cunning park cunning park - new builds warning

By ADAM MORRIS Edinburgh evening news feb 8th 2008

(Elphinstone are currently are developing The mansions at cunning park Ayr)


IT was supposed to be their dream home, for which they'd saved for years. M P and J W set their sights on the £285,000 luxury flat on Edinburgh's Waterfront and were overjoyed when they finally paid the deposit.
But their dream was to slowly turn into a nightmare.

The couple claim they were made homeless for months as the development at Corinthian Quay, Granton, and faced delay after delay.

And when they did move in to the Elphinstone Homes development, the problems didn't stop.

The couple say they have been forced to contend with dozens of defects ranging from missing door handles and poor workmanship to major problems with dampness and a faulty boiler.

They eventually contacted their MP Mark Lazarowicz, who was so moved by their story he had their case taken up in parliament during a housing debate this week.

Mr P who runs a removals firm, said: "I would say in all we had about 60 issues we had to raise, from the very minor upwards.

"In my work I'm in and out of people's new homes all the time and I've never seen anything like the problems we have had."

He said the couple put down a deposit in February 2005 and were told they would be able to move in the following February.

"Then we were told it would be delayed by three months, so we sold our flats in accordance with it, and then we were told pretty much month on month that it was delayed again.

"There was even a time when we turned up to get the keys to be told the flat wasn't ready. The whole thing caused us sleepless nights and cost us more than £10,000 by the time we'd rented property and delayed other things."

When Mr P and his partner Ms W eventually got the keys in March last year, he said the problems continued.

"There were paint streaks on the windows, some of the doors and windows to the balcony didn't have handles, faulty appliances, intercom, electrics, and most of the windows need replacing as well as glass balustrades, the boiler broke down for a week and there was dampness, list too many to mention

"The window in the kitchen is so low that, if you open it, you could easily step out into the street. The problem is we are 60 feet up and still Elphinstone didn't seem to think they had to put in safety bars. It's just unbelievable some of it.

"The staff were very unhelpful and rude, and would say things such as 'there are people in worse situations than you' but that's not the point. You pay a lot of money for something and you expect a product at the end of it."

``Elphinstone tell us all new properties have snagging issues`, well I don't recall when we signed the missives agreeing to have the contractors in our flat almost a year after moving in and probably longer the way things are going, that's a lot of days just waiting around and arranging access, they were very late with the build, it wasn't ready when we moved in, as far as I was aware we entered into a contract with them for a finished product, it still isn't. It seems everything is in the developers favour.


He is now demanding compensation from the housebuilder and says he has unsuccessfully tried to take the case to Trading Standards. He added that he believed others in the block were reluctant to come forward.

He said: "A lot of them are older people and not really the type to take action, and probably don't want to draw attention to anything. I know the guy upstairs has had his balcony replaced several times. Some of them have had compensation, but we've had no joy.


"I made a buyer beware sign and put it outside in an attempt to warn people."

Mr Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, feels a change in the law is needed to help people in similar situations.

He told MPs: "Many people buying newly constructed homes often find themselves in a situation when their homes are not built or available when they are meant to be.

"Many also find defects in the building work, or that the defects are not rectified."

He wants to extend to new home buyers similar rights to those available under the Sale of Goods Act to consumers. He also wants a standard builders' contract which is fairer to buyers.

An Elphinstone spokesman said: "Mr P home was handed over seven months later than our anticipated completion date. We were unhappy with some sub-contractors and had to appoint replacements. Regretfully, this led to delays in work and in turn delays in some owners taking possession of their homes.

"Every new development requires snagging repairs and the problems with sub-contractors exacerbated the situation here. We're active on site and fully committed to dealing with snagging work as quickly as we can.

"We're sorry if Mr P felt t
hat staff were unhelpful, we try to ensure that anyone representing the company is sensitive and considerate when dealing with complaints."


DEVELOPER WITH COMMERCIAL FOCUS

GLASGOW'S Elphinstone controls more than 3000 acres of land in Scotland and boasts of having a £175 million "war chest" to invest in projects.

Corinthian Quay is one of two residential developments the company has, the other being the mansions at cunning park Ayr. Commercial ventures are the firm's main focus, and it is currently working on the Elphinstone Place development in Glasgow which will become the country's tallest building.

The Corinthian Quay project was the company's first such exploration into the Capital. On the official website it says: "Finding a home that reflects your lifestyle and exceeds your expectations may seem like an impossible task. That is, until you discover Corinthian Quay."