Taylor Wimpey?

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2012
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9,852
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South Wales
It's a bit too simplistic to blame it on sub contractors not caring. I may be biased working for a sub contractor of the like of Taylor Wimpey but it mainly comes down to how organised site management is. Often sub contractors are asked to rush though work and told it doesn't matter how it looks and just get it done as there is already CMLs booked or the site management has to meet targets for how many houses built. Biggest issue of all though is being booked in when only part of the job is actually ready, this is how things end up missed or wrong/don't work as it's been done in the wrong order. As a general rule the bigger the house builder the worse quality houses they tend to be due to more corporate pressure of just getting them built and worrying about issues after. Your best off going to visit to site and have a chat with the site manager to try get a gauge of what's it like.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Jan 2012
Posts
117
I live in a Taylor wimpy house that I purchased off plan, I was in every week to see how the build was going and made everyone aware if I wanted something changing or wasn’t happy with the work.
In the end the site manager avoided me like the plague but I still went back week in week out, I employed a professional snagger and got everything completed with in a few months, but they were still building and I got friendly with some of the trades men.
I have been in two years now and I am Really happy with the house, plenty of parking my car fits in the garage if I had to do it all again I wouldn’t hesitate to be honest. Don’t be afraid to barter as well I got stamp duty paid flooring and a discount.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Jul 2005
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3,912
I have surveyed many a new build and honestly TW aren’t bad.

Although as others have said, Redrow (and in particular their heritage collection) are a step up
 
Associate
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10 Jun 2010
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Norwich
Depends on the site and who is managing it, our TW house is absolutely fine with hardly any snags, and those we found were quickly fixed. We had really good engagement from the Project Manager and felt he was personally invested in doing a good job for us. No real issues with anyone else on the estate either.
But not far away they built a shocker which has been all over the media with extensive repairs needed in the walls, ceilings etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2013
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8,906
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In the pub
Having worked in the industry with all the big developers, I would never buy a new build. Every site just felt closed in, the roads are to narrow and unless you get in quick, all that's left are the smallest plots.

Older more established houses tend to be larger and cheaper and more varied.
Usually some work involved to put your mark on it which puts some people off though.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2007
Posts
5,182
Location
Lincolnshire
We got a new build from Redrow (Heritage collection) and we've been here 5 years and love it. We compared them to Cyden (crazy expensive) and Linden Homes (very basic and generic red brick homes)... Ended up going for Redrow as you got a lot more for your money.

The house is great, brick and half rendered, has a nice cottage/home feel to it! Big garden (we got a corner plot on the edge of estate) and home layout is great.

I wouldn't hesitate buying from Redrow again but I think our estate was a one-off where I live, they don't seem to build anywhere close where I live atm.

As others have said, I think it's down to area/contractors. Most (all?) builders contract in workman, and the homes are only as good as the workman doing the job for you.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
21,490
Location
Oxfordshire
Haven't got a bad word to say against TW. They were great during the whole process and when we found a couple of very minor problems, they fixed them the next day.

Those complaining about new builds and new developments lacking character compared to older homes, I'm not sure if they are being serious? Like....no **** Sherlock. But if you buy a new build expecting character, you're going to be disappointed. That said, the houses aren't bad if you buy the right build and layout. Some of the smaller ones are woeful, admittedly, but the 3 floor one we have has is pretty nice with plenty of room and laid out in a practical way for a young family

In our area, Taylor Wimpey are the good ones, Linden are the awful ones
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
16 Oct 2007
Posts
7,418
Location
UK
Really interesting to hear both sides of the stories, thanks all.
The show home we're looking at is fairly flawless, at least superficially. Good to hear some happy-ever-afters, we really like the house. It's 1500 square foot so not a tiny box house.
Interesting re. basic shell that finish it yourself. If I had time I'd love to organise it, but I think we'd have to pay a premium & take the risk to get it done as normal.
 
