Buying house, and kitchen fitted incorrectly

LFC Murphy

Registered User
Messages
103
:confused: Hi,

Can anyone help me, I am so fustrated at the moment. Ok. so I have just bought a house near galway in a new development, So firstly there are allowances for my house:

1. Fireplace
2. Tiling (Excluding floors)
3. Wardrobes
4. Kitchen.

I was told by the estate agent on the day I viewed the house, that there was gonna be a coordinator for the estate that would tie in with the buyers regarding kitchen etc, of which I was told there were 3 styles.

All was going ok until I visited the site with the builder to find my kitchen being installed. The day I arrived I found that my Kitchen was half finished, as were my wardrobes. Now I was not asked by the builder what style etc, or if in fact I want to take the allowance and install these myself.

A week prior to the I has foned & mailed the estate agent saying that the coordinator or builder as she put it had not been in contact.

Anyway I went back to the estate agent (Muppet and on holidays at the time) and talked to his assistant. She stated that her boss was out for the week and anyway I needed to fix this with the builder. And basically pawned me off.
Upon the estate agent boss's return, I quickly got in contact and stated my case.!
And this is what he said "That I muddled things in my head, that he didn't say anything of the sort, that the coordinator was only for the higher priced houses" Now I wasn't alone, my girlfriend was also there that day and heard what I heard, I reminded him of this and said again that me "muddled" things. 4 days after the viewing I brought my mother to view the house and she also heard that there was 3 styles of kitchen to choose from.......

So that the story to date!


And if that doesnt do it for you :) last nite I was reviewing the plans for the house with the engineer that will do my snag list and he pointed out that the builder has installed my kitchen in the completly wrong location........

My Questions are
1. Where do I stand with the lying estate agent. (if I misheard I would admit it)
2. How do I approach the builder to inform him that the location of the kitchen is completly wrong, he has put it where it is to save on plumming as it is back to back with nexk doors kitchen.

This is a long one so thanks anybody that takes the time to read & respond. But my head is recked.

Oh Im meeting the builder the afternoon so any feedback :)
 
Have you signed contracts to buy? Were there plans, drawings, specifications attached? Were there time limits in relation to choices for kitchens mentioned? Check this first.
 
Your solicitor might be able to help on the legal nicities. To be honest, when dealing with builders, it's probably more to do with ability to negotiate, haggle, beg, charm etc. We found when buying our house that they had no problem blanking me, regardless of how I approach them, but they found it difficult to blank my missus.
 
RainyDay is absolutely right, a face to face meeting with the builder/site foreman could work wonders- far better than going down the legal route.
 
I, too, always found the missus to be an invaluable negotiating asset - she would have a major 'go' at them to soften them up and then they would agree more readliy to my more 'reasonable' requests..... :eek:
 
No contracts have been signed, however the plans are included with the documents with the solicitor, and it shows the kitchen in the correct location (not wher it is at present)


No allowances, time limits etc is metioned in the contract. however builder did confirm the allowances verbally (no time limit)
 
I was in a smiliar situation as you last year. The plans we got showed a certain kitchen layout and units in the utility. This wasn't what we got.
But they had a tiny disclaimer on the plans that said something like, the real thing may be different or the plans were not legally contractual or something like that!
 
Thanks folks, gonna run with it for now, as I have no legal standing due to no contracts being signed.


However I will say if you are reading this and are buying property be aware of what the selling agent states and get him to write in down there and then. I am not saying all agents are as bad, but my dealings to date has left a bitter taste in my mouth, to the extent that I am looking at Cork IT to do a course in auctioneering & valuation which costs the huge sum of €700.............

I'll leave it at that. Thanks again for your time.
 
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