Buying a home is tougher than ever, with statistics showing that the average price paid for a home jumped 259% between 1997 and 2016 - and this figure continues to rise.
So when you do finally somehow find the money to buy what is described as a 'new build' home, you expect it to be, well, newly built.
The opposite turned out to be the case for a couple when they moved into a £400,000 property in Swindon in 2017 hoping for a 'fresh start'.
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However, three weeks in and when a tile fell off the roof of the home, the cracks started to show.
And boy were there a lot of cracks - so far Joe Tompkinson, 33, and wife Claire, 43, say they have found more than 400 faults, including roof tiles kept on with duct tape.
Joe claims he's heard more tiles falling off the roof as he lays in bed at night, noting that the pair are worried for the safety of their three children aged eight, five, and three.
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Joe told The Mirror: "We had been in the new home for a couple of weeks when Claire found a smashed tile on the driveway which had come off the roof.
"A tile caused £3,000 worth of damage to our car which was parked outside. This was reimbursed but initially Linden said it was an act of god caused by wind.
"We've heard tiles falling from the roof when we've been in bed. We are worried a tile could come off and hit us or the children. It's not safe."
But the nightmare doesn't end there. The policeman of 12 years relayed just a few of the issues on the long list, including dodgy repairs, unbolted banisters, micro-cracks, subsidence and missing brickwork.
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This information was found out through a subject access request under the Data Protection Act, which he had to request after the housing firm refused to release.
Joe added: "Linden Homes have allowed my family to live under this roof now for 18 months but for six months have known what is wrong with it.
"I repeatedly asked for this report, at times sending several emails a week. They withheld it until I put in a subject access request under the Data Protection Act."
Now Joe is calling on the government to step in and help to ensure the same problem doesn't happen to another family.
Linden did reply to the claims with a statement that read: "We have confirmed to Mr Tompkinson, on a number of occasions in writing, that we will attend to any issues with his home which do not comply with NHBC standards.
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"We warrant to finish our homes to these standards and the customer has agreed that the NHBC are best placed to determine which issues require attention."
It's yet to be seen how this will turn out. Hopefully the two parties can come to an agreement, because right now it sounds like Joe and his family are living in a house, not a home. And as for the duct tape, that really needs to go.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS