Parsons Court, Newcastle, Co Dub: No sign of the builder returning signed contracts!

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Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Quasar - I'm just amazed and so grateful that you have taken the time to advise us here. Honestly, what a huge wealth of information - thank you so much.

Our solicitor is extremely thorough and has raised concerns about the quality of this development and maintenance/services etc., but I haven't had the time to meet with him to discuss fully, yet. I am much better informed following your contribution.

Parsons Court looks more and more likely to turn into a liquidation rather than a receivership I reckon. They can't expect people to pay these prices with so many issues unanswered and without any responsibility post-sale.

It looks to me as if they don't trust the integrity of this development so they want to offload it with no strings attached.

I will continue posting relevant updates until these matters are resolved. Feel free to PM me any information you would prefer not to broadcast.

And many sincere thanks again.
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Quasar said:
SUGGESTION :

Taking account of the list of outstanding works (refer to Benny’s posting dated 30/09/09) and the fact that the developer has gone into receivership (see Wannagaf’s posting dated 06/10/09) anyone who has bought, or is in the process of buying a property in Parson’s Court might consider it prudent to get their respective solicitors to brief them on the following matters :-

(1) The role/responsibility of the receiver in having the outstanding works completed.

(2) More importantly, in the event that the receiver does not have the works duly completed, the role/responsibility of South Dublin County Council in having the works so completed.

In this latter regard your solicitor will undoubtedly (??!!) draw your attention to Conditions No.1, 18 and 24 of Planning Permission Reference SD04A/0953 which read as follows –

Condition No.1

“The development shall be carried out in its entirety in accordance with the plans, particulars and specifications lodged with the application, and as amended by Further Information received on 05/08/05, save as may be required by the other conditions attached hereto.”

(Note : The plans lodged with the application include bin storage and bicycle parking facilities ; see also Condition No.18 below)


Condition No.18

“Prior to the commencement of the development, details of bin and cycle storage facilities shall be submitted for the written agreement of the Planning Authority. Bin storage facilities shall be constructed of permanent materials, adequately serviced with a water supply, drainage and ventilation.”


Condition No.24

“Before the development is commenced, the Developer shall lodge with South Dublin County Council a cash deposit of €285,660, a bond of an Insurance Company of €457,110, or other security to secure the provision and satisfactory completion and maintenance to taking-in-charge standard of roads, footpaths, sewers, watermains, drains, public lighting and other services required in connection with the development.”


He (your solicitor) may or may not be in a position to inform you that the failure of the Developers to comply with Conditions 1 and 18 regarding bin storage and bicycle parking facilities has resulted in an Enforcement Order being served on them by South Dublin County Council, at the instigation of a party who was at one stage in the process of buying a property within this development, but who withdrew in light of the Developers’ refusal to comply with the Enforcement Order (along with numerous other reasons).
Click to expand...

Fair play - thats fantastic information for us.

The minute I read that there was a problem with pyrite in parsons court my enthusiasm for this development plummeted. Thanks so much for your in-depth explanations.
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi All/Quasar - Excellent info as always.

I have unconfirmed information that Homebond won't be certifying the house I was looking to buy. Someone has refilled the groundhole in the living room but I'm told that the damp-proof seal couldn't have been 100% restored. I don't have any other details, the information was not official. So, we're left guessing again. Don't think the groundhole could be why Homebond are refusing - they're the ones who instructed the drilling in the first place.

Not good news - I'm just waiting for confirmation. Will advise if I hear anything to the contrary.

Edit: Spoke to Baker Tilly and they know nothing about Homebond denying certs. Watch this space.
 
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Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Noted!

Am currently awaiting reply on my refusal to quibble over a non-negotiable snag. They're unbelievable.

I've decided not to renew my mortgage application (this would be my 4th time). It's too much paperwork just to keep us 'ready for them'. I'll reapply when the time is right. They can close this deal whenever they want, but I'm not going to keep pestering my employer for certs etc. just to make this sale easy for them.

I will copy my legal on your comments in case there could be any oversight of the dangers you have pointed out.

