A COUPLE who bought their dream home say they were unable to move in for nearly two years as one thing after another went wrong.
Graham Currigan, 31, and his partner Simone were full of optimism when they bought the newbuild in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, but the move just went from bad to worse.
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An agonising 22-month delay reportedly forced Graham to get signed off work after the stress became too much.
He said it also meant that he had to reapply for the mortgage twice, with the interest on his fixed-rate five-year offer leaping from 1.8 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
Just when the couple thought the delay had been resolved, a first tour around the home apparently revealed a variety of issues, including a faulty seal on the fridge/freezer and a flooded garage “under two inches of water”.
Graham told Teesside Live: “We reserved a plot…about 22 months ago.
“The original completion date I was given was 20 months ago, and then through complete inadequacy throughout they have continually put the completion date back.
“The annoying thing for me, and the reason why it has gotten to a point where I’ve had to take a legal approach, is that each time they have done it they have put it back by two or three months.
“I was never in a position where I had a choice to make, I had to just go, ‘oh that’s fine because I’m not going to find anything else in two or three months’ – and sometimes it has been less than that.”
The fuming homeowner claimed that the completion date for the development was changed 10 times before he got the keys to the house.
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He added: “They also had to change my mortgage and everything because the offer ended because it had gone on too long.
“The rates are now much worse than what they were, even just in that it’s costing me a bunch more.
“I’ve had to reapply for a mortgage twice throughout the process and each time it got worse for me financially because of their delays.
“It also cost me about £16k not being here, a large proportion of that is the rent my partner was paying on her property, which obviously we wouldn’t have been paying because we would’ve been paying towards a mortgage.”
After eventually moving in, Graham, Simone and her two daughters have grown increasingly frustrated with developer Tilia Homes.
Graham claims that one of the windows is not where it should be according to the plans he bought the plot from, saying that he reserved the land on “incorrect information”.
He says that he has been in touch with the developer and has kept a log of all the exchanges, even emailing the investment company that owns Tilia to try and resolve the issues.
Even after they moved in, the washing machine reportedly flooded the downstairs with “about 14kg of water”.
Graham slammed Tilia for a “lack of communication” and said: “Every time you are getting to that last stretch before the finish line, they have thrown a hurdle in there. As the hurdle has gone on instead of getting smaller they have gotten bigger and are becoming like roadblocks.”
A spokesperson for Tilia Homes said: “We are actively discussing and actioning queries raised by Mr Currigan and sympathise that his buying journey has not been the experience we hope for anybody who buys a Tilia Home.
“While the property has been signed off in accordance with the National House Building Council (NHBC), our production director and myself continue to visit with Mr Currigan to ensure points raised are being taken seriously and dealt with swiftly.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to customer care and service, we have offered and installed upgraded appliances and features in the home as a gesture of goodwill and to show our appreciation of Mr Currigan’s patience and continue to work with him in accordance with our own quality control measures as well as those set by the NHBC.”
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