Bellway homes anyone?

[newname39]

We're about to buy a new home built by Bellway Homes up in yarm.
Im getting nervous as although everything seems really nice and the customer service has been great, I've started to hear a lot of negative things about Bellway.
Has anyone had any dealings with them or even bought on the Yarm estate that can put my mind at ease.
I know all new builds will have problems and I'm expecting that (I've had 2 new builds now) but some stories have been huge problems like raw sewage leakages in the street and gardens sinking etc

Obviously not every site they develop will have the same civil engineering issues. They build in area teams so what happens on in site won’t be identical to another site.

Sewage is often a cock up between civil engineering design and poor installation of drains. Not sure how gardens sink! I’ve never seen that. The bigger problem is buried rubble etc unless it’s over old mine workings of course! Make sure your garden has plenty of topsoil. Get a drainage survey done before you complete.

Friends bought one

Customer service is great..until you move in. They was getting nervous before as clearly one family had moved in and were ordering a massive banner to go across the front of their house to say how totally shite Bellway were in a bid to force them to rectify many faults. Apparently they had three showers but only one could be used at any time. Whole list of other faults

Their experience was:

Don't believe anticipated completion dates. Usually at least a month or two out
Any extras..and you will need them have to be ordered right at the start. For eg theirs an expensive executive type house. No dimmers or recessed LEDs in the kitchen dinner. Just one rubbish fitting. The extras which are a minimum really add up

Kitchen chipped and bashed to hell
Window broken
Walls all marked
Concrete floors with major cracks. Come from using fast dry concrete which dries so quick it cracks and means the surface is powdery. Carpet company couldn't fit the flooring without major work at their cost
You have two weeks for snagging. Not responsive and then you have to go through head office.

This are just a few examples of a long list

Having said that...no new house is without faults

There is a bellway development near me so I did some online research and their reviews are abysmal. Has put me right off

Now I'm even more nervous 😥

I work in the construction industry and I wouldn’t touch a Bellway house with a barge pole!

I’ve seen the way they build them, honestly save your money.

Agree with above especially customer service great until you’ve paid.

Friends were told they would throw a party for all new buyers once completed. Never mentioned again.

Nice house though and far fewer issues than friends who bought an old Georgian House and found what was basically a small lake under their dining room.

Wouldn’t trust a word the sales reps say but if you like the house don’t let it put you off.

Bought one 1yr ago been a few problems but house great

My parents live in an ex council house,lovely and sturdy.I think built in 1950's but by no means palatial. A brand new Belway estate has been built right behind them and we went to have a look at the houses and thought they were marvellous. My parents were going to put their house up for sale and buy a Belway home until we started talking to the new Belway residents. The list of complaints they had were endless,shoddy workmanship,poor insulation,kitchen cupboards falling apart,cracking between the floor and walls etc.To top it off,once the estate had near sold out,the customer service reps moved on and they became really difficult to get hold of.I'd do a Google search for the estate,or go and knock on the doors of the new residents. I'm sure they must get it right most of the time.

I've been in one for 5 years, it was already built and ready to move into when I bought it so I had no issues re build dates. I've had no major issues but others on the estate have e.g. boggy gardens having to be dug up multiple times for drainage. The entire estate had to have remediation work to our houses last year as they'd not installed something on the roof correctly. Took a few years of arguing to get them to fix that for us all but it was mostly cosmetic.

We have a final phase being built now and a friend was planning to buy one off plan. He works for a utility company so accessed some ground plans and saw the houses were being built on old mine shafts. He pulled out and Bellway were anxious to know how he'd got those plans.

All new companies are the same once they have your money the customer service is not so great. If you find any fault months after moving in, email sales director and managing director until its resolved. Keep phoning and keep pestering until you are 100% satisfied. Remember you have your 10 years NHBC.

I would never buy a new build. Generally poor quality, and so small.

My friend has a new build, similar size and layout to my sister’s Victorian terrace. Both have had for 6 or 7 years.

New build had plenty of snagging issues eg doors not quite shutting, squeaks innfloors etc, and the washing machine was rubbish and had to be replaced. Cost a few hundred

Victorian House has cost thousands due to windows falling out etc. Nothing came up on the survey, just wear and tear of an old building. They have no NHBC guarantee obviously. Beautiful house but a lot of hassle and investment.

I would buy new or old but both have their issues. Pick a house you love, get a survey, ask the difficult questions.

He works for a utility company so accessed some ground plans and saw the houses were being built on old mine shafts.

😲😲😲

A mate of a mate bought a house from bellway years ago
Had been there about 2 years when one morning her daughter came in and said
‘Mum,the bathroom wall is hanging off!’
It had-most of the wall had come away from the house (the joke afterwards was you could go for a pee and wave at the neighbours)
They did sort it out but didn’t rush and she really had to push for them to give her compo (she got 10k off in the end)
She said their attitude was ‘what’s this got to do with us?’

I would never deal with Bellway ever again. Three boundaries in the wrong place, one by over 1.8 metres, bottom of garden lowered by nearly a metre lower than plan, giving us no privacy and not only no topsoil, but no subsoil. Solid yellow clay even above bottom of gravel board, and so cannot even plant trees to create privacy. We moved in nearly a year and a half ago and are still unable to begin landscaping. Bellway have at best dragged their feet, and at worst lied, deceived and conned. There has been no apology, and no sense of urgency to remedy the situation. We have been met with rudeness, contempt and arrogance. We have begged and pleaded for Bellway to correct the boundaries and raise the fence, providing us with enough soil to plant trees, but to no avail.

Our lives have been put on hold. Two summers have passed and we still can't use the garden. They did send someone to us who surveyed our issues, recommended a course of rectification, including stating that about 50 tonnes of soil were needed, but then he was totally overruled by the management. Horrendous problems have been experienced by numerous others on our development.

My advice Is to avoid at all costs.

I've just bought a Bellway home and couldn't be happier. There were of course a few snagging issues, as with all new builds, but as a whole the service has been excellent and snagging issues fixed immediately.

The site managers (Paul and Darren) have been excellent with no issue being to big or small.

I would highly recommend them based on my experience.

Hope this helps!

Check out Bellway Homes - Unhappy Customers Facebook group and also National Leasehold Campaign Facebook group.
Bellway are unfortunately one of the worst for defects and onerous leases and service charges.

A relative of mine bought a Bellway home on a new estate. They were buying off plan and I counselled against it.

I am happy to admit I was wrong - they have been in for 2 years now and any snags or problems have been dealt with speedily.

I think the site management at their development have gone out of their way to ensure everyone was happy.

I own a Bellway home and I personally would not recommend them. Customer service is great until the sale goes through then it is absolutely awful. Snagging list just goes on and on. My personal experience is so far not a good one.

He works for a utility company so accessed some ground plans and saw the houses were being built on old mine shafts.

This is completely normal where I live. I’d ensure the solicitor had done all the coal board checks, that’s all.

DON'T DO IT. I bought a new bellway flat in london and massively regret it. there customer service is amazing until you're committed and then it's awful. We have had some serious design issues that make areas of the property unsafe and they refuse to fix them.

like their service charges dont they? ....dont tell the potential buyers though!