Avant Homes Midlands estate agents in Derby and Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely terrible customer service

Absolutely terrible customer service , could not try and put you off this company enough.I reserved a property at the babbington quarter plot back in the beginning of aug 2020, i was so excited because i was starting to buy my first home. After the floor plan meeting the sales reps were very unhelpful when It came to giving information and if something didnt look quite right they completely refused to negotiate any solution. I therefore ended up asking for my deposit back within the cooling off period, £500 deposit.I was told at the time this would have to go through HR and would take 4-6weeks for a refund, i wasnt happy but thought ok. Im now 10 weeks down the line and they and not giving me any updates or responses.The company is an a joke.

Hadleigh · 29 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Best home buying experience!

My partner and I contacted the City Fields sales team for some extra information, went to view the showhomes just to see what kind of house we were after with no intention of reserving that day... 3 hours later we had fallen in love and reserved! Right from the inital phone calls, Kelly and Olivia couldn't have been more helpful. They've made our buying journey as stress-free as possible, and we're so excited to finally be living in our new home. We were updated and reassured every step of the way. Massive thanks to Kelly, Olivia, the rest of the sales team and Rob the site manager who have been there for every phone call (believe me, there were many), every visit and any little issue that we've had.

Laura · 26 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful system for reserving houses!

Awful system for reserving houses!Nov-19 we visited a new Avant sales office interested in purchasing a house. We wanted one specific plot which was not released yet but was told we could leave our contact details and they would contact us as soon as it was released. Today I phoned up the sales office only to be told they had sold the plot we were waiting for and there was nothing they could do. 9 months of waiting, checking the website, phoning up and visiting the office regularly asking for updates.. all for nothing. This is appalling from the customer service team. I appreciate nothing can be done now but I am writing this to warn others not to rely on the sales team to notify them of available plots because they don’t!!This is the city fields development. Would also like to mention the sales staff told us a “slight” spec change would happen however if you actually analyse the old spec and new spec there’s is many hidden changes they do not warn you about!!! All the added extras that made Avant the “high end” brand have been taken away.Ps. Avant try to remove reviews they don’t like.

Lauren · 24 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great customer service

Moved house 4 weeks ago now onto the Danetre Place site and the process couldn’t have gone better, Natalie was brilliant start to finish always kept us informed and would always go above and beyond. Even with major issues on moving day she helped us so much when she didn’t need to, Avant helped sort out issues which were even their fault and was the solicitors. Since the move Dave the site manager has been great with keeping in touch and helping us where he can. Work has been prompt and as of yet not had to chase anything up.

Elizabeth · 23 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Love our new home

This is the third new build home I’ve lived in and by a country mile Avant are my favourite. The designs are gorgeous and modern there’s lots of options too.Natalie J at the sales office in Danetre was very efficient and friendly she seemed to be genuinely excited for our move. She made the process much easier even under the pressure of the pandemic. When we opened our moving in box she really made the additional effort.Dave the site manager has been really helpful too with the snagging list.. all new builds have snagging.The good thing is that a professional snagger said the house and build quality is high quality.I didn’t give five stars because the solicitors Gowlings were a bit of nightmare though i understand they have changed them now. Also on moving in day the there wasn’t a tidy/clean. Minor things in the big picture

Rosanna · 22 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

It’s great to see a developer doing something different

Moved into an Avant home at Dantre Place at the end of September. The whole experience from working with the sales adviser (Natalie J) when we first reserved to moving in and getting settled has been 5 star. It’s great to see a developer doing something different with their homes. Would highly recommend.

