Three Notifications to Snag When House not ready

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daveco23

Registered User
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128
Hi,
Just about to move into a new build house. Over the course of the past 3 months, I have received roughly one letter from the builder each month advising house was ready to snag. On each occassion, I went down with my Surveyor and found the house far from ready for snagging - eg, first time there was no kitchen, second time floors had been dug up, no electricity, plumbing etc. Each visit by my surveyor cost me 200 euro and was essentially a wasted journey each time. Each time I went down, I sent a copy of surveyors letter to my solicitor advising house was not ready, who then forwarded it on to the builder, and the same thing happened again and again until finally, the fourth letter arrived and the house was in an acceptable state.
I instructed my solicitor to seek a 600 euro reduction on the cost of the house due to the three wasted visits by my surveyor. Builders replied back saying they "will not entertain this request". My solicitor advised me to drop it, saying I would be wasting my time.
Do I have any recourse here? 600 euro is 600 euro. Plus, the builders have offered no excuse for the miscommunication and state of the house. Am I wasting my time pursuing this?
Thanks.
 
Yes, I believe you would be wasting your time. I don't believe you have any legal recourse. However if you know the builder ( i.e. the actual 'owner' of the company) or have access to him, you could ring him directly and appeal to his better nature.
 
Builder - Better nature. This must be the number one oxymoron around. I think it even beats honest politician :)
 
unfortunately I dont think you have any recourse either..... I'm surprised your surveyor charged you €200 each time he visited the site, what did he charge you €200 for when he did'nt snag it...he hardly did a snag report pointing out to you what was obvious, ie no kitchen, floors etc.....


Hindsight is a great thing but you probably should have visited the property yourself first to see if it was fit for snagging, before engaging a surveyor.
 
I was waiting for that! Although I'm sure your remark was somewhat tongue in cheek, I have to defend the species- not all builders are out to make a quick buck, not all builders are cowboys, not all builders are unmoved by a purchasers sad tale. I have in my time acted for many honorable builders, and have seen them refund deposits without deduction when they had the legal right to retain them because they did not want to take advantage of purchasers unfortunate circumstances, have seen them waive interest rightfully theirs, and generally do their level best for purchasers. Sure they're not all the same, but don't tar them all with the same brush either.
 
well it was a bit tongue in cheek, and no I dont tarnish all builders with the same brush, bought a new house 4 years ago and builder was very accomadating, to the point of completing our house a good 7 weeks in advance of advised completion date because I was due a baby. he also gave us added extras , attic light fitting, outdoor tap and a slightly upgraded kitchen and he didnt charge us..
the 9 months pregnant homeless woman helped.... ;)

i dont want to sound harse, but common sense would tell you to check the property yourself to see if its fit for snagging before engaging a professional who is going to charge.
 
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