For many Brits, climbing the property ladder is a big deal, particularly in these tough times. However, for one couple it went from a joyous event to a nightmare quite quickly.
Chris and Steph Oliver are stuck with a new-build home they can’t sell due to an unnoticed construction mistake when the survey was done. The couple paid £130,000 for a three-bed house using the government’s Help to Buy scheme which has since ended.
Sadly, when their mortgage term finished in 2015, they learnt they couldn’t sell their home because there was a problem with the development – and they weren’t the only ones affected.
They found out they couldn’t get another mortgage as the building didn’t go along with the rules and regulations for construction. The scary thing is that all 13 homes in the new-build estate in Bradford have the same issue, shown on BBC One’s Rip Off Britain back in 2020.
Chatting on the show then, Chris who is a graphic designer, shared: “It’s a mess. We feel let down by the systems in this country. There’s been so many people who we should have been able to trust and rely on and no one wants to help.”, reports the Mirror.
In February 2020, Sherwood Homes – the company responsible for the development – went bust, leaving families with unfinished work costing thousands of pounds. “We tried to contact Sherwood Homes. There was no reply. They stopped answering phone lines and emails. We were in a state of panic,” said Chris.
Adeel Azfal, 27, who lives with his partner and their two year old daughter Anya, bought their house for £175,000 in June 2016. “We’ve got a young family. My partner doesn’t work so we are tied into what we thought would be our forever home,” he shared.
“When we realised it was worth nothing it was a shock. I’m in £150,000 worth of debt to my mortgage provider and I’m paying for a house that’s worth nothing at all.”
One big problem is that the estate is next to an old rubbish dump. Even though it hasn’t been used for over 40 years, the council says it still gives off deadly methane gas, which can be lethal when mixed with other gases.
The builders were meant to put a protective layer under the floors of each house, but the residents don’t know if it was done right or even finished. Hamid Khan bought one of the properties for £180,000 in 2016.
He thinks the protective layer was put in right before, but without papers, the only way to check is to tear up the floors. “You can only verify it if you break the whole floor. It doesn’t make sense,” he explained.
“You’re so close to a landfill site and to not install a gas membrane and not install correctly. It’s just unheard of.”
Gary Rycroft, an expert on new homes, says the homeowners should complain about their property lawyers. “The conveyancing solicitor on the face of it hasn’t spotted various issues you would expect them to spot,” he pointed out.
He also said that they missed big problems with the environment, the new road, and the drains. These are all big things that a property surveyor should look at.
The Olivers and Mr Azfal mentioned that their property lawyers didn’t admit they did anything wrong but agreed to pay some money to help finish the house. Khan has taken his problem to the Legal Omudsman.
A spokesperson from Bradford Council said: “Clearly residents have been let down by the developer and the agencies that worked for the developer, and that is why the Council have supported residents through guidance and advice.”
“We understand that a number of the residents have successfully taken legal action against the developer’s agencies in order to rectify some of the problems on site, which the Council considers to be the correct route for residents to be following.”
A spokesperson from Homes England added: “We have been in regular contact with Mr and Mrs Oliver over this matter and recognise the distress it has caused them.”
They also agreed to stop interest payments on Help to Buy loans for those affected.
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