Ben · 22 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pathetic customer care + quality

Further to writing this review me and my partner luckily found an old photo that we sent to Avant about our ensuite leaking, this photo was taken days after we moved in and in the corner of the photo was clearly a plug with NO chrome fitting on.. This is the same chrome fitting that the plumber told Avant that he was 'adamant' that we had one because otherwise he would have put it in his report. We originally weren't that bothered about the fitting but it soon turned into a matter of principle because no matter how many times I told them we didn't have it in the first place they turned around and told me we must have had one, therefore suggesting that me and my partner were being dishonest. Something that I do not appreciate at all especially when we now have photographic evidence that it was in fact the plumber and Avant who were plain and simply lying.First things first, it seems an insult to me and my family that I have to give Avant Homes 1 star. The level of 'customer care' is absolutely pathetic as is the final build quality. We understood fully that moving into a new build we would initially have small snags here and there as not everything can be perfect. What we wasn't aware of is that our house had missing water drainage system above our bi-folds and our front door. We actually got told that its quite normal for a front door to leak water in when it rains heavy, laughable really. Next noticeable issue was our vinyl flooring which had to be replaced 5 times in total due to lack of quality and in the end we gave in on the 5th try, the vinyl was fine but the fitter decided he would go for an extra thick bead of silicone which now sticks out like a sore thumb. Whilst on the subject of silicone sealing, everywhere is just a mess but apparently that doesn't fall under the warranty as it is up to us to 'maintain' it. What they actually mean is re-do it all by yourself. We had mould growing in our ensuite bathroom glass because it wasn't sealed properly, once again down to 'maintenance' Avant also practically called me and my partner a liar because we was missing a chrome fitting for our plug in our shower but that should've been noted much sooner so once again that was our responsibility, they actually had the cheek to say that 'the house wouldn't have been passed if that was missing' not being funny but my house was missing much more than that and it still managed to be passed! Another 'small snag' was our roof that was leaking which was initially put down to condensation, ridiculous to even suggest condensation when it was filling a bucket up everyday. We also had to have our flagging re-done twice and the kids kept tripping over the loose flags and hurting themselves, not that Avant could care as this took way too long to correct. Another funny one was a bit of our kitchen coming away from the wall which they say once again 'that doesn't fall under our warranty' because apparently it had excessive water damage. Well it will have water on it because it's directly behind the tap and sink, once again it has simply not been sealed properly. So now we move onto what they call 'customer care' where I had to chase and chase constantly only for our liason officer to be constantly either in meeting or her phone wasn't working, then when I finally got through it was a snotty response. I experienced the worst customer service today when ringing the office to speak to someone and Carol at reception, her attitude was simply disgusting, I felt I was asking her to do impossible tasks, when really all I wanted to do was speak to someone. I fully appreciate all customer service staff are now working from home due to the pandemic but why does that stop me from ringing their work phone? Would I be able to get through if I was interested in buying? Absolutely I would! For something that is going to be the most expensive thing in your life only to have the worst customer service I've ever experienced is ultimately disgusting! I would absolutely advise anyone not to buy a new build home from Avant. I could literally go on and on with the problems we have had in only 18 months we've had the house. Sandhill croft plot 27

Aaron · 21 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Phenomenally high quality!

Recently moved into Birkey Heights and what an awesome experience throughout! From Kyle, Peter and Julie in sales, to James the site manager, Laura at customer care and all the people who have built our new home! Everyone we’ve met has gone above and beyond to help with anything we’ve needed. Everything has been done as promised and we’re really happy with the service and build quality of the property. They’re incredible houses and the lads still on site are friendly and you can see they all really care about what they’re doing. I hope this review is shared with them and James can pass on a ‘socially distant’ hi-5 from us! We look forward to properly settling in and know that Laura will support us if anything else comes up. A truly exceptional company!

Matt · 14 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Collingsgate

Sadly due to Covid we were unable to complete our purchase. We would like to thank the sales team at Collingsgate, especially Helen, for whom nothing was too much trouble.

Fiona · 10 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Customer care? They couldn’t care about the customer more like.

