Vendor lied about house flooding?

Who hired the surveyor to undertake the survey? Was it you or are you just going on what the banks valuer said to you when (s)he was doing the survey?

If its a case that you hired the surveyor to undertake the survey of the home, did you receive a brief or rundown of the items that will be looked out for?

Did you get a hard copy of the report? Is there a disclaimer in the report stating that the survey is a visible survey or some other wording similar to that?

I really think that if you paid money for this survey yourself from a practicing surveyor or engineer you really have a great case for professional negligence. Is the person a member of scs or rics or any governing body?

This kind of thing is learned on day one in surveying 101.

I really feel sorry for you being mislead and think that you have more that one guilty party in your situation.
 
Turns out solicitor thinks I have a good case ( thank god). But it may take a long time to sort. Biggest problem is I can do no work to solve problems until their expert sees it & they may be in rush to send one. So I have to wait & can't move in. But hopefully it will get sorted in time .... Thanks for replies
 
I'm not sure if its possible, but should you not put a court injuction on him/her (seller) reduceing his/her assets below the value of the house you purchase. I'm sure this would speed up the legal case too if its in there interest.
 
shigllgetcha said:
Do you want to be able to reverse the sale or get the seller to pay to fix the damp? Just curious
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Very strongly leaning to reversal of sale :eek: Can't even begin to contemplate resuming my 2yr search for a house. But I can't see how I would ever resell it. It has all left such a sour taste to be honest.
 
dont1know said:
I'm not sure if its possible, but should you not put a court injuction on him/her (seller) reduceing his/her assets below the value of the house you purchase. I'm sure this would speed up the legal case too if its in there interest.
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Have no clue if this is possible but will mention to my solicitor. Thanks
 
Is the vendor a mark?

On what grounds does your solicitor think you have a good case? And against who? The vendor or engineer or both?
 
Once you have decided on a game plan with your solicitor, is there any benefit from approaching your bank with the situation to see if you can get a small moratorium in place to ease your cash flows (i.e. Rent and Mortgage)? May be additional costs you can pursue vendor / surveyor with to avoid you being our of pocket. However, not too sure if you want to inform them the security they have over your mortgage is a little "leaky"!
 
zipee said:
Very strongly leaning to reversal of sale :eek: Can't even begin to contemplate resuming my 2yr search for a house. But I can't see how I would ever resell it. It has all left such a sour taste to be honest.
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Such a bad way to start life in a new house even if you wanted to keep it. Best of luck anway
 
Bronte said:
Is the vendor a mark?

On what grounds does your solicitor think you have a good case? And against who? The vendor or engineer or both?
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What is the relevance of the vendor's name? I would strongly advise the OP against answering that particular question as it shouldn't matter who the vendor is if they knowingly misled the buyer and it could simply cause further animosity if the vendor's identity is made known on a chat forum
 
A "mark" is some one who has resources and is worth pursuing in the courts. It has nothing to do with a personal name.
 
fandango1 said:
What is the relevance of the vendor's name? I would strongly advise the OP against answering that particular question as it shouldn't matter who the vendor is if they knowingly misled the buyer and it could simply cause further animosity if the vendor's identity is made known on a chat forum
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Sorry, just had to laugh........:D

A "mark" is indeed what Ajapale has said above.....


PS> Really feel for the OP though. :-(
 
SparkRite said:
Sorry, just had to laugh........:D

A "mark" is indeed what Ajapale has said above.....


PS> Really feel for the OP though. :-(
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I had no clue what that was either??


I just wish it would get sorted one way other soon! It is the not knowing if it is my house or not or should I move on?
 
Sorry Zipee for being unclear. If you are going to sue someone you must make sure that they have assets or income. That is someone being a 'mark'. So in your case if the vendor has neither assets nor income it would be pointless to sue him.

Do you know how much it will cost you to take a case? And what exactly is it you are hoping to achieve? To rescind the sale or monetary compensation?
 
Bronte said:
Sorry Zipee for being unclear. If you are going to sue someone you must make sure that they have assets or income. That is someone being a 'mark'. So in your case if the vendor has neither assets nor income it would be pointless to sue him.

Do you know how much it will cost you to take a case? And what exactly is it you are hoping to achieve? To rescind the sale or monetary compensation?
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Maybe she should also hire a different solicitor to the one that handle the purchase.

As per the vendor, ff he sold the house, he either purchase a new property or kept the cash, so he has some assets.

I would really would want a freezing order on him asap and a solicitors letter to the person you carried out the Survey.

As per your current situation, I can't see this been resolved quickly... it could take years I'm afraid.

the costs involved will not be cheap either.
 
Interesting to see where this thread has run to and lots of useful suggestions for Zippee. My suggestion re claiming against Bank surveyor implied that OP would put Bank on notice that their asset / security was now deficient and that Bank might join in / lead any action against their valuer. Bear in mind that Zippee almost certainly paid the bill for the bank's valuation and that Bank valuer's are usually drawn from a professional panel of surveyors and are required to have a significant amount of Professional Indemnity Insurance. May not be a runner but looks like there is plenty of scope to seperately pursue seller / agent / own surveyor.

As somebody that continues to live in a previously flooded property, if I could turn back the clock I would not have purchased in what is now a recognised floodzone. it may never flood again but you must live with the risk every day and get spooked every time we get heavy / pluvial rain - which is an increasingly regular phenomenon in this country.

If its an option to rescind the contracts, back out and start searching again I would do so. Its very much a buyer's market and there are plenty of good properties available that are not at risk of flooding. Just make sure to inform yourself on the location of Dublin's underground rivers such as the Poddle and The Swan that could be passing near your back garden but you will never see them or know of their existence until they flood, as happened in my case. It would be worth investigating how often the property / area has flooded and likelihood of flooding again. The length of time that the water remained in the house - minutes / hours / days is also relevant as the longer it was there the higher the risk of contamination. Neighbours could probably clarify that quickly. Apparently RSA claim to have a sophisitcated flood predicition model for most areas that you might be able to access or at least check the OPW Floodmap website as suggested by a previous poster.

It makes sense to try to freeze the sellers assets too unless they have already been grabbed by a mortgage bank that was owed.

Its dreadful to find yourself in this situation when you should be enjoying the excitement of your new home but stick with your case and dig in for a battle.
 
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