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 and I run Lively Professional services a new build snagging company

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

In this week’s episode we are going to be talking about 

What does a professional snagger do

The majority of new build house buyers probably don’t consider using or have heard of a professional snagging company. 

Buying a newly built house or apartment is probably the most expensive investment you are going to make, and I appreciate your hard-earned money could be spent on more important things other than a professional snagger.

 Whilst I fully understand this, my advice is, please give this some thought and protect your investment.

So why Hire a Professional Snagger

Using a professional snagger who has the knowledge and experience in the house building industry to identify legitimate defects is a great investment and will give you peace of mind that your new house has been built to industry standards and it conforms to the current building regulations and standards.

If you are thinking of employing the services of a professional snagging company, my advice would be to start by doing your research as not all snagging companies are the same. Ask questions, and even give them a call. Do they freely give their advice without any sales pitch or pressuring you into using their services? 

A good professional snagging company will have case studies and other useful information available for you to easily access on their website. Most importantly, you want to hire a professional snagger that has your best interest and not the developers. 

Once you have made your mind upon the company you want to use, agreed on a date and time for them to inspect your new house. On the day of your inspection, the professional snagger should arrive ten to fifteen minutes early. You should discuss any concerns you have and ask any questions that you might have thought about, remember there is no such thing as a daft question it doesn’t exist. 

When Should You Book Your Professional Snagger?

My advice is, when you have decided on the professional snagging company you are going to use, book them in the minute you know your completion date, you will usually be given a window for this date from your salesperson on-site.

This is because most professional snaggers are usually booked weeks if not months in advance.

Talking to your professional snagger and pencilling in a date as soon as possible, will secure your preferred date, even if your date changes, as it sometimes does, will ensure you get the professional snagging company of your choice.

Don’t expect to book your professional snagger with a week or ten days’ notice, this could be difficult, and might leave you disappointed.

Once you have taken legal completion your builder is likely to ask you for a snagging list, they will usually want this within the first 7 days after legal completion.

Do not panic, this is usually to identify snags such as scratched glass, chipped wall tiles, or kitchen units. This is part of their procedures and in no way restricts you from issuing them with another snagging report at any time within your 2-year warranty period, however, I do recommend you have your survey carried out as soon as possible after legal completion.

This should give your builder enough time to address any defects within your snagging report.

Your site manager will want to get any snags done before you receive your Customer Satisfaction Survey. This is usually delivered 6 to 8 weeks after legal completion, and your builder will want you to return them a good survey (Satisfied or Very Satisfied) which goes towards the 90% of satisfied customer they require to give them their 5* status. Don’t forget they are also bonused on the number of good surveys they get and won’t want a bad survey.

The Snagging Survey Process

Your snagging inspection should start at the footpath checking all boundaries and garden areas. Followed by all elevations of the house including the garage and roof. This would include all elements including doors, windows and materials that have been used. After the outside has been completed, the internal areas of the house are next starting with the front door and hallway. Moving into the downstairs rooms systematically checking for any defects in woodwork, plaster, decorations, kitchen, wall, and floor tiling including fixtures and fittings.

Once downstairs has been completed next it is the stairs , landing and onto the first and second floors including bedrooms and bathrooms. The last area to be inspected is the roof space which will conclude the snagging inspection.

Once the inspection is finished the surveyor should sit down with the customer and go through the report explain what has been identified this is to make sure you have a clear understanding of the issues, and they should also answer any questions you might have.

professional snagging reports

Snagging reports can vary immensely, from a simple handwritten description of the snag with no photographs, location or trade assigned to it, to a fully professionally formatted report with photos and a clear description of the defects the location and including assigning a trade to rectify it. 

The report that you receive should have been conducted in a systematic fashion which makes it easy to follow. You may still wonder, ‘what do professional snaggers actually do?’. I suppose to put this in a nutshell, they give you peace of mind and give you satisfaction that your new build home has been built correctly.

Having a professional snagging report makes it much easier for your builder to understand the defect and rectify them. Having spoken to numerous builders, regarding our reports, the feedback we get is they are well received because they are honest reports and have not been inflated with nonsense which some professional snaggers fill their reports with.  It is easy to bolster a snagging report with numerous items that are not necessarily defects in the eyes of the builder or warranty provider. I would certainly question any report that has over 150 or 200 items. Are they genuine defects or issues included to make the report look impressive? If they are genuine, then my question to your builder would be “how has this house passed its inspections and CML?”

 It is important to make sure your snagging report is easy to follow, it should have been conducted in a systematic fashion and should include a clear description written in a language your site manager can understand. I should also include the location of the defect which saves the tradesman time when trying to find it.

So What’s Next?

Now that you have your snagging report, I would advise sending it to the developer’s customer care department. There are several reasons for this which are:

·       Your developer has a record of the report

·       The customer care team will monitor it with the site manager

·       You have a record should you need to go to resolution with your warranty provider

I would always send any snagging list by email never by phone to make sure it is logged with customer care, even if you are going to give it to the site manger ask them to log it on your file.

Good luck with your snagging and 

·       If you have any comments or topics, you would like me to cover then drop me an email to Socials@livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk 

·       If you would like more information, you can visit our website at www.livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk all one word

·       Or our YouTube channel at livelyprofessionalservices.co.uk all one word

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