New builds/Persimmon Homes

[oldladyintheshoe]

We are considering buying a new build property for the first time.

Anyone who has bought a new build before able to share their experience - positive or negative and any tips or advice? Also interested to hear any previous experiences with Persimmon Homes

I know someone who works for Persimmon, he said he wouldn't have one for free. Says it all.

DO NOT TOUCH PERSIMMONS WITH A BARGE POLE

Please.

Certain new build developers can be better than others. Redrow and David Wilson are worth looking at, but build quality seems to depend very much on which part of the country you are in.

Wouldn't touch persimmon. They look cheap. Dont get fooled by their "premium" brand, Charles Church, either. I'm in my 2nd new build. 1st one was Bloor, now in a Bovis. Been fairly happy with both. Bloor was a townhouse semi. Didn't hear a peep from attached neighbours. Bovis layout makes sense, decent room for building in storage, we've had very few snags, no major snags.

A lot of companies vary site to site depending on the contractors employed to do the work, so definitely go and see some of the houses on the site first.

If I was buying another new build I'd consider:
Redrow
Bovis
David Wilson

I like their quality and use of space.

I'd say it's pretty unanimous in the hatred of Persimmon - their reputation really does precede them!

Bovis aren't necessarily much better www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/christmas-cancelled-as-bungling-builders-117936/ - this is a 5 year old story that I remember - late completions leaving people in hotels at Christmas.

Same development only a few months ago - www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/i-never-would-have-moved-here-if-i-knew-what-it-was-like-236328/ - sinkholes!

Be very, very careful of new builds @oldladyintheshoe - you don't want to end up with a shoddily built house that becomes unsellable due to the conditions on the estate.

I agree with PPs that new builds are so often built with nowhere near enough parking - they'll say each property has two parking spaces: 1 garage that's not even big enough for a Honda Jazz and a driveway that's not much better. With kids living at home longer you'll often find a house really needs space for 4 cars, not 1. The other 3 have to go somewhere and it makes the place look a real mess.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond and share your experiences/knowledge, this has been very helpful to read. We found an area we love and some new builds currently going up which are Persimmon ones. As soon as I started reading up I realised probably why their prices are so much lower than comparables in the same area. I’ve been hoping to find people who have had good experiences with them but I’ve actually not found a single person with anything positive to say! My head is saying it’s back to the drawing board.

Great to hear at least some good experiences of new builds in general, we’ve never had one but the idea of everything being fresh and new and not having any urgency to do much to it (with the kids especially) really appeals to me! Lots to think about. Thank you all again!

We watched the Persimmon housing estate be built at the back of us, on what was just a field at the end of our garden. The speed they threw them up shocked me, and there didn't seem to be much to them, I haven't seen inside one though.

I live in a new build. My second. Both great - defo recommended if the builder is a quality one (not Persimmon). A friend used to sell Persimmon houses and she did not recommend them at all!

As soon as I started reading up I realised probably why their prices are so much lower than comparables in the same area

I think that’s what lures people in, even though they know. They just think it won’t happen to them and ooh they can afford a three bed.. and of course rhe sales brochure looks great. So a mix of greed and wishful thinking really.

We lived in old houses for years then I had a second baby and got fed up with the work so bought a st Modwen new build - the house itself had to have:
Stairs rebuilt
Leak from shower over kitchen spotlights repaired
New windows as cracked
New doors (external) as too short (!!!) so you could see the road and slugs used to come in and die as they dried out on our floor( nice!)
Garage door rebuilt as it leaked

And a number of smaller issues.

We lived there for 3.5 years and it was spacious and had plenty of storage. For us it was the lack of privacy, cramped roads, neighbours who never upkept their gardens and just the general sad, characterless feel. They are hard to resell too. We sold for the same price we bought for!

I live in a flat built by Persimmon. Currently facing a £30k bill due to Persimmon construction failures including non-compliant cladding, render and missing fire breaks. Please don’t give these crooks a penny.

I bought a persimmon house nearly 6 years ago and I love it! I've only had around 2 or 3 minor issues that were sorted straight away. We bought it brand new, it was built already but nothing in so we were able to pop in every few weeks. We have a huge driveway and big back garden. Ours is one of the bigger houses on the estate so I do think it depends on the type you are looking at as to whether noise will be a problem or storage or parking etc. I do also think it depends on the site and how it's run.

We love our new build (after seeing friends and swearing we would never touch one with a bargepole!). We did a lot of research and viewed several developments, it's true what someone said earlier about all new builds not being created equal. FWIW (and I suppose he would be biased here) our site manager said he once interviewed with Persimmon then turned down their job offer as they had very little concern for anything other than flogging houses up as cheaply and quickly as humanely possible...

