn’t have proper insulation!

This is key. Our previous home was a new build and was one of 7. Small local builder. The quality and workmanship were second to none. The extras they put in as standard (eg underfloor heating under the beautiful Italian kitchen tiles) were unreal.

My mum bought on a small estate of four and had exactly the same issues that she did with Redrow, with the added annoyance that because it was just one dude, he was personally rude and dismissive to her.

So I wouldn't hang your hat on that tbh.

Congratulations you win dumbest comment today award

Ah ok I didn’t know that, it makes sense. Thanks for educating me!

That's my opinion too. You pay a premium for new builds and in my eyes they should be perfect. I understand issues may arise once you start to live in it but not having this type of issues on completion

Oh noooo. I'm hoping LABC see where I'm coming from but I've also been told they favour the builder

I think in the end a few of the residents got together and ebe really they did do something about the front door. I just remember the work being subpar but they didn’t agree. We had to accept the standard. It was frustrating but less hassle than fighting.

It’s just the way shitty new builds are thrown together in this country. Most of them have poor build quality and the gardens are often whacked on top of the builders waste, so need digging out if you actually intend to do any planting. Good luck with your MP OP, let us know if they take any action.

I have to agree and I wish I had done my homework on new builds prior to purchasing another Bellway. Yes I will keep you updated re MP I am also going to do a petition regarding the quality of these homes on handover. Tolerance needs to be addressed before reserving to make new owners aware and I want some kind of discount if your home is not upto standard by doing this builders will make you that this won't happen. It's to late for me but moving forward something needs to happen because quality is going to get worse

This will only get worse with the new pressures on building

We bought a new build from a 'small local builder' thinking we'd avoid issues from large builders. Nope just as shit.

We've found the warranties that these smaller builders use aren't worth the paper they are written on either.

Many issues don't manifest until you are in the house for a while so a snagging report isn't much help.

I know people in 850k New Builds which have spent £200k in legal fees against their warranty holders. The houses are collapsing. One has Keir Starmer as their MP and the other Kemi Badenboch, they are both being ignored by them.

New Build buyers need consumer rights, you have more legal rights buying a Mars bar. Or a percentage retention fee is needed as a standard contract.

But while this government is beholden to the building industry for their 1.5 million shoddy new builds nothing will change.

It will be interesting to hear your MPs thoughts, especially given Labours house building targets. I am of the opinion that before concentrating on numbers of houses built, we need to ensure we aren’t throwing up sub-standard housing/new towns - as is so common in the UK.

Yeah, if you pay a fiver for yours and the developer knocks up 100 more beside your house, your house is devalued, as anyone willing to buy a newbuild will buy a brand new one, thus making yours hard to sell. That’s before we discuss the aesthetics and quality.

Hard to get a mortgage on a new build? How did you come to that conclusion?

I didn't see you first thread. Did you buy off plan so watched it get built? Did you visit during the build process to notice and raise some of these issues at first fix or even second fix?

We bought a Morris Homes new build. We visited most weekend and took photos of our new house at every stage. We met with the site manager and discussed anything we had questions on and he resolved why the trade teams were still working there. Most of your issues (apart from heating) would have been visible before completion. Why did you complete when you were unhappy?

If you didn't see it get built and it was a finished home, again most of these issues would have been visible when you were viewing. Did you raise them during the buying process?

Why should people visit every weekend to check their home is being built properly?
Did you visit the car factory to make sure your car was being built properly or your washing machine?

The legal protections for building new build is woefully inadequate.

Omg that is shocking. I know I have got LABC involved but I'm not holding my breath for anything to come from it as I have been told they are in favour of the builders when they are supposedly suppose to be natural. I think unless you have been through this no one understands and it does cause anxiety and stress. I have made my feelings know on certain websites and had over 60k views and if that stops one person buying a new build I will be happy.
I'm just getting on with things now

Totally agree that's why something needs to be done by government to protect the buyer

I have enough professional experience with major construction companies to know I'd never ever buy a new build from one of the big builders. The standard of the build is appalling, the design is usually very poor and the quality of materials is as low as they can get away with.

They're not built for longevity at all. And yes, people get swept away by the image they create in their show home which uses undersized furniture and omits standard items needed in every home, such as wardrobes.

If you have a look on X there are so many people affected. Apparently developers used to do repairs and make people sign NDAs, I don't think they actually care anymore.

The advice we were given was the best way to protect yourself is by the contract. Pay for a good lawyer. I wish we'd done this. You can then sue them for breach of contract which has more teeth than worthless warranties.