sale of house - how long does buyer have to complain?

[SilverSaloon]

hi. Some advice please regarding a house sale...

we sold (and completed) our house in April.

Within about a month the buyers complained about several things

we wrote back telling them we wont entertain those issues and we didnt hear anything back until last week (end of Oct)

they sent us 3 bills for repairs + one of them is for something that they didnt originally complain about.

How long do they have to complain?

in my eyes, they complained, i told them to "get lost", months and months of no further contact until last week when they send the bills wanting to be reimbursed. surely they should of replyed to my original "Get lost". now i have bills i didnt even agree to.

all communication is via my solicitors and theirs.

any advice would be appreciated. To me when they ignored my "got lost" letter they waived their complaints?

for info the 3 complaints are:

- washing machine "trap" pipe wasnt sticking upwards - it ended horizontally. this is because when we had the machine plumbed in, the pipe just poked through the horizontal pipe into the upwards pipe it attached to. no problem in 7 years for us
- wall in hallway used to have a wall light fitted. this was blocked off and wires isolated inside the wall. we had a picture frame over it. when we sold the hole with the wires in was taped over. the wires could of been un-isolated and a wall light could of just been connected up?? house sold with light fittings not included.
- front door lock apparently is unusable. they complained within a month about this, even though it had been fine when we were there, and i locked it the day i dropped the keys off to the estate agent for them - they must of opened it to get in. they say they cant use it in April. They had a new lock fitted in Aug - so have they not locked the door in all that time? sounds fishy to me.

i expect the complains to mount to around £600 for these things which even though i feel i shouldnt need to pay for, is a rip off anyway for a new lock, and a £3 plastic pipe from B&Q + labour to fit them.

thanks

 

[Rob77]

When you sold it, did you give some sort of warranty on it, or on parts of it?

It isn't my field but when someone buys a ruin they can't complain later and expect the seller to make sure that, say, the electrics all work in accordance with the latest IEE standards or whatever.

However, your house would have fallen somewhere between a ruin and a new house. So, surely, your obligation now would be to ensure it complies with any representations or warranties you have given?

 

[Charles Morgan]

No idea under Scots law but south of the border unless you actively misrepresented the details (ie gave knowingly false answers to enquiries) or removed things you said you would leave, they have not a leg to stand on. Caveat emptor - they should have checked.

What do your solicitors say? They are the people who should advise you on this.

 

[renault12ts]

This isn't a car. When you buy a house things will need doing, you can't send bills to the previous owner. I have never heard the like.

Use stronger language this time.

 

[flango]

As Charles, no comeback under English law but I do know Scottish law and property Sales is very different to that of England your lawyer should be able to advise

 

[Doodle]

I though this is what the survey was for, and once exchange had happened it's tough?

 

[brucemillar]

Charles is on the money. If you did not misrepresent anything then you have no obligation. Tell them you will invoice them for your administration fees in handling their "complaints". They presumably had a survey done? If yes they could try and claim back (not a hope in hell) from their surveyor.

 

[grober]

Tell them their beef is with the firm who surveyed the property for not pointing out any faults which were "open to interpretation" at the time of sale. If they did not have a proper survey done " caveat emptor" Be advised by your solicitor but in my experience paying anything might be construed as an admission you wilfully concealed faults and may be followed by more demands for further compensation. Leave it to the legal eagles to sort out- life's too short.

ps this might be useful reading http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/assets/3/files/2009/11/MovingHome.pdf

and

http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/hmcs_013538.pdf

 

[SilverSaloon]

its just a standard 2nd hand house, not a wreck, not new.

solicitors said they "may have a case" in april. Get this - in their original complaint in april they even complained that a plug in the sink didnt hold the water in and that the dishwasher gurgles a bit!!!! solicitor isnt back until thursday to give me advice. i'll ask him but i wondered if anyone here knows.

yes to me, if they are concerned about stuff they should of checked stuff on their 2nd visit or made another visit, or got some extra survey done etc.

i know the washing machine trap was a bit "odd" but it never caused me a problem in the years i was there so i know its not a problem.

the lock, although old and the handle a bit loose-feeling, was also fine and has worked fine when we were there and when i last left it. it cant of been bad considering it took them so many months to repair it.

the wires in the wall are simply standard light circuit which would just require connecting a light fitting to or covering the hole over. either way it was there when they viewed the property.

i cant get the feeling away from me that they just want me to buy their fancy wall-light fitting, new door locks (as the bill shows the barrol has also been replaced which wouldnt be required to fix a handle, or visa-versa). and the washing machine trap thing is just a joke. washing machine was not included in the sale and not a mention of having one. (it was there when they viewed though) therefore the fact they have a trap at all is a bonus????!

in scotland you have a "home buyers report" which is a survey i pay for when i advertise the house. they didnt get anything done (to my knowledge anyway) themselves - certainly not inside the house - we were living there up until the day of exchange.

