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Snagging Survey

Snagging Surveys in Wells

New-build defect reports for Wells plots near the A39, Wookey Hole Road and Charter Way.

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Catch defects before the warranty clock starts

Wells has a steady run of new-build activity on the A39 side, Wookey Hole Road, Milton Lane, Charter Way and the A371 Portway, so a snagging inspection is not a box-tick exercise. Our snagging inspectors walk the property, document every defect with photos, and produce a report you can send straight to the developer. That gives the builder a clear list to fix, not a vague complaint. Prices start from £295 for a 1-2 bed home, and the full photo-illustrated report is turned around in 2-3 working days.

homedata.co.uk records show an average sold price of £362,234 in Wells over the last 12 months, while home.co.uk listings show an average asking price of £437,460. BA5 1 house prices rose 1.2% in the last year, and home.co.uk data shows the current average listing price at £498,485, up 6.34% since six months ago. In a town where The Elms, Charter Way and Wookey Hole Road all sit inside the same local market, small defects can sit inside a much bigger purchase price than buyers expect.

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Wells property and snagging snapshot

£362,234

Average sold price

£437,460

Average asking price

£498,485

Current average listing price

Local new-build sites

100-250

Average defects found per new-build

17 to 22

Monthly sales pace in BA4 and BA5

Using listing data from home.co.uk and property data from homedata.co.uk

What a Snagging Inspection Catches

A snagging survey goes beyond a quick glance at paintwork. On Wells sites such as The Elms and the planned homes at Milton Lane, our inspectors look for cosmetic defects like uneven plaster, scuffs, patchy paint, and sealant that stops short at corners or sinks. We also check functional issues such as doors that will not latch, windows that do not close cleanly, sockets that sit out of square, and heating controls that are not behaving as they should. Those are the faults that often get missed in a handover walkaround.

Construction defects can be more serious. On a new home off Wookey Hole Road or beside Charter Way, that can mean uneven floors, poorly fitted kitchens, gaps in skirting, or drainage that sends water the wrong way towards a path or lawn. Our reports also flag regulatory faults that matter under NHBC Buildmark, Premier Guarantee or LABC New Home Warranty, such as missing fire stopping, undersized ventilation, or cracks that go beyond ordinary shrinkage. A buyer's solicitor will not map those in the same way a snagger does.

Wells has a lot of older fabric around the Cathedral, Bishop's Palace and Vicars Close, so many buyers already have a sharp eye for finish quality. New-build defects are different. They tend to hide in the joints, the trims and the corners, not in dramatic damage. That is why our inspectors document the lot, from a paint blemish on a bedroom wall to a plumbing issue under a sink or a garden level that sits off spec at the rear.

Paint and plaster defects
Doors, windows and seals
Kitchens, joinery and floor levels
Fire stopping, ventilation and drainage

Average snags by property size in Wells

1-2 bed flat or house 120 snags

3 bed house 150 snags

4 bed house 190 snags

5+ bed house 220 snags

Source: Homemove snagging benchmark and inspection reports, 2026

Why You Need It Before Completion, or Within 2 Years

Under NHBC Buildmark, Premier Guarantee and LABC New Home Warranty, the developer's defects period usually runs for the first 2 years. That is the window where snagging pays off most. Once that period starts to close, the same builder may still have to deal with faults, but the process gets slower and more defensive, especially if a problem is being argued over rather than logged on day one.

For a new home on the eastern edge of Wells, before legal completion is the cleanest point. The builder still has the keys, access is simpler, and a snag list can be dealt with before you move furniture into the hallway or start living around the fault. After 2 years, warranty cover narrows towards structural issues, so cosmetic and minor fitting problems can become harder work to pursue.

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Why You Need It Before Completion, or Within 2 Years

Pre-completion, first-week and end-of-2-year snagging compared

Timing	Best time to use	What it catches
Pre-completion snag	Before legal completion and key handover	Defects while the builder still has full access, including finish issues and missed items.
First-week snag	After moving in, before wear and tear starts to blur the picture	Faults the handover missed, like sticking doors, leaks, poor seals and uneven finishes.
End-of-2-year snag	Near the end of the defects period	Problems that have emerged over time or defects that need a final push before warranty cover narrows.

How the process works

Quote and booking

Tell us the property type, the address, and whether the handover is at The Elms, Milton Lane, Wookey Hole Road or another Wells site. We price from £295 for a 1-2 bed home, £375 for a 3 bed, £450 for a 4 bed, and £550 for a 5+ bed home.

Instruction

Once you instruct us, we confirm the inspection scope and ask for any developer contact details or access notes. That helps us plan the visit around the site timetable.

Builder access

We coordinate with the builder or site team so the inspection date fits the handover schedule. That matters on live schemes where plots turn over quickly and access windows are tight.