There's a problem with the council - I'm told they are now delaying the road resurfacing. Then again, I'm told a lot of things. We'll see.

Invaluable as always - thanks Quasar!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Quasar your postings are invaluable, thanks a million, ill advise my solicitor if the time ever comes that I actually get a homebond cert.
Think your right Wannagaf about not reapplying for mortgage approval. its ridiculous at this stage.
I can't believe they still expect to get the same price for these houses considering the mess that parsons court has become!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

I am living in one of the apartments in Parsons Court & read these posts a few months ago. Im suprised that these issues are still going as I have noticed 3 or 4 houses with people moving in or preparing to. The bins have now been allocated to a purposely built area & finally the roads have been finished (2 days before Christmas which lead to them being like a skating rink in the frost!). I work in the building industry & was informed by the builders who are currently working up there after Walsh Maguire went that all the apartments & houses were sold about 2weeks ago. It is a lovely estate to live in, its unfortunate that this has been happening. I do want to check as I vaguely remember a post about security gates but there had been no mention of this when I signed for my apartment. If anyone knows if thats to go ahead please reply. Wouldnt be looking forward to the bill from the management co for it but all the surrounding estates do use the playground during the nice days & it can be quite annoying so they might be needed
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi Parsonsres - thanks for the post. It's really excellent news for the new 'moved-in buyers', especially to get in before Christmas, I know that it would have been an important deadline.

One reason that the road and bins have finally been started (they're not complete yet as far as I know) is that, behind the scenes, there has been a full-on campaign to get this sorted, for all of us would-be neighbours. Some of the current buyers (including myself) wouldn't progress sales without a visible start on the outstanding works. We had the support of some of the established residents, although they didn't post here.

The issue of the gates is still live - we have made no progress on this as yet. I'll keep updating here if anything moves along, but I put this whole fiasco to the back of my mind over Christmas for the sake of sanity!!!!

Keep us posted if there is any response from the management company or residents association on the gates - it would be good to have any info.
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Well the roads seem to be finished, no more manholes wrecking my tyres! I am contacting the management company this week so I will enquire about the gate. They are pretty slow to come back so god knows when I'll hear. Hopefully things progress quicker for you in 2010!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi all,

I was one of the first residents to move in to Parsons court and hopefully can post some helpful points:

  • The development itself is a very pleasant, cosy and quiet, with great potential.
  • The residents in the estate are fantastic, and even in this early stage a strong sense of community has been established.
  • There are still numerous problems ongoing and I'll try to outline them as factually as possible
.

When I signed for my apartment, in my haste to get into my first home, I took the builder at their word to complete outstanding snags. A huge mistake no matter where you buy! I've learned the hard way from that.

Some of the problems were, a damaged kitchen worktop, no carpet in the common area stairwell, fire alarm/smoke vents not working.

Sadly most of these snags are outstanding almost 2 years later. Current problems I am experiencing are: no carpet in common stairwell (concrete floor), no smoke vents/fire alarm working, leaks in common area, shortage of bins, bins overflowing, a USELESS managment company, damp seeping through walls, tarmac only completed 3 weeks ago.

There is indeed a receiver in place and since they took over some progress has been made but only some. The most significant problem facing residents at the moment is that no-one is taking responsibility for the development, the receiver is only interested in money, the property agent is only interested in marketing, and the managment company is interested in nothing!

I highly recommend the development and the village of Newcastle, however this recommendation comes with a strong warning; make 100% sure that you have all snags cleared and inspected before signing, paying particular attention to plumbing, damp, smoke alarms and common areas (where applicable) Insist that facilities such as bin stores, landscaping, public lighting be in place.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, tell the receiver, property agent, builder, banks, everyone that you have heard from residents about the problems. Your feedback to these people is our strongest case for getting the issues resolved.

Residents here are very proactive about getting the development completed, we attend a site meeting every Wednesday at 10am. There has been a lot of progress in the last 2 months but a lot more to do.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions. If helpful I would be happy to post minutes from weekly meetings here.

