House damage before contracts signed.

O

Orchid

Registered User
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Hi all, I’m a cash buyer. We went sale agreed in the middle of January last year due to vendor delays (lives abroad) and a completely incompetent solicitor we are nowhere near closing. I signed the contract in October and one of the sellers has signed waiting for the other one to do before it is sent back.

Now the problem is in the storm the roof was substantially damaged and there has been a big hole in it for the last week which has been soaking the house.

Where do I stand. I’ve asked for 10k off and an emergency repair but am I within my rights to pull out if they don’t give me what I want off the purchase price considering now due to their delays the house is in a lot worse condition than when I agreed to purchase.
 
You don't have a completed contract. Notify all parties concerned by registered post that you will not be completing and stating the reasons clearly.

Repairs and a discount off the original price would not attract me.
 
' am I within my rights to pull out '

Best to check with your own solicitor.

You have signed the Contracts- but both Vendors have not, you say.

You may already be in a binding Contract situation e.g. if there is open ( not Subject to Contract) correspondence between the solicitors.


But see this clause in the Contract anyway

General Condition 39 Risk

Subject as hereinafter provided, the Vendor shall be liable for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned (other than by the Purchaser or their agent) to the Subject Property (and the Purchased Chattels) between the Date of Sale and Completion but any such liability (including liability for consequential or resulting loss) shall not as to the amount thereof exceed the Purchase Price.


mf
 
Maybe decide what you want:

1) pull out
2) full repair by vendor
3) discount by vendor

Once you decide what you want the negotiation process will be simpler, also for your own solicitor.
 
As current owner, Vendor claims for their loss (storm damage) on their insurance? I would not be buying at 10k discount without getting cost of repair quantified, also at the cost of the vendor.

Really slow conveyance. I thought I was bad with 8 months, all at the hand of my solicitor for absolutely no discernable reason.
 
If the house is currently unoccupied (imagine it is if there is a hole in the roof!), are you certain the vendor has adequate insurance and that this won't drag out? If the house is underinsured, can they cover the incremental cost of repairs? Two owners with one not signing documents raises a flag to me that they might not have properly administered the insurance.

Depending on how badly you want to proceed I would check this to the extent that you can.
 
Thank for reply. They agreed to a 10k reduction in selling price.
I’m starting to worry though. Is there things I may not have taken into consideration about what the damage could be? It’s an old 1900’s house and damp and lack of insulation had come up in the pre purchase survey. I’m guessing now I’d be looking at having to rewire? Replace floorboards etc?
 
Orchid said:
They agreed to a 10k reduction in selling price.
I’m starting to worry though. Is there things I may not have taken into consideration about what the damage could be?
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Absolutely need to get a professional evaluation on this. But first, ask them to reinstate the property on their insurance...if they say no, say you are not proceeding without a survey and cost to.rectify, at their cost. No body would (or perhaps should) buy a house with a hole in the roof, and other damage without survey and substantial discount. If they want to relist, they will have to repair or discount

10k is unlikely to go close to covering it.
IMO anyway...
Caveat, I dont know how much more they might be able to list it at today versus 1yr ago. Maybe it's gone up more than 10k?
 
Persia said:
frankly it's a bit of a train wreck
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Agreed...and I would too, if the vendor is not insured or unwilling to discount to cover reinstatement.
Conveyance efficiency is a joke in this country. I sold three properties last year. Conveyancing took more than 6 months for each, for absolutely no legal reason.
 
Thanks again for replys. I presume the vendor would be liable for a survey or would I have to pay to get one done? the initial survey highlighted issues with the roof and at that time the vendor reduced the price by 15k as it needed to be replaced which I was willing to do. That was a year ago.

House is a 3 story 4 bed/1 bath and was listed at 150k and we are now at 115k. Smaller houses in a similar state before the rain damage in the area are going for around 180kish.
 
Orchid said:
I presume the vendor would be liable for a survey
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Only if you want to hear the answer that suits them

Personally I see situations like this as an opportunity. Don’t ask can you get survey done, tell them. If it were me I would bring a competent builder along who you trust to get a real-world view on things.

The main thing that would give me concern at this point is that getting keys could be weeks/months away and the damage at that point would be MUCH worse, so it needs to be at least patched in the coming days but you aren’t going to pay for it until you own it. Again thinking of this opportunity-focused, you could get your builder to take a look next week, if they’re happy then tell the seller you want to move the closing date to two weeks from now (for example) or you are pulling out but you will sort out the significant repairs required. It may be a bit of a bluff given there is risk to your deposit, but often bluffs work in these situations.

Obviously different people have different risk tolerances to stuff like this and I don’t know yours.
 
Thanks Zenith, yes there was meant to be a a patch up job done yesterday by the vendor which hasn’t been done yet. my solicitor didn’t transfer the deposit as there has just been complete incompetence by the other solicitor.
I have very little knowledge on renovations etc. I don’t know any builders. Would it fall on me to get a survey done at this stage or can I demand that the vendor quantify the damage?
 
You are at the stage where a guess is needed

It would seem that Zenith63 is right - there is a large element of risk involved and it depends on your attitude to and tolerance of this risk
 
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