How f-***ked are we?

[Frazzled252]

We bought a Barratts David Wilson (BDW) five bed home in Bedford this year. It has turned out to be the home from hell, with sewage smells, gurgling and no ceiling or floor plumb.
BDW have admitted that they need to take the house back to brick to sort the issues, and that we will need to move out. That’s not okay with us as we bought a newbuild for the convenience. BDW have offered three months mortgage payments, but we don’t have a mortgage so have no idea what this cash goodwill would look like.
BDW have also offered to provide a cash settlement in lieu of fixing the house but then we’d have to pay ourselves to fix the house and would likely lose money.
We are also keen to move from the dystopian and apocalyptic looking area (Wixams). The issue is that the house was relatively cheap because it is in such a horrific area.
what options do we have?
is there anywhere in the south east that we can get a decent house for 800-900k?
TIA for replies

I’d let them buy the house back and rent. It’s got to be preferable to staying put?

I'd ring and ask for longer e.g. 6 months. If they refuse I'd take it and rent somewhere dhort term for 6 months while we find the right house.

Bicester has loads of new builds and not that old house please good amenities. You can get a lovely house for that money stone here.

I'd take the money and run.

Not sure how you think you can't get a house when you have £800K-£900K cash and no mortgage.

Most people have nowhere near that budget.

There are LOADs of houses in that range within 10 miles of Bedford.

Did you not look at any before buying where you are now?

It depends if you commute, want to be near a station etc.

Houses are a bit like cars imo: brand new ones depreciate fairly rapidly in their first few months. It seems to be a lot easier to get a new car fixed under warranty than a new house though.

Are you fixed on staying north of the M25, OP? You could get a great 5-bed in much of East Sussex for £800k, and have the sea and fantastic countryside on your doorstep. There are some lovely places along the Kent/Sussex border, too, often commutable to London.

I work for a top 5 house builder - take the buy back. It’s not offered all that often, we’re advised to give it as an absolute last resort. 3 months is tight though, I would do your best to push back on that. Adding pressure by involving your MP and the media sometimes helps.

Take the money. Rent for 6 months. There are lots of places that you can get a house for that money in the South East. It's a pain in the neck but this is the best solution to your problem

Whilst I’m sure this has been horribly stressful I’m not sure you are f*ed! You don’t have a mortgage and have a healthy amount to spend on something else. Surely a quick search on right move will show you what houses are in your budget? I’d absolutely take the money and move (into rented if not other options)

If they have offered to buy it back you would be mad to turn that down. That’s your best option. Then move to a rental

She asked for houses in the south east though. As Bedford can't really be classed as south east I'm guessing that means she wants to include a change of area in all this.

Fgs. Sell it back to them and escape before they change their mind! Think of this as a blessing in disguise to get out of a weird soulless area.

I don't get why you think you're fucked. You have several options open to you and a good budget (you could even get a terrace in a not-awful area of London for that - admittedly probably not 5 bedrooms).

And like nearly every poster has said: go for buyback and rent.

Take the money.

Earmark some for renting and move out. There should be lots of places on things like Airbnb which you can rent for 3 months over the winter.

Start looking now at other areas. Close to you if you’re looking for something more established I’d recommend Ampthill/ Flitwick, Olney, Leighton Buzzard, Newport Pagnall, Toddington and Woburn Sands. You will not get the same size of house most likely but the area will be much nicer, you’ll probably get a good garden and if someone has been living there, the chances of it being a disaster are much less.

Bedford is the south east. It's around 55 miles north of London.

It has fast commuter links for London from places like Ampthill and Flitwick.
Commuters are moving out further.

If she wants SE she could look at north Herts or St Albans which is very popular.

Newport pagnall

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156865175#/?channel=RES_BUY

Leighton buzzard

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167717441#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167225684#/?channel=RES_BUY

@Frazzled252when I saw your thread title I assumed you must have taken out a huge mortgage and bought some money pit house with no redress for all the things that are wrong with it. Now that’s being f*ked.

I don’t see the issue here- take the money and get the hell out. It makes sense to rent for a while to give yourself time to consider carefully what you actually want. Something must have possessed you to spend a very considerable sum of money on a crappy new build in what you describe as a dystopian horrific location! You don’t want to make another mistake. Even if you didn’t know how awful this house would turn out to be, you surely knew you were buying in a completely new town where presumably building will be ongoing for years ahead. It sounds grim tbh. Get out, spend time thinking and carefully considering options.

I would say Bedford is SE. I’m in St Albans and it’s about 15 miles from here. You could argue both areas are east of England but I don’t think it’s against a technicality to describe them as SE- they are, basically.

I’m not getting it op, you don’t want to live there they have offered you a buy back why not move out and get a small place to rent whilst you find somewhere else? I’d negotiate though they pay stamp duty on the next place and a couple of months rent at least, as compensation.

Absolutely! And get some extra
cash to pay fees and rental in the meantime as they’ve fucked up the house, they should pay!

Seriously if they had given you only a month to leave you should've leapt at the chance. Get your furniture into storage and rent.
For them to offer to buy back they know it is uninhabitable so why would you even want to spend one more night there? Sounds dreadful.

Take the money. You are in a good position to negotiate here as you can guarantee what they are offering you is their lowest offer and they have room to move on it. They have a legal obligation here, they can’t walk away from the situation so don’t agree to anything that makes it more difficult for you.

We have a DWH and if they offered us a buy back, we’d take it. It is by far the worst new build we have ever owned.

Yes, let them buy it back - you'd have to move out anyway to get the work done.

Do you have legal cover on your insurance/bank/through work?

Try to negotiate min 6 months of rental/air bnb payments while you buy somewhere else.

St Albans is very much SE!

It's 15 mins on the train to central London. Hence house prices.

You have the options they offered you obviously. I would sell it back to them and move into a rented while you look for somewhere. That budget while not huge for SE is plenty and you have no mortgage so I can’t see you have a problem. Staying there is obviously no good so while inconvenient you are in no sense of the word f*ked.

I used to live in the Home Counties and there are lots of amazing houses in Bucks and Herts (Amersham, Berkhamsted, Chesham, Rickmansworth etc) that can be bought for £800k.

I agree about renting and just buy something later.