A distraught man and his family say they are living in a ‘new-build nightmare’ with mould on the walls, unsealed windows and gaps in the roof after shelling out £345,000 for a property on a new development.
Mr Cook and his family live on a new development from Persimmon Homes in Humberston, Lincolnshire, but the house they were promised has failed to materialise.
Grim pictures show the state of the property that the family say they have been left with – with mould clinging to the walls and gaps in the unfinished roof.
Persimmon Homes have since said they are liaising with the family to finish their house.
Mr Cook says that the problems started as soon as they moved into the property in December 2022 as they were greeted by decorators finishing the house off when they arrived.
The Cook family say they’ve been left in the lurch by their new-build nightmare
The house has not been completed and has irregular gaps in the brickwork
Since then, more and more problems have arisen, leaving Mr Cook and his family frustrated and stressed as they try to plan a wedding in a ‘living nightmare’.
Mr Cook said: ‘From the start, it’s been awful. The house was sold to us for £345,000 and it wasn’t even finished. When we got the keys we turned up and there were decorators still working on it.
‘The next day was the same and since then we’ve found so many more issues. We found mould in the hallway, the windows aren’t sealed, the roof isn’t finished and it’s just generally low-quality work around the whole house. We didn’t even have any skirting boards when we first moved in.
‘We’ve lived here two months now and I just feel like nobody has done anything to address the problem.’
Parts of the property show signs of mould and walls have holes in them
The family paid out £345,000 for the new-build property which has gaps in the walls
As well as these problems, he and his family found there was nowhere to plumb in a washing machine either and, with it being a new home, Mr Cook feels as though things have gone too far.
‘It’s just really frustrating. It’s not a cheap house, nor is it old and still nothing is being done, it’s a living nightmare.
‘On top of that, it’s taken nearly eight weeks for me to even be given a meeting with them – it shouldn’t take this long to get something sorted.’
He added: ‘I feel like they’ve just pushed this sale through even though the house isn’t finished – I’ve got kids and a dog, but they can’t even play in the garden because there’s no turf on the grass.
The grass is freshly laid but already patchy and ill fitting
Mr Cook says that the entire moving process was ‘awful from the start’
‘Even if there was, the fence is too high off the ground so the dog can easily get through to my neighbour’s garden.
‘It’s all the things that I never thought would be an issue that seem to have become one.’
However, it isn’t just family life that this ‘living nightmare’ is causing issues with: Mr Cook is also trying to plan a wedding whilst contending with the mould and unfinished roof.
‘At the same time as battling to get everything fixed, I’m trying to plan my wedding, but this house has taken up all of my spare time.
‘I’m upset and annoyed that the first thing our relatives will see when they come to visit will be a mouldy hallway and an unfinished house.
‘At this point, I think about it all and just laugh – the whole situation is ridiculous.’
Persimmon Homes have apologised for the problems with the house
They have said they are liaising with the family to sort out the problems
In response to Mr Cook’s complaints, Persimmon Homes have apologised for the issues and have endeavoured to fix any problems with the property.
A Persimmon South Yorkshire spokesman said: ‘Our customer care team has been liaising closely with the customer to resolve some outstanding issues which will be completed shortly.
‘We want every customer to receive exceptional service at each stage of the buying process, both before and after moving into their new home.
‘We are sorry when customers feel they have not received this level of service and always look to resolve any issues as soon as possible.
‘In 2022 Persimmon achieved a HBF 5-star rating for the first time, meaning that over 90 per cent of customers would recommend us to a friend, demonstrating our continued investment in customer service.’