Help, House developer nightmare

[uncle bulgaria]

Hi All, looking for a bit of help for my mate. He's a widower with 2 kids and has just bought a terrace house that has been "re-developed".

He moved in last week to find loads of building materials & rubbish still there and lots of stuff like banisters not fitted. There are TV aerial points in each room, but all the cable just seem to run to the cellar & then nothing! Theres a aerial cable on the outside wall, but doesn't go into the house and another cable that goes who knows where!

The day he moved in he called me as his combi boiler was on max pressure, as someone had over pressurised the system!

The phone master socket wasn't fitted, but BT have come and done this now!

Last night he calls me as the built in washer/tumble dryer wasn't working. On inspection it had been fitted, and sealed in (kitchen kick strip siliconed in etc, etc), but the fill valve stop tap at the back had been turned off! So we had to pull half of the kitchen trim off the get the machine out to turn on the water! Of course had it been left like that you couldn't have got to the filter either! We also found that the back panel had been removed as it wouldn't fit in the space because it was too deep, and that the outer drum rubs in the pipes!

I also had a look at some of the kitchen lights that didn't work, and found that instead of hard wiring in, the builder/developer has just used extension after extension, and some sort of "remote control plug" for the none working lights. The cooker extractor is wired into a junction box which is just loose and full of bare wires (and luckily) doesn't seem to work! None of it looks like it's to current code, yet was done about 6 months ago.

He's spoken to his solicitor who's basically told him, "it's tough, but you've no comeback". Surely there is something he can do to either get the work done & made safe or pay and reclaim the money? They guy is at his wits end, as problem after problem keeps cropping up. This house cost him a lot and he's not got a bottomless pit of money to chuck at getting it right himself, so any pointers would be appreciated

[@Lee]

can you get somebody from the local councils buiding control to have a look? Sounds like this should never have been signed off. That is one hell of a snagging list and IMO it is unfit for purpose.

[CFB]

Agree with the above.

No way that work is safe and it shouldn't have been signed off.

If it has been then I believe the chap who signed it off is in deep brown stuff.

As for the other stuff, I'm afraid it might be back to the developer to put right.

[Ootohere]

Any boiler fault or incorrect certificate could see that Vendor in jail,

or court hopefully.

So important to see the Service or installation and the Sellers report on the building.

He needs to talk to another Solicitor or Legal Advice centre, that Solicitor might also need taken down a peg or 2.

Vendor any connection to that Law Firm???

(Because he or she is a ****! JMO.)

george

Edited 31 July, 2012 by sk4gw

[fabdavrav]

If he has bought the "finished" place from a developer....or even if he bought the house then paid a builder to develop it....

1. put in writing and take photos of all the faults and send to developers head office by recorded post.

2. get the council planning and building warrant dept and notify them, and ask to see who signed it off

3. also ask to see the NICEIC electrical test/ sign off cert for the place.

4. then if no luck get hold of the NICEIC electrical lot and ask for a recommended tester to come and inspect the whole electrics

5. re the boiler ask for the gas safe test/sign off cert and as above.

http://niceic.com/

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/

Edited 31 July, 2012 by fabdavrav

['daiking']

Basically bought an unfinished house? On whose word did he take it would be cleared, clean and complete? Any pre purchase survey?

What details did the vendor provide to the solicitor?

[uncle bulgaria]

Thanks all of you. I'll get back to him about some of your questions & keep you posted, but have forwarded all your suggestions onto him.

[uncle bulgaria]

Any boiler fault or incorrect certificate could see that Vendor in jail,

or court hopefully.

So important to see the Service or installation and the Sellers report on the building.

He needs to talk to another Solicitor or Legal Advice centre, that Solicitor might also need taken down a peg or 2.

Vendor any connection to that Law Firm???

(Because he or she is a ****! JMO.)

george

I think he's been taken for a ride. But i know that he was between a rock and a very hard place. Basically had a very small 2 bed flat, so gave up his bedroom so the kids could have one each. Sleeping on the couch & working long hours to try and hold it all together on one salary.

This spot came up literally one street away, so kids could stay in same school, be near friends etc and I think he thought of them over anything else.

Think he only had the basic survey, as money was so tight. Trouble is i'm now worried about what I can't see & I think he's starting to realise that there might have to be a bit of pulling apart to make it right.

[uncle bulgaria]

Oh, forgot to say, the shower leaks too!

[mdon]

I think he's been taken for a ride. But i know that he was between a rock and a very hard place. Basically had a very small 2 bed flat, so gave up his bedroom so the kids could have one each. Sleeping on the couch & working long hours to try and hold it all together on one salary.

This spot came up literally one street away, so kids could stay in same school, be near friends etc and I think he thought of them over anything else.

Think he only had the basic survey, as money was so tight. Trouble is i'm now worried about what I can't see & I think he's starting to realise that there might have to be a bit of pulling apart to make it right.

Since he only had the basic survey done there's not much that can be done.

With regards to building control, they only need to sign off if there's been building works etc, replacing lights and fitting kitchen doesn't require their approval. Plus they can only prosecute with 12 months of the alterations, my house has a kitchen extension that has never had building control approval and never would get it to be honest. II would be quick if he is going to go down that route.

[bilun777]

Sounds like a case for Rogue Traders...Good luck.

[Aspman]

Did he even look at it?

[Kandy]

Unless the seller has lied on the sellers' questionnaire or failed to meet anything specified in the contract, then it's your mate's problem now. If he was expecting completed guaranteed work then that should have been specified in the contract and he should have checked the works had been done before completion. If you call in building control now they are just as likely to just tell your mate it is his responsibility to make it legal, rather than prosecute the developer, which wouldn't help your mate anyway as he still wouldn't get it put right.

[uncle bulgaria]

Did he even look at it?

Apparently it was one of those guided viewings, while work was still in progress.

[uncle bulgaria]

Thanks everyone. I know it's likely to be a case of "buyer beware" in the end, but I want to try and help him as much as possible. He had it hard enough of late and it's time for something good for him and his kids. This was supposed to be a bit of a fresh start, so if there is away of bring these "rogues" to book, I hope we find it!

[Kandy]

He sounds like an ideal candidate for DIY SOS, COWBOY Builders etc. They love a good hard luck story whilst putting stuff right.

[Aspman]

Apparently it was one of those guided viewings, while work was still in progress.

Was it intimated to him at the time that the work was going to be finished before he bought? Any witnesses to that?

[uncle bulgaria]

He can recall the developer telling him that all work would be finished, but he says the only witnesses would be the ones who were also being shown around at the same time.

I'd suggested I write to DIY SOS etc, but he's adamant not. And I can see why as he said he doesn't want to drag the kids through all the issues of loosing their mum.

[Loz]

I might be wrong, but isn't snagging only applicable to new builds? If someone has bought a house, wrecked it, then sold it then you buy as seen AFAIK. Unless there has been misrepresentation then I doubt much can be done, especially if the solicitor has said there's no comeback too. You need to examine a house when you buy it. Like the house I'm in now. It all looked fine, yet when it came to doing it up we found all the plug sockets were on wonky, there was uneven plastering on some of the walls, the bathroom tiles had been put on over other tiles so basically just fell off when touched! You just have to deal with it and learn from it unfortunately. We even had an unsafe electric meter thing. The electrician we got in had to replace the consumer unit because it shouldn't have been used!

Edited 31 July, 2012 by Loz

[PhilP1903]

Deep smelly stuff unfortunately.