Vendor is taking the kichen sink!!

zfrl

needhelp1 wrote: »

sentimental value

Our kitchen sink has been in the family for over a hundred years! It is a shallow pot sink & is wonderfully useful. As we have special units to fit it I would probably take them & sink with me if I moved. Hubby & DS were bathed in it when babies. Bless!

franklee

The nearest discussion I've seen to this here is with buying repossessions and the OPs often saying the lender requires a kitchen sink for the property to be mortgageable. Sometimes OPs arrange to fit one between exchange and completion but that's when the house is an empty repo.

I'd certainly check it out with solicitor and lender, you don't want any problems getting the loan.

needhelp1_2

Hi all

I have contacted my solicitor to find out where we stand - but no reply as yet.

We we never told that the sink would be taken so it has come as a surprise and certainly warrants a reconsideration of our offer.

I like the suggestion that they agree to leave the sink in place for a certain amount of time after exchange in order for us to arrange a replacement.

I know that kitchens can take ages though - my mother's took 3 months to arrive. I don't think they would agreee to that.

I guess it depends on what the mortgage lender thinks when they find out. If they won't mortgage the house then the vendors will have to agree to a compromise as they will have the same problem if they sell to someone else (unless cash buyer of course).

I think they mentioned about 4 weeks or so between exchange and completion but there is nothing concrete. We are in a chain of 4 houses.

Will let you know how I get on!

Thanks

lynzpower

I like the suggestion that they agree to leave the sink in place for a certain amount of time after exchange in order for us to arrange a replacement.

I honestly think you should forget this idea

Solicitors will tell you :

What if you dont give them the sink in the X weeks
Will you agree a certain amount of money to be paid to them in Leui of the sink
Will they agree this, what if they want more later etc etc

its so full of holes you dont need!!
what if they are psychos and want to take the sink early?
how will you protect yourself, your property, that they know its sedcurity weaknesses better than you do?

Tell them you want them to knock of Xk ( the cost of the kitchen units/ sink etc that they are taking) and allow full access to your builder to fit you a new kitchen between exchange and completion.

Thats the only way Id acccept it to be honest, you are storing up a load of probs for yourself with this later date idea.

dizzybuff

The film moving comes to mind .....

Ulfar

Sorry to say but I would walk away. The kitchen sink is a fixture which I would expect to be left, are they taking the loo and bath as well. I would argue that you offered based on what is in the particulars given by the estate agent.

As others have said by doing this they are making the property uninhabitable in the eyes of a mortgage lender, who if they find out till not lend on the property.

Maybe I am being daft but when I sold my previous property I left everything including cooker, curtains, blinds, carpets. I even bought a nice new clean shower curtain and thoroughly cleaned the property before leaving.

tek-monkey

Ulfar wrote: »

Maybe I am being daft but when I sold my previous property I left everything including cooker, curtains, blinds, carpets. I even bought a nice new clean shower curtain and thoroughly cleaned the property before leaving.

I hope to buy a house from you in the future! Seriously though, my vendor is also leaving me a lot of things like that. I'm paying for the fridge, but they've left me most curtains and lampshades, the cooker and several items of furniture as they don't need them at the new place. Seems sensible to me, more than I expected so kept me happy. With the troubles we're now having that sweetner may have helped them a fair bit!

DVardysShadow

Having thought about this for a while, I have come to the conclusion that if they felt the sink had sentimental value, they should have removed it before going to market and installed another.

So, they are possibly telling porkies to try and get more money to leave it, or they are just a bit dim and cannot plan. Either way, I would think hard about how I wanted the kitchen after they took the sink and I would probably be looking at a new kitchen some years earlier than necessary. So I would reduce the offer by the cost of a whole new kitchen with only a small allowance for betterment.

itsnotfair_2

Cidersid wrote: »

The house my bro just bought, the vendor took the light switches and the bulbs!!

Though he left him a bottle of wine??

You are NOT allowed to take light switches unless you replace, likewise a bulb in a correct firtting must be provided. It's illegal and is in the regs in the vendors HIP.

DVardysShadow

itsnotfair wrote: »

You are NOT allowed to take light switches unless you replace, likewise a bulb in a correct firtting must be provided. It's illegal and is in the regs in the vendors HIP.

It is perfectly legal. The light switches belong to the vendor, and if they want to take them, that is the end of it. The only thing they have to do is to make clear what they are doing before contract exchange - otherwise these items would [rightly] be presumed to be staying. If they did not make it clear, but still took them, it would be a breach of contract [rather than illegal].

edit: It is not illegal to breach a contract either, although you would find that a court would by default uphold the contract.