There are now professional snagging companies that you can employ. They charge about a £1000 but from a couple of friends that used them, they were really worthwhile as they don't just check for loose fittings etc, they go into great detail such as to the gutters have the right numbers of supports at the right intervals. For new builds from the likes of Persimmon it is not unusual to get lists of 2-400 snags albeit some being very minor. The builders hate it when they get employed but if I ever bought a new build I would def contract one

@Sunflowergirl1

There are now professional snagging companies that you can employ. They charge about a £1000 but from a couple of friends that used them, they were really worthwhile as they don't just check for loose fittings etc, they go into great detail such as to the gutters have the right numbers of supports at the right intervals. For new builds from the likes of Persimmon it is not unusual to get lists of 2-400 snags albeit some being very minor. The builders hate it when they get employed but if I ever bought a new build I would def contract one

The issue isn’t developing the snagging list...it’s getting them to come out and fix it,,,

I live in a persimmon, originally i was unsure due to reviews online but we visited tHe estate and spoke to people who had been her for 2 years plus.l and decided to go for it.
I love it. The walls are thin but as we’re in a detached it doesn’t bother me. Hanging stuff on the walls isn’t an issue if you use plasterboard screws. As for the snagging, there have been a few issues but if we moved in to an old house i’m sure we would find issues that we were responsible for paying for. Here I contact the site manager who has someone come fix it. The site team have been amazing and have gone above and beyond for us.
I guess what I am saying is do your homework on your estate. A good site team can make all the difference.
Same with the storage/size, we considered 4 other styles and plots before settling in this one. We have plenty of storage, the layout is fantastic and the rooms are all good sizes as is the garden.
Good luck what ever you decide.

@Bluntness100 who was your developer? Our snagging list was sorted immediately, every last snag from door knob realignment to paint snags were fixed within 2 weeks. If anything props up now I get a response within a day and an appointment within a couple days.

[quote bluepie]@Bluntness100 who was your developer? Our snagging list was sorted immediately, every last snag from door knob realignment to paint snags were fixed within 2 weeks. If anything props up now I get a response within a day and an appointment within a couple days. [/quote]
Not me...

The issue isn’t developing the snagging list...it’s getting them to come out and fix it,,,

I assumed you'd had direct experience in the matter with this comment

My dad is a builder and refuses to work for Persimmon Homes, he won’t put his name to their standard of work. That tells me everything tbh.

There was a MN poster who knew someone who had bought a £1m+ Charles Church home.

CC are owned by Persimmon.

They had so many issues with their CC home he ended up buying just 1 Persimmon share so he could specifically attend an AGM and raise a grievance about their build ‘quality’.

I myself have had a Redrow which had 400+ significant issues that were so bad that we were actually put into a hotel for 3 months.
By significant, I mean rooms flooding due to incorrect drains & pipes, kitchen units falling off walls, you get the picture.

In terms of snagging, my understanding is that if they are still on site building or on the next phase all Ng you have a lot more luck at getting things resolved then if all is finished and they have moved on to a different site.

We almost bought a persimmon home three years ago, amongst many things it was the hard sell that put us off, plus knowing we would have to pay £££ to get it suitable to live in.

Our first house was an 18 month old new build, perfect as we got the benefits of new (low maintenance, no need to upgrade things) but not the downsides such as major snags or having to pay out for all the carpets etc. My main issue now is the size, we saw a four bed that had a smaller footprint than our three bed we were in at the time.

I had a very different experience to most people on here, although it was 20 years ago
We part xd with Persimmon and got a very fair price. The process was seamless and very little snagging was needed. The minor things that were needed were sorted out by the site manager very quickly and when there was an issue around 2 months after we moved in he sent someone found very quickly too. We paid for some extras and they were sorted very quickly, a toilet got broken by the flooring company which caused a flood but we didn’t even hear about it until after it was fixed.
We haven’t had to do any work on the house, although we have replaced bathrooms and flooring but the kitchen is still going strong. We have a huge driveway and decent garden ( which can get a Bit waterlogged to be fair). So for us it all worked out really well

We moved from an old house to a new build 26 years ago, it is one of 6 build by a small builder and we discovered that all our new neighbours had wanted to buy an older house but none of them had found anything suitable. Older houses tend to have poorer lay out and round here many, even modernised ones, have only one bathroom and that is downstairs. The rooms are often small and difficult to re-style the layout. We have been very happy in our house, very little snagging and will probably stay here for a few more years, now the children have left home we have the luxury of a yoga room (old dining room) and I have a sewing room in one of the bedrooms.
From a social point of view we have lovely neighbours, 3 of us are "original settlers" . We found it much harder to settle in to the village where we had our last house.
I'd certainly look at a new build again, but would get a full survey and only buy in a small development .

Reservation fee dispute with Presimmon Homes

Paid £500 fee on property off plan at Bodmin Priory Meadows only to find that there was bought to my attention that there was a questionable unsettling entry on the Tile transfer document for the property ,also misleading info given regarding visitors parking spaces for the property ,together with a covenant on restrictive parking on development site roads etc
Only returned half the fee paid defiantly would advise to avoid this company or check your paperwork before signing and be very carefull

We brought Taylor wimpy and touch wood things have been good so far! A few little snags but very quick to come out and fix etc