UPDATE:Just to respond to your reply, you may need to check your correspondence with myself, at no point have I received an apology from Avant. The only apology I have received is at the end of your reply to this review. I also understand how rare and unprecedented this sort of situation is, but feel you are using the rarity of the situation as a defence. You have kindly now acknowledged that you are taking full responsibility for the situation, but believe you should be taking some action if you truly mean that.If I could give 0 stars I would of. Incredibly disappointed with the service I have received from Avant.I have recently had a very serious issue with my property, and to cut a long story short, they couldn’t care less.I imagine, and have to come to my own conclusions as it takes forever and an age for them to get back to you, they aren’t bothered about my property as it is out of the ‘2 year warranty’, however, the damage was done during the build, therefore I hold them fully responsible.Surely helping a customer who had a gas leak due to a worker drilling a hole in our gas pipe during the build and covering it up with duct tape would be a priority?? Seems not, I’ve had one of the poorest replies from them, no sympathy, didn’t want to look into it any further, and just want me off their case. It’s been more than 2 weeks now since this was reported and feel they just don’t care.Terrible service. Dangerous builders. Avoid.

Chris · 9 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent throughout

Excellent throughout. Been really impressed with Avant’s service , build and finish quality

Chris · 8 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

The best new build developer by far..

From the moment I made a call to Avant Homes - Cityfields, Wakefield to see if they still had any two bedroom properties available to view/potentially purchase I knew they were the developer for me. Their customer service was / is brilliant. I was made to feel welcomed and at ease (I viewed the property just as we came out of lockdown)My Avant journey has been some what of a rollercoaster ride to get me to completion but I couldn't have done it with out the Sales team (Jeanette, Kelly and Olivia) They have been on hand every step or bump of the way (and these bumps were not on Avant's part in anyway) I am just under a week into my new Avant home and I couldn't be happier. Plot 6 was meant for me :) As well as the them, the on-site team, Rob and the team that are still on site building other Avant homes have truly looked after me. Nothing I ask is an issue, they greet me every day as if I'm part of the site team (which is lovely as their is only me and another couple on site at the moment so I really feel at home even though we are still in construction but its all part of the experience and I love it). I would highly recommend Avant to any first time buyer (or any home buyer in fact). My home is exceptional (yes there are a few snags but all of these are easily fixable so do not be put off by any other comments - it's bound to have these and the team offer an after care service) In terms of the home fixtures theses are really good quality and the finish/specification on the homes is by far the best compared to other new build developers.I am so glad I made that call and came down to Cityfields - this will be a life long memory I treasure. A huge thank you to all of the Avant team on / off site you've made my whole buying experience so much more enjoyable. Give me 5 years and I'll happily say lets do it again but this time I want something bigger :) Nat Cohen - Plot 6

Nat · 8 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Avant Homes - Recommended

Bought a new 5 bed home this year and I have been very impressed by the quality and design. After sales had been great too. Typical snagging issues are normal and nothing significant, simply part and parcel of buying a new home. Would certainly recommend.

T · 5 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Untrustworthy

A company to avoid at all costs. Their guarantees are worthless

Andrew · 5 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Overall experience

Overall experience from choosing a plot to moving in was very good, as with all new houses there was a bit of snagging and a few things ongoing but nothing major at all. The girls in the office have been very quick to respond and get everything sorted out.

Mrs · 2 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Smooth initially but the 'cracks' soon began to show (aftercare/customer service is lacking)