Inspection

Our inspector spends around 3-6 hours in the property, checking finishes, fixtures, fittings, external areas and the parts you do not see at first glance. We document every defect with photos and clear notes.

Report

You receive a full photo-illustrated report within 2-3 working days. It is written so the developer can read it without guesswork, then start fixing the list.

Do not leave snagging until after the keys change hands

If pre-completion snags are agreed before possession, you keep the strongest position. Once you have accepted the keys on a Wells plot, whether that is Charter Way or Wookey Hole Road, the leverage drops fast and small defects can get treated as a post-move issue. Get the list in first. Then hand over.

Local New-Build Considerations in Wells

Wells is not a big spread-out market, so each site matters. Local data shows active and planned schemes at The Elms, Milton Lane, Gypsy Lane, Wookey Hole Road, the A371 Portway site, the west-of-Wells Touring Park scheme, and Charter Way beside the leisure centre. David Wilson Homes, OG Group, LVA, Gladman Developments, Gleeson Land Ltd and Stonewater all appear in the local pipeline. That mix means buyers may be dealing with housebuilder sales teams, land promoters or affordable housing providers, depending on the plot.

The ground under Wells deserves a proper check. The city sits on younger Triassic strata and gravel deposits, with Mercia Mudstone and Dolomitic Conglomerate in the local sequence, so our inspectors pay close attention to cracks, drainage falls, paving and garden levels. The research also notes attenuation ponds on new schemes, which tells you surface water management is being built into the plans. If the finished levels do not match the design, the snag list should say so, with photos that show the difference clearly.

Wells also has a heavy concentration of listed buildings around the Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Bishop's Palace, Vicars Close and the Market Place, so the contrast with a new estate is sharp. The 2021 figures put Wells parish at 11,145 people and 5,362 households, and homedata.co.uk records show 228 transactions in BA5 1 with half of them between £3,080 and £4,080 per square metre. A clean handover still matters on the numbers as well as the finish, especially when the home sits on a site like Milton Lane or the western edge of town.

40% affordable housing at Milton Lane
30% affordable housing at Gypsy Lane
40% affordable housing at Wookey Hole Road
100% affordable housing at Charter Way

Using Your Snag List With the Developer

Our reports are written in a format the site team can use. Each item is logged with a location, a photo, and a short description of the fault, so a builder at The Elms or Wookey Hole Road can go straight to the point instead of wading through a long note. That makes it easier to separate paint touch-ups from items that need a carpenter, electrician or plumber back on site.

If the developer drags its feet, the next step depends on the warranty. NHBC, Premier Guarantee and LABC all have resolution routes, and serious items such as missing fire stopping or ventilation faults should be escalated rather than left to drift. We tell buyers in Wells to keep copies of the snag report, emails and any site responses, because the paper trail is what moves a stalled case forward.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When should I book a snagging inspection in Wells?

Before legal completion is best. On a Wells plot at Charter Way or the A39 side of The Elms, that gives the builder time to deal with the list while they still control access. If completion has already happened, book within the first 2 years so defects still sit inside the warranty window.

How long does a snagging inspection take?

Most inspections take 3-6 hours, depending on the size and layout of the home. A 1-2 bed flat will usually be quicker than a 4 or 5+ bed house, especially if there are external areas, garages or multiple bathrooms to check. The report then follows in 2-3 working days.

What counts as snaggable, and what is just wear and tear?

Snaggable items are faults that sit outside normal wear and tear, such as paint defects, missing sealant, doors not latching, windows not sealing, sockets out of square, or drainage that sits wrong. General use marks after you move in do not count, but defects present at handover do.

Who pays for the snagging survey?

The buyer pays for the survey, not the developer. At Homemove, snagging prices start from £295 for a 1-2 bed home, £375 for a 3 bed house, £450 for a 4 bed house, and £550 for a 5+ bed home, including pre-completion jobs before legal completion.

Can the developer refuse to fix things on the snag list?

A developer can question an item, but it should not ignore a valid defect just because it is inconvenient. If the fault was present at handover or sits within the warranty defects period, the builder normally has to deal with it. If the issue is disputed, the report and photos matter.

Is it the builder, NHBC, or the warranty provider who deals with the faults?

The builder is your first point of contact, because the defects period is usually handled by the housebuilder. NHBC Buildmark, Premier Guarantee and LABC New Home Warranty sit behind that process, and their resolution services can help if the builder does not act. Structural-only issues come into sharper focus after the first 2 years.

What if I have already moved in?

It is still worth booking. Many Wells buyers do a first-week snag, especially after moving into a plot at Milton Lane or Wookey Hole Road, because the home has only just settled into use. The earlier you report faults, the easier the discussion with the developer tends to be.