New-build repeatedly delayed - how long is reasonable before pulling out?

LLB123

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Little to no progress on site in the development I’m buying into, and what was supposed to be a 6 month delay now seems like it’s turning into 12 months. Contract states that property was to be ready for snagging in summer but that’s now passed and still no completion date in the horizon.
Meanwhile my short-term rental and storage costs continue to rack up. Can I request a discount/contribution from the developer in lieu of the additional expense and inconvenience or just pull out altogether? Unwilling to be strung along indefinitely.
 
Only you and your solicitor have the contract, so nobody here can really advise. There should be a clause in the contract saying the builder has to deliver in a specific time frame, but that usually 18 to 24 months.

Talk to your solicitor.
 
Theres a subject to loan clause in the contract and my mortgage offer is due to expire in six weeks which I could use to trigger an out if needs be.
Trying to ascertain if such delays would be typical and if it’s reasonable to request goodwill compensation from the builder. Or will they simply tell me to sling my hook.
 
Or will they simply tell me to sling my hook.
This.

Could they put it back on the market now and get more for it?
New build contracts almost always cover delays. I think absent a specific clause 24 months from signing is 'acceptable'.

Theres a subject to loan clause in the contract
Well done. Very unusual in a new build contract.
 
Little to no progress on site in the development I’m buying into, and what was supposed to be a 6 month delay now seems like it’s turning into 12 months.
Your timeline doesn't make sense, in some of your other threads, the earliest you expected to snag was June/July so where is the 6-12 month delay coming from?

A lot of people (my spouse included) think that the house is ready once the roof, doors and windows go in. There is still a lot of work to be done but it is no longer visible to you from the roadside so you think progress has stalled. Is this the case here?

Contract states that property was to be ready for snagging in summer but that’s now passed and still no completion date in the horizon
I doubt your contract stated this, you may have had correspondence with planned completion dates but that would be outside the actual signed contract. As mentioned above, our own contract had something like 30-36 months for completion because it covered all houses being built in the estate and they weren't budging on that clause.

Meanwhile my short-term rental and storage costs continue to rack up. Can I request a discount/contribution from the developer in lieu of the additional expense and inconvenience or just pull out altogether
In fairness, you need to accept the responsibility here. You chose to sell your PPR so while it is frustrating, you have to accept those costs

Theres a subject to loan clause in the contract and my mortgage offer is due to expire in six weeks which I could use to trigger an out if needs be.
I am happy to stand corrected but I don't think that is how that clause works. We also had it inserted in our contract by our solicitor but the wording was very specific and in was subject to other clauses. In effect, we could only rely on it if there was a major change in our circumstances but not if we just chose not to extend our loan offer (which is very easy to do). Again, speak to your solicitor before doing anything drastic

Trying to ascertain if such delays would be typical and if it’s reasonable to request goodwill compensation from the builder.
The simple answer is yes. When we purchased a new build, we were told it would be ready in nine months. We saw that as optimistic so expected 12 months ourselves but it eventually ended up at 14 months. That was starting from ground level, no foundations were in place when we went sale agreed. We also didn't actually sign contracts until about 4 months in because of a lot of back and forth over what should be included in the contract.

From experience, I understand how frustrating it is while going through it but if it is the house you want then I would recommend hanging in there. All the frustration was quickly forgotten after a week or two of living in a nice new home.
 
Your timeline doesn't make sense, in some of your other threads, the earliest you expected to snag was June/July so where is the 6-12 month delay coming from?
This is taking previous delays into account since entering into contracts and now word of a further 6 months til completion. I based my decision to sell on the fact that I couldn’t/shouldn’t time both transactions and took estate agent assurances at face value. And living to regret that now.
 
This.

Could they put it back on the market now and get more for it?
New build contracts almost always cover delays. I think absent a specific clause 24 months from signing is 'acceptable'.


Well done. Very unusual in a new build contract.
@RedOnion In order to invoke this subject-to- finance clause would I typically need to provide written proof from the bank via my solicitor that my loan offer is expired/no longer in place?
 
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