 

[fredT]

Sounds very strange.

Also, would you buy a house and not change all the locks? Sounds crazy too me

 

[Ted]

Absolutely ludicrous.

None of these is an issue, and shouldn't you change the door locks when you move house?


I would ignore them.


Bloody idiots!!

Ooooh I'm angry now.......

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I think the OP should cover all of the costs of the complainant.



















And while he's at it, he might as well pay their gas and electric bill, in fact, he should pay their mortgage as well!

 

[Red C220]

If you are responsible in any way for any of this then the Scottish property laws are absurd.

These are complaints you'd get if you were renting a property not having sold it.

Fruitcakes the lot of em.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Who completes the 'Home Buyers Report', how comprehensive is it and is it a legally binding document or just a description of the property?

Don't know about Scotland, but in England it's against the regulations to remove ceiling light fittings and leave just bare wires. Then again you say it was a wall light and the wires were taped up and insulated. No problem if light fittings weren't included in the sale.

How were they to know the washing machine was plumbed it, it may just have been placed there ready to take to your new property.

If your solicitor is unsure, I would consult one who knows, and/or speak to the Estate Agent you used and see what they say.

 

[SilverSaloon]

To be honest i was surprised i even got an offer from these buyers. they didnt even want to look in the attic even when i offered. they glanced quickly in the dark garage, telling me "an attic is an attic" a "garage is a garage"....

the wall light - it used to have a wall light fitting years ago. we removed it, left the "scotch block" thing on it that attached the wiring of the original light fitting to the wall wiring with insulation tape wrapped around and poked it into the hole in the wall. I then put gaffer tape over the small hole and then hung a photo frame over the hole years before we sold the house. The photo frame was over the hole when they viewed the property. we took the photo with us so when they moved in just the gaffer tape was on the wall. nothing was hidden during viewing, they could of looked behind the frame if they wanted to, we left them to look round on their own at the end of the viewing so they had time/privacy to investigate whatever they wanted. nor did we advertised there was even any electric light available on the wall. if i had put some putty in the wall they probably would of never known. i left it like it was so the light could be re-instated at a future point.

 

[Roamer]

Who completes the 'Home Buyers Report', how comprehensive is it and is it a legally binding document or just a description of the property?

The way the system up here works now is that the seller commissions a survey, from the same surveyors that buyers would have used in the past. This saves the sellers forking out for potentially multiple surveys if they are unsuccessful in trying to purchase the property.

There's a lot of waffle in it like energy efficiency and how you could save £3 per year by spending £80 on special bulbs, but major items, roof, walls, damp, ceilings etc are all covered and graded from 1 to 3, with 1 being ok, 2 being will need looked at and 3 being needs repaired now.

 

[SilverSaloon]

The way the system up here works now is that the seller commissions a survey, from the same surveyors that buyers would have used in the past. This saves the sellers forking out for potentially multiple surveys if they are unsuccessful in trying to purchase the property.

There's a lot of waffle in it like energy efficiency and how you could save £3 per year by spending £80 on special bulbs, but major items, roof, walls, damp, ceilings etc are all covered and graded from 1 to 3, with 1 being ok, 2 being will need looked at and 3 being needs repaired now.

yes. my house had all 1's. it had a 2 for a chiney stack which we fixed before the house eventually sold (although the report never got updated).

 

[del320]

Their complaints are entirely frivolous: they should have satisfied themselves - or through however a detailed survey they wished to commission - that any "faults" would be accepted "as seen"

However, it can be that the buyer's solicitor will wish to insert certain conditions in the contract. In my case when I last sold, they wanted the central heating system warrantied for 31 days. I insisted on seven days and when it packed up on the tenth day, i told the buyers to whistle.

When I bought our country pile, I stated that I would rely on the Home Report, and that fact was written into the contract. Had any problem arisen, my beef would have been with the surveyor.

Tell them to spin on it and relax!

 

[IanA2]

I think that they are trying it on big time. I wouldn't deal with the matter through my solicitor, rather you deal with their solicitor and write very long and very detailed letters asking for lots of supporting information etc. When they see their solicitors bill mount, they'll soon give up and go and bother someone else.

Just my tuppence worth.

 

[renault12ts]

Just wait 'til next spring...I hope the daffs show up on time!!