A man has put a giant banner up outside his new build home as a warning to prospective buyers. Balbinder Singh, who lives in a £500,000 new build home, erected the sign in the midst of a two-year row with developer Avant Homes.
Mr Singh claims that he has been trying to get the developer who built his house to fix problems since he moved in April 2021, and claims that Avant Homes is now 'ignoring him'. The furious homeowner has now taken matters into his own hands with a huge banner that stretches across half the front of his home, warning other buyers to steer clear.
Outside of his home in Mickleover, Derby, the sign reads: "Avant Homes our review. We moved in 1st April 2021 and work is still uncompleted. Avant is no longer responding to us. There is lots of uncompleted work. We are happy to share pictures. Don't make the mistake we made."
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Avant Homes told Derbyshire Live that they have been in discussions with Mr Singh regarding the £500,000 property. They say that a number of the issues were caused by the construction of an extension he had built which impacted his warranty.
But Mr Singh said: "They're ignoring us and they're not bothered. We're fed up. How can they leave it like this? They agree with me when I speak to them and then nobody comes. Someone has to come forward."
The property features a pent-roof porch over the front door, but Mr Singh claims its design leads water to run off and down the wall by the side of the door, leading to damp and moss growth.
It's not the only problem Mr Singh alleges is unresolved. He also claims the bi-fold doors need their glass replaced, the internal doors need painting, an upstairs toilet seat is damaged and an extractor fan has damaged lighting.
Mr Singh resorted to putting up the sign, which he designed himself, on Monday, March 6, out of frustration. Other residents on the street, including Kevin Crisp and his family, also claim they have had similar problems. Avant Homes told Derbyshire Live that they are working with "a very small number" of residents at Cotchett Village to resolve their concerns.
Mr Crisp said: "There's been loads of stuff. We had a street barbecue for the Queen's Jubilee last year and the theme was that everyone is having the same problem."
In their house, which they moved into in 2021, they claim a sink problem led to a kitchen worktop warping and a replacement was cut too short. Then, they claim that a section of the back garden underneath the tap has been sodden with water for months.
Mr Crisp's partner said: "The customer service is diabolical. Even through the process of buying it, they ignored us."
Steven Bosworth, who also lives on the estate, claims that his house was riddled with problems when he moved in in 2020. He says he had his downstairs toilet ripped out and refitted due to water leaking through walls, floors relaid due to scratches and kitchen units redone due to missing plug sockets.
He said: "We'd never buy from them again. They're a waste of time and don't want to fix anything. I'm constantly pushing them to come round and fix stuff and we're still waiting."
Another couple who live near Mr Singh said that their experience of Avant Homes has been positive because, they believe, they were one of the first to move in. Having acquired the keys in March 2020, any problems they had were resolved swiftly after the first Covid-19 lockdown eased that summer.
At the time, not many other people were living on the site and tradesmen were nearby every day working on homes. But they claim that the customer service has "gone downhill" since then.
An Avant Homes spokesperson said: “We have been in ongoing dialogue with the occupant (Mr Singh) regarding his property. Having fully investigated the occupant’s concerns regarding his home, we believe a significant number of them were caused by the building of an extension on the property after the house was purchased."
According to Avant, the extension in question voided some aspects of the property's NHBC Buildmark warranty, an issue which has been explained to Mr Singh, they say.
“We have inspected the house and communicated back to the occupant what is acceptable for us to resolve in relation to his concerns outside of those created by the extension," said the spokesperson.
“Our customer liaison team is proactively dealing with a very small number of residents at the development who have raised concerns to ensure any reasonable requests are addressed."
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