We moved into our Avant Rosebury house over a year ago now, so I think we are in a good position to leave an honest review.We love the design and layout of the house.The sales process was good, we used the part exchange scheme which seemed to work well, we were offered just under market value for our part exchange property, which went on to sell very quickly.Aftercare and post sales customer services, is where the issues lay; the snags that we picked up on our initial visit were never noted, so we had to do this all over again. After about 6 weeks of living in the house we were introduced to our ‘Customer Care Rep’, who again took note of all our issues and went away, only to leave the company the following week. After this we started sending lists of our issues to the Customer Service email address, but this is where the issues really began to escalate. It can take weeks or months to get a response to an email.Nearly every glass unit in all our windows was scratched or damaged, these took months to replace and numerous visits to get right.The standard of the plastering in our house is some of the worst I have ever seen.For some reason Avant decide to paint the door and garage door, instead of buying the ready powder coated doors in the correct colour (which are available and surely much easier in the long run). This means they look dated and poorly finished before you even move in! Certain aspects of the landscaping (lawns) are not completed to the NHBC standard and Avant have refused to rectify this.Pointing in the brickwork is uneven and missing in places, certain parts have been rectified but we are constantly spotting something new.The MDF internal door frames have suffered from movement and I am not sure how long these will last.Since living in the property, we have noticed things that are not right but Avant will not rectify these as we have not reported them quickly enough (given a time scale to report within the first seven days of living in the property, double standards on Avant’s part when reported issues were not rectified for well over a year). We now have to live with chipped and scratched glass in our bi-fold doors and numerous other items that were not identified within a week of moving in.The development we live on has suffered from a great deal of mismanagement by Avant and this is reflected in the poor experience each of the homeowners has encountered (some still having issues addressed coming up to their 3rd year in the property).Whenever an Avant Technician has attended to rectify faults, they have been great, but they also get annoyed that they are having to attend properties to rectify shoddy workmanship from the contractors used and this seems to be across all disciplines.The Avant customer services is lacking, so many changes to the contact person and no follow up or handover, it leaves a lot to be desired and leads to frustrations and shortfalls.FAO Avant - Plot 58 SandhillUpdate 13/08/2020: Added plot details over a month ago and as usual, no response from Avant.Update 17/08/2020: Thank you for the response Avant, there is one outstanding item booked in for replacement, but that does not mean there are no more issues. I understood the recent call from Customer Services to be regarding our existing booking, not historic issues. The items I highlighted above in my review are still current and have been reported to you on previous occasions, but as I mention above, I am told there is nothing you can do.You asked for our plot details to 'look into the issue with the regional management team', what was the outcome of this?UPDATE 16/09/2020: No response to the question above.

AW · 1 October 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Derby

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

We have recently bought a home over at…

We have recently bought a home over at Wynyard Grange (plot 29) and could not be happier with the service we received from Rebecca Darby. We felt completely at ease when liaising with Rebecca, she was completely transparent, professional and absolutely went above and beyond for us. Even on her days off, we would receive updates, she would give us courtesy calls and when things weren’t going so well due to complexities with solicitors, Rebecca spent the time on an evening on the phone putting our mind at rest.I honestly don’t think I have ever experienced first class customer service like it. Thank you to Rebecca and Steve (site manager), who also explained things in detail to us, made us feel at ease and ensured our experience was positive.

Beth · 30 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

No response or resolution they just ignore customers.

I would like to say that this review is not about Jane or Adam the sales team at Princes Gate Pontefract they always tried to be helpful. Our problem is that Avant are ignoring our requests to return our deposit. We had to cancel our reservation for plot 27 because it was undervalued by £15,000 . Their solution was for us to apply with other mortgage lenders in the unlikely hope they would give an higher valuation. Instead we have transferred our mortgage to another builder who does not add all the ‘extras’ to the house price and pretend they are included as standard. Prior to this we had been given another red flag of how underhand they are with customers. One of our buying incentives was for them to pay our stamp duty. But when the government gave a stamp duty holiday Avant would not pass this on to buyers. They refused to exchange our incentive. We tried to negotiate with them asking for bedroom carpets instead, but they just ignored this too. So they are the ones benefitting from the stamp duty holiday not the buyer as was intended by the government. All in all I think we’ve had a lucky escape!

Joanne · 30 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Incredibly bad customer experience

From the start of reserving our home (Plot 9 Westwood Fields - Feb 19) to moving in (July 20) we have had a very poor customer experience with Avant. The delay to the build of our house was only made worse by the incredibly poor communication from Avant. We were promised weekly build updates, but unless we chased these, we never received. Despite numerous complaints and apologies, the customer service didn't improve and that is only one example of the frustrations we faced.Upon moving into our house, Avant have made the experience of buying our first home a lot more stressful than it should be. Of course we expected that there would be snags, but over 100 of them is a bit excessive, especially when most of them are as the result of laziness, lack of care and clearly a rush to finish. A few issues include; paint on our Amtico flooring, spotlights not fitted properly in the bathrooms/landing, glue left around our kitchen sink, paint not finished properly behind our kitchen units. The list goes on! I'd like to say that Avant have been quick to resolve these issues, but sadly, I am the one constantly chasing and getting no response.And to top it all off, we were overcharged by £500 for fencing in our garden that hadn't even been fitted. The sales advisor with us on demo day first tried to claim we hadn't paid for it (despite me having our extras list in front of us) and then on moving in day lied to us by saying Avant had fitted the fence on the wrong side - quite clearly it had just been forgotten. Anyway 6 weeks later, after much chasing by ourselves, we got our refund.Despite all the snags, we our very happy with our home, but based on our experience of dealing with Avant and their customer service I wouldn't recommend buying a first home with them to any of my friends or family.

