Our £330K new-build has been SO badly botched it’s worth just £1 – we can’t celebrate Christmas & guests refuse to visit
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A COUPLE claim they haven't been able to celebrate Christmas at home in years after their new-build was left so botched it's now worth just £1. Dayle Dixon and Mark Lee say they noticed cracks in the floor at their dream detached home in Ivybridge, Devon, just days before getting the keys in 2018.
![[Mark Lee, 49, and partner Dayle Dixon, 53, say they haven't celebrated Christmas in years as guests refuse to visit]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KNM_NEWBUILD_HOUSE_RUINS_XMAS_22jpg-JS957873064.jpg?strip=all&w=863)
Construction firm Barratt Homes reportedly told them the property was just drying out but since then they've faced eight years of damp, floor movement and dangerous dust. Dayle, 53, says a surveyor concluded the house is worth just £1 after damp proofing issues allowed water to run under the home and wreak havoc with its structure.
![[The couple outside what they thought was their dream detached home in Ivybridge, Devon]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KNM_NEWBUILD_HOUSE_RUINS_XMAS_1jpg-JS957873071.jpg?strip=all&w=913)
She claims that when her elderly relatives last visited two years ago they suffered breathing issues due to dust from the bare concrete floor. The grandma-of-one says relatives have refused to visit this Christmas as have their three adult children - so they'll be left to spend Christmas alone "lying in bed".
![[Since moving in they've faced eight years of damp, floor movement and dangerous dust]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KNM_NEWBUILD_HOUSE_RUINS_XMAS_4jpg-JS957872977.jpg?strip=all&w=702)
She's admitted "nobody wants to come round when you're sat in chaos" and that she's avoided festive decorations for the past five years because "everything is wet". Her and Mark, 59, are begging Barratt Homes to pay £330,000 to buy the botched property from them and heavily compensate them for the issues so the couple can leave.
![[Dayle and Mark, who have been together for 25 years believe they've spent around £15,000 on ruined furnishings]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KNM_NEWBUILD_HOUSE_RUINS_XMAS_6jpg-JS957872983.jpg?strip=all&w=875)
Dayle says they've agreed to meet the independent valuation price and give her £5,000 compensation but that isn't enough as mortgage and Help to Buy repayments would leave the pair "homeless". Dayle, from Ivybridge, Devon, said: "The first couple of years we had the tree up but we haven't had a Christmas for five years at least now.
![[Pictures show issues with movement around the windows]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KNM_NEWBUILD_HOUSE_RUINS_XMAS_9jpg-JS957872989.jpg?strip=all&w=679)
