nhbc builder help

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harveyspicer1

Hi All

After months of looking for a quality builder,and discussions with many and architects, I instructed a builder to construct my new house, in my garden , he started 15 months ago.
he quoted , based on the plans £373,000 as a set cost , in an effort to get some discount , I waited until the day before we signed the contracts, and I pulled out . I emailed him and said the project wasn't going ahead.

a week later I received a very personal and almost grovelling email from the builder saying that my decision had devastated him and his family, and he now had no work for a year lined up,
I waited a few days to let him stew,
then I emailed back a few days later and offered him a deal
I said he had to stand the kitchen and wardrobe cost, £23,000 and he had to pay for the NHBC warranty, he almost cried , but said he had no choice as he needed the work as he had bills to pay.

From the start things went well, but slowly, the site was very difficult and they spent tens of thousands over budget in the footings as the engineer made them put tonnes of concrete in they hadn’t budgeted for,also due to the foul weather the bankings kept collapsing.
They didn’t tell me this, the builder just stood the cost.

Fast forward 12 months and as we get to completion its obvious the builder is struggling, the work rate slows and things don’t get done.
We have a meeting with the architect who has supervised the whole job, The builder explains he has lost so much of his own money, trying to finish the house that he is really struggling. He says that if we find a further £17000 he can finish everything, he will not make a penny and still lose , but he would finish it, I sympathise ,a tiny bit, but my wife and lawyer says not to, “its his fault “they said , don’t give him a penny

From then on its been a dispute, he has gone as slow as he can, he says he hasn’t the money to pay for things and has put his own house on the market to try finish ours, he was only sending men when he has money to pay them, and despite trying ,I cant hold him in breach of contract because there was no penalty clause ,and as long as he kept someone here he wasn’t breaching the contract.

Any way, he has now reached practical completion, and the house is finished and he has passed all building regulations and he has had the NHBC inspectors sign the house of and provide the warranty.(he is nhbc registered)

I need this warranty to get my mortgage, and he knows this, he also knows I am currently having to pay £2000 a month on a bridging loan till I can draw down my new mortgage.
This is where he is being horrible, he says because HE PAID the nhbc (it was £6000 for the warranty , which he had to pay up front out of his own pocket, the finished house will be worth £800,000,) that the warranty certificate is his !!! its not mentioned in the contract and he is refusing to give it to me unless I pay for it , in FULL !!!


How can he do this ?
is this fair ?
are all builders crooks ?

I have a £800,000 house I cant move into, and my current £700,000 house I cant sell??

help please , any advice, good or bad welcome .
 
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hi andy

seriously ?

why would you think that ?
ive just re read it ,with my wife and i cant see why you would think that ?
 
You tried to shaft him in the very beginning, leaving it the day before and cancelling the job. That was very nasty!
You only done that to lower the price.

If you didn't like the price then why didn't you go with someone cheaper?

He is getting his own back.

Andy
 
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thankyou for you comments Andy.

whilst i do not share your opinion, i do appreciate your honesty.

my wife and my lawyer, advised me to do that at the time, and i am comfortable with what we did ,
i would call it business,

i would welcome anyone who can offer advice on how i can get my warranty without paying

regards

Harvey
 
So you've got an 800k house that you paid circa 350k to have built. You freely admit you screwed the builder around from the very beginning and now you're crying that he is being 'horrible' and wants 6k to give you the warranty that he paid for despite the fact you know he put extra thousands in to cover the extra costs for the footings.

I'm no expert or tradesmen but in my opinion you should pay up and stop moaning. £6k sounds a cheap price to pay to get the house you wanted,especially as you did the guy for 23k at the outset. And I doubt you'll get much sympathy on here either.
 
First thought when reading this post... "T0sser"

Echo the other comments .
 
Agree with above posts. Pay the 6k and thank the guy, I'm in disbelief that he absorbed the extra foundation costs and from that point you know he was out of pocket on the job. Pay him and in your head write it off as contingency for groundwork. I bet you just want to see the back of the build and get in the house. I wouldn't bother about who's right or wrong, £2k/ month and life's too short.Your description paints your builder in a very good light and you, not so well!
 
Sounds a bit suspect to me. I would have thought the average NHBC registered builder would be too experienced to be taken in by a petty conman. If it is true I would pay up and get the certificate as fast as possible if I were you. If I was your builder I'd keep it, frame it and hang it on my office wall as a reminder.
 
There are too many programmes on TV about rogue traders and builders etc. but none about rogue clients and customers.
 

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