The last few weeks have been busy at work but also at the flat as we finally had more defects resolved! We first raised these back in May 2020 so it really has taken a very long time, in part due to COVID-19. The joys of buying and settling into a new home in the midst of a global pandemic!
It feels like we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully the remaining defects will be corrected soon.
Sharing below our 5 top tips for this process:
1. Manage your expectations and be informed
I had initially assumed that there would be minimal issues with new builds because, well, they’re new! What I learnt was that, while it is lovely and new, it might not be perfect so will need to deal with snags and defects.
It’s important to understand what the builder defines as a snag and a defect. To manage your expectations, it’s helpful to know earlier on what the processes are for resolving them.
Don’t forget to ask what the timelines are and to have it in writing so you can follow up more easily if it takes longer than what they said initially!
This was all new to me so I found it helpful to read through the relevant sections of the NHBC Standards. Chapter 9 is the one that I found most relevant and I’ve written about it here. After reading Chapter 9, I was more informed of what the finishes should be like as we weren’t happy with some finishes in the flat.
2. Really think carefully about whether or not to hire a professional to perform a snagging survey
We completed on a Friday and spent that weekend going through a snagging list in our new home. We took lots of pictures of any issues that we found so we could report them. It took us several hours and we used some free snagging checklists that I found online. The links are in this blog post!
A professional snagging survey may give you more peace of mind and you don’t need to spend hours doing it yourself!
3. Be organised and clearly document the issues
I recommend using a Microsoft Excel file and noting down each issue with a short description of what the issue is, the location and the reference number to the respective photo. This makes it easier for the builder to go through the list, especially if there are a number of issues raised.
We have referred back to our Excel tracker of issues a number of times over the past few months and it’s a really convenient way to document the responses from the house builder and our follow up responses.
I shared our list of columns to include in the defects/snag tracker in this blog post.
4. Importance of persistence and patience
It has taken a lot of chasing, many emails and calls to get our issues resolved. Don’t give up though! My dad often says the quote, ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’. Furthermore, even if they say no, you can think about whether or not that is reasonable and reasons why they should fix it and negotiate!
For some of the issues that we flagged, the builder pushed back and said they weren’t defects, but we managed to get them resolved as a sign of goodwill!
5. Be aware of who can help if it’s taking a long time
NHBC have a free resolution service and you can reach out to them if you have a dispute or in our case, the builder was taking too long to resolve the issues.
We called NHBC and they asked us to email our list of issues to claims@nhbc.co.uk. In the end, the builder started fixing our defects so we didn’t need to use the NHBC resolution service. However, the Claims team had looked through our list of issues and flagged which ones they think should be resolved, which helped us to feel more informed.
You can find more information about the resolution service in the NHBC guidance documents for homeowners.
Here’s the link to the NHBC guidance document on the resolution service.
I have written various posts on snagging so if you want to hear more about our experiences and learn useful tips, see the posts below:
1. Common snagging issues in new build homes
2. “It’s a new build so there’ll be minimal issues!” I was wrong.
3. ‘It’s within tolerance’...do you know about the NHBC Standards?
4. 5 tips for the home demo
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a lovely Sunday!
Jess
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