A couple have spoken of have spoken of their new-build nightmare after they splashed their life savings on their first house - only to find a leaking ceiling, crooked doors and peeling floors.
Alex and Dorina Marcu saved for seven years to put down a £40,000 deposit on their new home in Herne Bay, Kent with the view to starting a family.
But just days after moving into the brand-new £350,000 three-bed property in the newly-constructed Bay Square development, the couple discovered a shocking myriad of issues.
These included a leak in the ceiling, low water pressure and poor-quality laminate peeling off the floor in several places around the two-storey property.
Several doors and windows also appear to have been installed crooked, meaning wind blows straight through the house.
Dorina has now spent months complaining to the developers about the problems, but says they have responded by simply "messing us around."
Alex, 33, who works as an estate manager in London, meanwhile said: “I don’t remember the last time I had a smile on my face at home. I feel like I’ve been cheated.
“Herne Bay itself is a beautiful, amazing place to live but the quality of the house is extremely poor."
Water supply is also a problem at the house, with the pressure so low it's "almost impossible" to take a shower - and if someone flushes the toilet it stops completely.
And leaks are adding to the misery at the home, as he explained: "When the wind blows, water drips from the ceiling in the kitchen and the floor below has now bulged because of water damage.
"So now we just leave a bucket there - but this really isn’t what you expect from a brand new, £350,000 property.
"I just hope my story can open the eyes of other people who are thinking of buying a house here.", he said.
The husband and wife purchased the house directly from the developer, Guildmore Limited.
Despite the property still being in warranty, Alex and Dorina say the developers have failed to fix the issues they have raised.
But Guildmore Limited disputes this, and claim they have addressed the "vast majority" of issues raised by the couple since they picked up the keys in August.
A spokesperson for the firm said: "As a builder of new homes we take comments such as these incredibly seriously.
"We are well aware of our obligation as a developer to quickly respond to any unforeseen issues with the homes we build and have an in-house maintenance team who deal with any problems.
"We have addressed the vast majority of issues raised by Mr Marcu and are currently liaising with the manufacturers in order to rectify the outstanding issues.
"Guildmore have a long and proud reputation as a builder of quality homes and aim to maintain that reputation."
The Bay Square development has also come in for criticism from neighbours over the "communal garden" at the heart of the estate.
New homeowners expecting a lush green space have said they feel “short-changed” by the “ugly urban desert” they have been left with, as an artists' depiction showing trees and street furniture ended up as a space of only patchy grass and a green transformer box.
The developers claim they were advised against planting trees by the local council, and said the benches in the original graphic were "artistic licence".
