Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of let’s get snagging if you are in the process of buying or have bought a new build property then this podcast is for you 

My Name is Ian Lively of Lively Professional services Ltd

If you would like more information, then check out our webpage at www.livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk

In this week’s show we are going to be discussing what we mean by snagging

Snagging is the term used for identifying defects or snags within all new buildings. These can range from minor decoration to more serious breaches in Building Regulations such as missing cavity trays, and fire safety issues.

When should you start to think about the snagging process

I would start thinking about this when you have signed for your new house. I know this is early and you have a load more important things to be thinking about like your kitchen and wall tile choices, but you only need to be thinking about it. There is plenty of time.

The question you need to ask yourself is do you confident enough to do it yourself or do you want to use the services of a professional snagger, as I said you have plenty of time before you get your keys to decide on what you would like to do.

 If you chose to use a professional snagger, then my advice would be to research them carefully and ask plenty of questions, but more on professional snaggers later.

Why do new builds need snagging

Your new home will need snagging because every house is slightly different this is because they are built by different trades in all weathers which means there will be snags and some variation in the finished appearance.

Saying that there are certain standards and finish you should expect which hopefully your site manager has been on top of checking the quality and finish throughout the build as well as your warranty provider who should be checking the standards.

The problem with this is not all site managers are good at checking and making their trades do it again if it is wrong, we see on a regular basis site managers who fail at this simple task and produce some poor-quality houses.

Your newly built home will have gone through several stages of construction and should have been thoroughly inspected by your site manager at each stage. 

You would expect the site management team to be on top of this and constantly monitoring the build quality, this will also be done by your warranty provider during their site visits to make sure the standards and quality are met during construction, if they are not then the inspector will issue a reportable item to the site manager outlining what is wrong and what needs to be done to rectify it.

Just because your new property has been inspected and signed off by the warranty provider don’t think it will be perfect.

Warranty providers inspectors are under a lot of pressure to inspect a certain number of houses a day so don’t expect them to have inspected every stage because they won’t have, they will probably only have spent at most 1-1.5 hours in total looking at you house during their five key stage inspections, these key stage inspections cover, 

Foundations

Drainage

Superstructure

First fix 

And the final inspection commonly known as the CML inspection.

The reason for the inspector to only spend this short period of time checking these stages is because the site manager will have inspected them before calling in the warranty provider to inspect them, making sure they are correct because the site manager will not want to get any reportable items in his book, because he will be bonused on the number of these he gets.

 Unfortunately given the pressure and time constraints your site team will be under to build some of this process will be missed to some degree and defects will happen. This leads to poor quality and a lack of attention to detail, especially towards the end when the house is being finished.

This is probably the most important stage new build house buyers are interested in, it is this final stage of snagging when the house is nearing completion and before handover that your site manager should thoroughly snag the house to eliminate as many snags as possible and make sure they are rectified before legal completion. This doesn’t always happen as we see from the number of snags in our reports.

That is why all new builds need to be snagged no matter how good your builder considers themselves to be. 

We have seen some of the best award-winning site managers in the industry struggle to produce quality houses consistently.

Time is the ultimate word when your builder is building your new house, in a perfect world each trade would have enough time to complete their work before the next trade starts. 

This is not what really happens on site with trades working on top of each other to finish the house which is not ideal, and is the reason why you get so many snags.

Another contributing factor to poor quality and so many snags is the site team will be under enormous pressure to build the required number of houses the developer needs to achieve their forecast and budgeted numbers.

This contributes to poor quality houses as the site manager and assistant manager will find it difficult to inspect every bit of each trades work.

Some house builders can manage this process well whilst others struggle. 

We see this a lot due to the number of times developers extend their completion dates putting new house buyers under enormous pressure and stress as they have to then reorganise removals, sometimes mortgages, flooring all this has a knock-on effect with the other people who are involved in helping you to move you into your new home.

During the year there are two notable periods that you need to be aware of, these are the half year and year end completions which are normally in July and December these become a purely numbers game, where quality and attention to detail go through the window, houses are rushed, and the site team are not interested in quality because they are being driven hard to achieve their numbers.

During the half year and year end completions we see some absolutely shocking houses being handed over to our customers.

This is one of the reasons why having a professional snagging inspection carried out can be so important. Not only does it help protect your investment, but it can also give you peace of mind.

How does the snagging process work

All new house buyers can identify snags within their new home these are usually minor decoration, scratches, or damage.

Before you take legal completion you will be given an opportunity to inspect your new home during your home demonstration and again at key handover, My advice is to inspect your new home carefully at both of these that is because there can be a time difference between home demonstration and key handover which means there have probably been trades in your house who could cause some snags.

