Boiler problems in sold house

jonty43

I think that's the point, I've moved from a house that I haven't had to touch for the last 3-4 years. According to the the new occupants it's problem after problem.
No, the boiler has been functioning for most of this time as far as I'm aware (with an intermittent drip)

My first move (house to house) I've learned a lot from the experience.

not_loaded

They had all the time in the world before completion to carry out checks, do surveys etc. All of the good things about the house, and all of the bad things about the house are conveyed at completion.

There's no going back.

If they have your mobile number, put them in your phone book and you can see when they're phoning in order to cut off the call.

It's a mistake to entertain any requests of this nature. They'll keep coming back am afraid!

Drodough

Ignore, ignore, ignore. Change your number if you have to!!

OK, as someone who has just been into boiler issues in great depth with my estate agent and solicitor (see my other threads!), here is the situation as i see it:

You do not need to guarantee your boiler to your buyer. Once you have enchanged contracts, it is their boiler, and their problem. IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK APPLIANCES AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE HOUSE prior to purchase! Hence the existance of surveys. If you buy a house and it falls down the next day, is the person who sold it you liable? No. You could persue them in the courts if they were aware of an issue but failed to disclose it (ie lied) on the legal docs- and if you can prove this. Otherwise, it's your problem. It's buyer beware I'm afraid- hence surveyors are still in business!!

You have done far more than ANY other seller would do imho. I am in the position where, a week before exchange, my buyer is insisting I get my boiler serviced and certified safe before he will proceed to purchase. Why is he doing this? Well because he realises that once he completes, the boiler is his problem. If it doesn't work, it is his problem. If it is condemmed due tobeing unsafe, that is his problem! You buyer could have asked for a service prior to completion, which may have picked up the issue. They didn't do this. They take on the costs of any repairs. This you accept when you buy a house. And unfortunately this is true whetehr it breaks a year down the line or on day 1,2,3 etc

Speak to your solicitor- unless they wrote anything over and above the standard stuff into the contract, they will not be able to do a thing (and indeed wouldnt be worth their time/ money anyway).

There has to be a cut-off somewhere, or we'd all be responsible for our past properties for evermore! When I bought the house I am in now, I encountered a huge number of problems with things not working etc, very frustrating, but my own fault for not checking them before completion!!

sprocker1

Number is in our phone book allready!! And yes I intend to ignor from now on!

jonty43

Just to update. I recieved a letter from my conveyencing solicitor last week. Their conveyencers had contacted mine stating that we had known the condition of the boiler before the sale took place and that we were to pay £1000 to cover the cost of the boiler without delay.
She replied pointing out 2 points of our contract, one asked if there was a warranty on the heating (I'd ticked no) the other stated clearly that any surveys on the condition of any parts of the property were the responsibility of the purchaser. This had been accepted by the purchasers prior to completion.
If they had had the boiler inspected prior to sale they could have insisted that any defects found were rectified by us (we weren't aware of any at the time) but we would have put them right to keep the sale on track.

With our puchase we just took the chance leaving some pennys in the kitty to cover anything that cropped up (which plenty of things have)

not_loaded

jonty43 wrote: »

Just to update. I recieved a letter from my conveyencing solicitor last week. Their conveyencers had contacted mine stating that we had known the condition of the boiler before the sale took place and that we were to pay £1000 to cover the cost of the boiler without delay.
She replied pointing out 2 points of our contract, one asked if there was a warranty on the heating (I'd ticked no) the other stated clearly that any surveys on the condition of any parts of the property were the responsibility of the purchaser. This had been accepted by the purchasers prior to completion.
If they had had the boiler inspected prior to sale they could have insisted that any defects found were rectified by us (we weren't aware of any at the time) but we would have put them right to keep the sale on track.
With our puchase we just took the chance leaving some pennys in the kitty to cover anything that cropped up (which plenty of things have)

Thanks for posting back with a follow up. I suppose their conveyancers are merely trying to demonstrate their worth to their client.

Who’s to know what would have been discovered if they had bothered to organise a boiler check? Maybe nothing, maybe something. After all, you only spotted an issue at the very last moment.

A grand is a nice round figure to request isn’t it? A rather nice, easy, bite of the cherry!

We’ve been maintaining items just prior to our sale, as I feel that is the right thing to do. Some of these we could probably have left without spending on them, but I wouldn’t want to do that. After it’s conveyed though, that’s it - it’s most definitely their problem!

Stonk

Please don't pay up!

If I have got this right, what has effectively happened is that you have paid for a plumber to fix *their* boiler, as a gesture of goodwill because it broke down on the day of completion. It sounds like the plumber then made the problem worse - something about shearing a bolt, which has led to further problems. That makes the ensuing problems the plumber's liability. Your buyers are barking up the wrong tree.

steveywonda

I'm having almost exactly the same issue with our old house, see my thread titled 'Issues with old house after completion' (can't hyperlink as I'm a newbie!)

If you could let me know how you got on I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks

not_loaded

Stop discussing it with them.

Just bear in mind that all of the good things about the house, and all of the bad things about the house are conveyed at completion.

There's no going back.

Just to cross link: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2524253