Claim
Claim a discount on the purchase price for unresolved defects
Low risk high return funded and insured
If the developer fails or refuses to put things right, you have a choice. Go without, or take them to court. Our New Home Buyer Claims service is designed to ensure this is affordable and cost-effective.
Your only other options would normally be to make a claim on your new home warranty - which would cost you nothing in fees but which is unlikely to lead to a satisfactory resolution of all issues - or pay for your own repairs.
Assessment of merits
There needs to be enough at stake to make going to court worthwhile. You also need to be reasonably sure the developer is good for the money. So, before we get going we will undertake an assessment of the merits of your claim. As long as there is enough at stake and the developer is financially sound, you should be good to go. The expert report you obtained at the ‘Prepare’ stage of the process will form the basis of what you will be claiming. In most cases, you will be claiming money, not for works to be done.
Funding and insurance for affordability and peace of mind
Our New Home Buyer Claims service includes a uniquely affordable and effective funding option with the following features and benefits:
Legal fees: no win no fee, we will seek to recover your legal fees from the developer if you win. If you lose, you pay nothing. Success fees are usually payable if you win, which can be paid out of damages.
Expenses: funded via a third-party funding facility, we will seek to recover these from the developer if you win. If you lose, you pay nothing.
Insurance: if you win, the insurance premium is payable out of damages. If you lose you pay nothing and the insurer pays your opponent’s costs up to the limit of indemnity.
We will also advise you on any other funding options that may be available including Legal Expenses Insurance if you have this.
Discount on the purchase price?
It may be possible to claim a discount on the purchase price under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on account of unresolved defects. If so, we will advise you on pursuing a claim on that basis as appropriate.
In any event, if you claim damages based on the cost of repair or diminution in value, and the court awards damages or the developer agress to pay you damages on settlement, what you do with the money is generally entirely up to you. So, when you get paid out, you would be perfectly entitled to decide to live with the defects and treat the money as effectively a discount on the purchase price. At least you won’t have overpaid for your substandard home.
So this is what we mean when we say you can claim a discount on the purchase price, because either you will have the right to claim a discount, or recovering damages will amount to an effective discount.
Of course, you could spend some or all of your damages dealing with some or all of the outstanding defects, in which case you will have a home that is as it should have been at the outset.
Please get in touch now for a free, no-obligation discussion to see how we can help you.