All the best,
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi guys,

A quick point I picked up on in a few of the previous points;

To the best of my knowledge there will not be security gates or gates of any type on the estate. I was told that although it was sought at planning stage it was not allowed as there are no gated communities in the village of Newcastle and it would not be in keeping with the area.

I am open to correction on this, but I will do some research to confirm.
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi p_court_res,

We've been doing exactly that... insisting on snags being complete before we will sign. That's one reason why we're six months waiting to move in. Good advice.

Minutes of the meetings would be very welcome. A couple of questions:
Who are the management company?
Are the residents properly represented?
Who decides how the management fees are spent? Is there oversight of all spending by the residents?

I would welcome this information as it's soon to become our problem too! Do the residents committee ever meet in the evenings?

Thanks again for posting!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

The maintenance company is Assured Property Maintenance. They are very slow to come back unless asking for money (big shock!). I have yet to find out where the money is spent. It was requested by my solicitor but in my hurry to move in I didnt follow that up as I should have. I got a bill before Christmas but told them I would pay after I get the budget from last year. According to them its still with the accountants or whatever. I then got my bill again. I was unaware of site meetings until p_court_res posts so I dont know if there is a residents committee. Hopefully there will be evening meetings soon as I would be unable to attend during the day. I would appreciate follow ups on meetings too :)
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Is there any update yet?? has anyone moved in??
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

A couple of buyers have moved in but we are holding off on our solicitors advice until the Homebond cert is issued. The long awaited and delayed report was finally issued to Homebond this day last week but since then there's been no news. I was of the understanding that once Homebond got the report which according to the QS shows the houses to be 'clean as a whistle' that the certs would be issued within a number of days. Having been in touch with Baker Tilly and KBA a number of times this week it seems that Homebond continue to play silly beggars by not responding to emails and phonecalls. Their last communication to Baker Tilly yesterday evening was that they are 'waiting on the underwriters representatives to get back to us’. To be honest if I'd had any idea back in May when our offer was accepted that 8 months later we'd still be banging our heads off a wall in trying to get into our house we'd have walked away. Since then its just been one delay and litany of lies and excuses on top of another. Have you signed contracts or are you just considering the estate?
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

We have a deposit down at the moment, we are also waiting on the homebond obviously we will be left waiting!!! We are also waiting on our contracts to be sent over to our solicitor, we put our deposit down in December an still no sign our solictor has been intouch so many times with theres about the contracts. 8 months is a long long time,we have only had a just a little over a month of it and we are getting very frustrated considering everything is good to go and we are left waiting on stupid little things. Hopefully there'll be some news by the end of the week!!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hi Babycake,

Delighted you took the big decision to put down a deposit (we could be neighbours one day I guess!!) I'm still battling over legal problems which are probably the same for everyone... an honest word of advice - don't hold your hopes up for a quick sale, it'll become a major stress. Far better off just seeing what happens and trying not to be anxious about a move-in date.

This house has turned into our worst nightmare. I really hope the process is smoother for you and that you get a quick turnaround on your documentation and snags etc.

Good luck with your negotiations. Keep us posted with any news and fingers crossed we'll all be getting keys at some stage soon!!!
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Notification to potential buyers: It seems that Homebond are refusing to certify these houses. We are almost 10 months waiting on closure of this sale and there is no end in sight.

I also understand that they are lining up another home insurance agency to certify Parsons Court houses, but they won't issue certs until a number of problems have been resolved (no surprises there). Obviously this could take months so any sales are dead in the water until someone starts taking this seriously.
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

I despair every time I read this thread. The development is a disgrace. Even if you do eventually get to purchase one, would you be able to sell it on hassle free later if you wished to move?

Can you all not buy other houses in Newcastle or elsewhere?
Please don't take that question the wrong way..but this development seems to almost 'hypnotise' people..
 
Re: Parsons Court, Newcastle Co Dublin?

Hey - thanks... you're right of course. 10 months later and Parsons Court is still hopeless.

We've been viewing other houses for a couple of weeks now. There's lots of good value around especially for 'ready' buyers.

I'll post if anything changes :eek:)
 
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