Sarah · 29 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I am very happy with my new build flat…

I am very happy with my new build flat in Glasgow! Linda and the team were very helpful and responsive. I had lots of questions and needed some extra information at the beginning and the guys were very patient and always provided quick support. If I was to buy a house in the future I would probably go for AVANT again.

Daria · 28 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Revised review

Due to the Customer Services Manager, Mr Mallon, his professionalism, extremely civil and courteous manner I have removed my previous harsh review. We will continue to work with the Customer Services Manager Mr Mallon and very efficient and professional Customer Service Assistant Lindsay towards a solution/resolution on all fronts.

Lit'l · 28 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Thank you to Lauren at Rosewell for…

Thank you to Lauren at Rosewell for being so helpful and informative. Lauren was very friendly and knowledgeable. She followed up very quickly with answers to our questions that needed a little bit of research.

Customer · 27 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Even they don’t deserve a one star

Even they don’t deserve a one star highly not recommended this company Customer service is really bad nobody cares they don’t work too long workers in this companyIf you talk somebody today next two months later it will be gone that workers Let me explain my problem explain myWe move in to plot152 swaffham house in 2019 begin in January New build brand-new houseAnd we find out door scratches on main doorsAnd I report to the site manager which is who work for our Avant he bring someone he says they will spray the doors which is plastic doors Site manager Vince byrne he didn’t put on the system what ever it’s not my problem end of the day at the time they fix the doors it doesn’t come from my pocket it is Door is paint he paid from the company money on the head office they told me is not on the record this doorSo paint coming off now 2020 year after also report to the NHBC they’re not taking any action Avant home told the NHBCThis is the message from NHBCAfter the meeting the builder was contacted, and reported that they thought the door had been cleaned with an unsuitable product by the homeowner.The NHBC are unable to determine the cause of the discolouration and do not know how the door has been cleaned. Therefore, this item is beyond the scope of the Resolution Service.We never use unsuitable products for the door they don’t won’t do Because will cost money for them and +house still WarrantyMy another complainKitchen doors when is rain water coming in they didn’t fix that as well good news NHBC except this complain they will put right hopefully soon as possibleDon’t buy house don’t waste your money 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

Gyunay · 26 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Update - don’t believe the hype

Bought at Balfour Park, Newcraighall as loved the layout and spec of Avant homes. Despite paying a premium for what’s ‘included’, at this site, a lot of the finishing is sloppy and customer service is pretty much non-existent. All talk and no action unfortunately - repair dates come and go, no update, no explanation. Chasing things is tedious and pointless and unnecessary. No logic even to how they organise repairs - fix external issue on one property, but don’t fix same reported issue next door?! Overworked/under resourced? Inept? Disinterest? Whatever the reason, same end result.Glowing reports on here suggest Avant are capable of getting it right but sadly not across the board. Really takes shine off owning a new home.Update - plot 124Update 25/09/20Although Avant response states they will look into issues - I’ve had no contact so assume they haven’t. Certainly I am not ‘assured Avant will not rest until issues are addressed’If -mould in kitchen from dodgy plumbingdamaged appliances, kitchen units, splashback, tapscratched bi-fold with rubber seals constantly coming offdoors dragging on carpets installed by Avantsunken monoblocking in streetetc etcbeing lied to then ignored is what you look for in a new home, then look no further than Avant.

Js · 25 September 2020 · Avant Homes Midlands Swadlincote