Are Persimmon Homes really as bad as the media say?

It’s been 4 weeks since I moved into my Persimmon new build. After finding my dream house in February, we fell in love and decided to go for it.

Naturally, I started researching into the company I was buying a house from, only to find doom and gloom.

It was a little nerve-racking and also made my heart sink a little to read all the terrible things that have happened to other owners of Persimmon homes.

I joined a Facebook group called. Persimmons – Unhappy Customers’ and it was full of people who had leaking toilets, uneven brickwork and damp. They were posting pictures of their nightmare homes and everyone was so hateful towards the company.

If anyone was brave enough to ask a question before buying a home, they were faced with replies such as ‘run, before it’s too late’ or ‘only stupid people buy Persimmons homes’. The culture of the group seemed very much like if you weren’t hating on Persimmons, you weren’t part of the group.

I’ve even seen comments from journalists from TV channels asking people who have had trouble with new builds to come forward to be featured on future TV shows.

I guess if you are looking for the negative, you find it and if you want to create a dramatic TV show, ITV, then you can ask people in these hate groups for their horror stories. Nobody cares about your story if your move has gone smoothly and your house is pretty decent.

We were the first person to get the keys in our development. We were one of two families out of the whole development to move in on the 14^{th of} June. Currently, only our street exists of the 650-home-to-be site, with others, started to take shape.

In short, we live on a building site. I had a couple of people warn me about this before we moved in, but it really isn’t as bad as it seems.

The builders work from about 7:30 – 15:30 from Monday to Friday. The rest of the time it’s really quiet, apart from the sales rep sometimes showing people around and the odd car coming in for a nosey. The builders themselves aren’t that loud. The houses near us are built and they are just doing interior work such as plastering, joinery and flooring.

If there’s ever any vehicles blocking the road, they move immediately for us.

We met the site managers at our new home demo. They also came to see us the first Monday had moved in to ask if everything was okay. Every time we see them, they ask if everything is okay and if we need anything.

As we don’t currently have a bin, they provide us with a skip that they change daily until it’s sorted. All snags and issues with the house have been sorted within a few days. The problems we have had have been minor such as doors needing adjusting and a mark on the carpets. If the cleaning company didn’t get the mark out, they said they would have replaced the full carpet.

From what I can tell, the experience will rely on the site managers. They are the ones that oversee everything. If you have crap site managers that accept bad workmanship, then you will have a bad experience.

Ours have been very keen to help us in any way they can.

I’ve even had calls from head office asking for feedback.

Persimmon has taken a bit hit on their reputation and it looks like they are trying to change that.

From my experience – I would buy from them again. If you are looking into buying a new home, it is important to be informed. But also remember people are quick to shout about the negatives and do not celebrate the positives.

Related:

• My Persimmon Homes Review 2021 – 18 Months Later