Associate
Joined
10 Jun 2010
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1,721
Location
Norwich
Most of these estates will have a FB group with loads of people wanting to tell you how good/bad that particular site/house is. Not much good when you are one of the first in though!
Our group, like our estate, is split between Bovis and TW owners, and only the Bovis owners seems to have problems and they really cover everything including the common areas/streets. Its quite obvious in which developers patch you are.

Good luck whatever you do.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
3,912
We got a new build from Redrow (Heritage collection) and we've been here 5 years and love it. We compared them to Cyden (crazy expensive) and Linden Homes (very basic and generic red brick homes)... Ended up going for Redrow as you got a lot more for your money.

The house is great, brick and half rendered, has a nice cottage/home feel to it! Big garden (we got a corner plot on the edge of estate) and home layout is great.

I wouldn't hesitate buying from Redrow again but I think our estate was a one-off where I live, they don't seem to build anywhere close where I live atm.

As others have said, I think it's down to area/contractors. Most (all?) builders contract in workman, and the homes are only as good as the workman doing the job for you.

I currently live in Surrey and am very keen to sell my current place and buy a red row heritage collection house - they are few and far between though sadly. I must say, the heritage collection seems very well thought out, aesthetically pleasing and full of choice.

I really hope a development comes soon near me. I’ve made a load of money on my place but can’t sit on it forever...
 
Man of Honour
Joined
25 Oct 2002
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31,707
Location
Hampshire
Older more established houses tend to be larger and cheaper and more varied

I'm not totally convinced on this, I think it depends on the area. Some towns especially in the north or in long established areas seem to have huge swathes of small terraced houses built to a standard design many years ago. So huge volumes of older stock are too small or otherwise not suited to modern living.
To be fair, they may have relatively large plots (for the square footage) and potential to extend but out of the box they may simply not be good enough even if fully refurbished. Then you get the smaller volume of bigger older houses that are actually good enough to live in (semi or detatched, 4+ bedrooms) but they seem to carry a bit premium because they are both practical and characterful so appeal to a broad audience and are in shorter supply. The net result being they often aren't really any cheaper than the new builds of comparable square footage (when you are talking actual sold prices not list prices, and take into consideration what would be spent on the older property for a comparable finish in terms of preferred fixtures and fittings etc).
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2013
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8,906
Location
In the pub
^ I do agree that it depends on the area.
The difference in my hometown for a 3 bed semi was £100k when I lived there (left early 2000).
When I moved to South Wales it was not as much but still a huge difference.

Makes me wonder how first time buyers could ever afford one.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2006
Posts
14,349
I've bought two TW homes over the last 10 years and I'd buy from them again. No real issues, obvious snags which you get with a new build, but nothing major.

As with all new builds, it's hit and miss

Ditto.

Buying on a development which will still see a site manager and works ongoing for 2-3 years after you buy is wise.

Once they’ve finished up and cleared off it’ll be harder to get things remedied.
 
Associate
Joined
14 Dec 2017
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2,040
Location
Aberdeenshire
We bought from Taylor wimpy off plan about 4 years ago. From the start they were very helpful gave us a sheet to write down a 2 week, 4 week and 6 week snagging list for them. Sometimes had to chase them up a bit but they always came round at some point and fixed all the stuff. Had 5 years warranty on the house and through the years we’ve had them back in a few times.
One time we noticed a big scratch on our bath to the bare metal. We phoned and they sent out tue manufacturer to have a look and when they came out there was evidence of a cover up so maybe scratched it on install then tried to paint over it, but we got a replacement. Got a replacement shower, Another time not to long ago we developed a crack in our hall where the staircase had started to settle but again they were fine sent out the builders and stripped the wall, re plasterboard, plastered and painted again. Got pally with the site manager and got him to sort some free stuff out for us and homers etc.
We found buying a new built good as we got an extras brochure and was able to pick everything the way we wanted. One thing is... they never budged on price at all. It was take it or leave it so we took it as there was a queue of people waiting to reserve there home.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
9,158
We had a TW flat as our first place. Terrible customer service and very shoddy workmanship. Wouldn't touch them again.
 
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