Dayle Dixon and Mark Lee thought they had found their dream home in 2018, but now claim it is ‘worthless’ after they discovered a number of snagging issues
Dayle Dixon and Mark Lee, grandparents from Devon, thought they had purchased their dream new-build home, only to find it now valued at a mere £1. The couple shelled out £275,000 for their house in 2018.
However, due to a series of “major defects” including structural issues, the property, in Ivybridge, Devon has been rendered almost worthless. They claim the problems are so severe that their grandson can’t even visit.
Speaking to The I paper, Dayle expressed feeling “utterly trapped” in the house. She confessed: “I still cry about it all the time as we were sold a dream that turned out to be nothing but a nightmare.
“We can’t sell our house and we can’t decorate it. We are just living here knowing it is crumbling beneath us and we fear it will collapse.”
Dayle and Mark, who had always rented before, believed they had finally bought their dream three-bedroom home from Barratt. Dayle reveals she inherited £100,000 after renting for her “entire life”, reports Devon Live.
The couple managed to utilise £55,000 from the Conservative government’s Help to Buy scheme. Dayle explains they felt they “would be able to live a little” in their new home.
However, she admits red flags were raised when she noticed a hairline crack in the hallway. She claims Barratt reassured her “it was just settlement drying out and was nothing to worry about”.
Dayle’s “gut instinct” led her to be dissatisfied with the crack. She began noticing other problems in the property, such as water accumulating in the wall and under the kitchen sink area.
She says the issue was uncovered when the kickboards were taken off in the kitchen to lay down the flooring. The problem is believed to have originated from a broken soil pipe in the wall.
In total, Dayle alleges they found 500 snagging issues, including gaps in the window frames, structural problems and dust throughout the property. She claims the couple also had to replace the en-suite showers.
Dayle also states that the damp-proof course wasn’t “done properly”, resulting in damp issues in the house. This means her elderly parents, who reside in Oxfordshire, can’t visit the property after becoming “very ill” during their last stay.
Dayle now claims she suffers from sleepless nights due to her home. To add insult to injury, she says a recent surveyor valued the property at £330,000 but, due to the defects, it would only fetch £1 on the market.
She now wants Barratt to purchase the home at market value and compensate the couple for their lost furniture and “emotional distress”. Barratt did propose to buy back the home and give the couple £5,000, although Dayle says she declined, believing the compensation wouldn’t “touch the sides of everything that was ruined”.
The couple now feel “trapped” as the company has “taken it off the table” after they refused to accept the offer. A spokesperson for Barratt told The I: “As a five-star housebuilder, we are sorry that Dayle Dixon is unhappy with her home.
“However, all our attempts to remedy the situation over many years have been refused. This includes offering to resolve any issues using independent surveyors and contractors.
“Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, we have had no contact from her this year, but we remain open to discussing how we can best resolve the situation.”