During your demonstration my advice would be not let your builder rush you through it, take your time.

This will be the first opportunity you have to see your brand-new house and the excitement of seeing it for the first time and having a demonstration of how everything works can be a lot to take in, don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand what the site manager is telling you he won’t mind and should be happy to explain anything again. 

During your home demonstration and again at key handover pay particular attention to the sanitary were, baths basins and wc’s. Check your windows for scratched glass, when you look through your windows try and have a background so any scratches stand out don’t look at the sky as this will make them difficult to see, also check any mirrors and shower screens. 

Check your kitchen units, appliances, any floor coverings that have been included, also check wall and floor tilling, and any other furniture fitted by the builder such has wardrobes for damage and make sure it is logged on the home demonstration form which you will be asked to sign at the end of the demonstration.

On your completion day your builder will probably ask for a snagging list within the first seven to ten days. What they don’t tell you is that this is really for the items we have just spoken about because if you don’t let them know in the first seven to ten days about scratches and chips after this period, they will most likely not rectify them as they could have been done by you moving in. 

One thing I wouldn’t do is let your builder panic you into rushing to giving them a snagging list.

It's important to remember that during the first two years of your warranty agreement your builder has a responsibility to put right defects which you could not see at the time of moving in or those that develop later. If you have not been told about your warranty agreement, then I would ask the sales or site manager to explain what your rights are and how it works.

Should you use a professional snagger

If you have decided to use a professional snagger do your research, it might be time consuming, but it will be well worth the effort in making sure you choose the right one.

They should know how your newly built house has been constructed and are fully conversant with the current building regulations and standards. 

Good professional snaggers know if corners have been cut and where they are likely to have been made.

This is one of the reasons why some builders don’t like professional snaggers inspecting their houses and will try to put you off using one, but buyer beware!

Professional snaggers will always identify far more snags than the homeowner when carrying out their inspections 

That’s because most new build homeowners don’t know the building regulations or standards that your warranty provider has set, such has the NHBC Standards 2022 or have the knowledge and experience to identify more serious defects such as missing cavity trays, breeches in building regulations, these are what a good professional snagger will pick up during their inspection.

Now you have decide to use a professional snagging company, here’s a word of warning, be careful it is far too easy for some snagging reports to be inflated with minor snags which your builder will not rectify, this makes the snagging report look more impressive with the number of snags they have found, but is a huge disappointment when your site manager refuses to do them and will just refer you back to the standards an put a pen through them. 

This can cause conflict between the homeowner and site manager, as you will have paid for a report which he won’t do the majority of.

This is something a good professional snagger will not do; we do not put our customers in conflict with their builder by inflating our reports which can ruin the whole experience of having a brand-new house.

Once you have been given a completion date by your developer, you should be booking the snagging company you have chosen as the good ones are usually booked up well in advance.

But we will talk more about professional snaggers and how to choose a professional snagger in another Episode.

What should your snagging list cover

When you do your snagging list it should cover all the external elevations of your home including windows, doors, roof, garage, garden areas fencing and landscaping. 

Once you have finished the external areas the internal areas will be next starting at the front door. 

A thorough inspection of the doors, windows, plastering, joinery work, decoration, electrics, wall tilling and all fixtures and fittings. 

If you would like a free checklist to download you can go to our webpage at www.Livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk and on the home page under what is snagging  Search Ultimate Snagging Checklist this will give you a guide of what to look for.

What happens Next

When you have completed your snagging list you should send it to your builder’s customer care department by email, always log any defects with customer care even if you are going to give the list to your site manager, that way you will have an audit trail should you need to go to resolution with your warranty provider in the future.

 If you have used a professional snagger, then they should take you through the report when they have finished, the report should have photos and a clear description of what the snags are, and who should rectify them such as the decorator or joiner.

I hope you have enjoyed this episode and it has given you an idea of what snags are and the snagging process.

so In this podcast we have spoken about

·      When should you start to think about the snagging process

·      Why do new builds need snagging

·      How does the snagging process work

·      Should you use a professional snagger

·      What should your snagging list cover

·      What happens Next

As I finish this episode up don’t forget

If you have any comment or would like to ask a question you can drop me an email to Socials@livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk and I  will do my best to answer your questions in future podcasts.   

If you have enjoyed this episode or any of the other episodes then don’t forget to like us, review us and subscribe to keep up to date with new episodes on whichever platform you listen to your podcast on it really does help us to improve the channel

So Until next time thank you for joining me today and I look forward to speaking to you soon.