Issues with vendor after completion - any advice?

Miss_Imaginative

I'm looking for some advice, as I'm wondering what the procedure is with things like this.

OH and I are FTB, and exchanged and completed on our house at the end of February. When we picked up the keys from the estate agents, they showed us a list of things the vendor said would be sorted as soon as possible. Two of the three items on the list were sorted promptly, however the garage door was due to be replaced under the vendor's insurance policy. The lock/handle had been ripped off by the vendor's son, making the garage unaccessible (it's a garage door that locks as soon as you close it).

The estate agent said to let them know if any of the problems on the list hadn't been sorted, which we did two weeks after completion (to try and give the insurance company some time to get it sorted out). However, it still hasn't been resolved! We've been in the house a month and a half now and considering the garage door/lock was broken when we first viewed the house in mid-November, we're feeling somewhat messed about. The estate agent keeps ringing the former-vendor who doesn't return their calls, reply to messages (cannot respond to snail-mail as they didn't leave a forwarding address). The estate agent managed to get in direct contact with them last week, but as they were driving at the time, they requested for the agent to call them back the next day. Upon the estate agent doing this, the vendor didn't pick up or hasn't returned any calls or messages.

We already have our solicitor chasing up the vendor's solicitor about other damage to the property that happened after we viewed the property but before we completed (sockets ripped out of the wall, shower cubicle glass smashed). However this is proving fruitless, as the vendor's solicitors are notoriously slow and the vendor isn't responding to the requests either!

I know we've well and truly lost the bargaining tool of the sale in terms of this, but is there anything else we can do other than just wait it out and let the estate agent's do the calling and hope that the vendor returns their calls at some point?

Thanking you in advance, any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Miss_I

DVardysShadow

Consider Small Claims Court. If you decide to go down this route, serve notice to fix all outstanding items within 21 days or whatever otherwise you will fix them at your own expense and sue.

But do be sure that either the damage occurred after contract or was listed to be addressed within the contract. And don't threaten court if you don't intend to do it.

keith969

The only thing you can do is commence legal action againt the vendor. You can try the small claims court but you will need the vendor's new address though.

Ulfar

keith969 wrote: »

The only thing you can do is commence legal action againt the vendor. You can try the small claims court but you will need the vendor's new address though.

Surely they can sue via the vendors conveyancing solicitor as the contract has not been completed in full.

G_M

Ulfar wrote: »

Surely they can sue via the vendors conveyancing solicitor as the contract has not been completed in full.

I have no idea what you think this means! The contract was between the OP and the vendors, so any breach must mean suing the vendors.

"via the vendors conveyancing solicitor "?? Oh you mean their address? Sorry, no. You sue the vendor, you serve on the vendor's address.

zzzLazyDaisy

LOL.... I made the same mistake and misread the post.

It is possible to sue 'via' the vendors' solicitor - if they are instructed to accept service of the court papers, but I think it is much more likely that they will say they are no longer instructed to act on behalf of the vendors.

OP - To be honest, unless it is going to cost a lot of money to put right, it is probably best to accept that they are determined to avoid this issue, and sort it out yourself. Going through the courts will be stressful and with no guarantee that you will get satisfaction. I know it is annoying and frustrating, but the stress must be spoiling the pleasure of your new home. What goes around, comes around - life has a habit of treating people the way they treat others - I'd let it go and get on with enjoying your new home.

Debt_Free_Chick

Before you consider any further action, you need to bear in mind that you bought the property in the condition in which it existed at exchange of contracts. The vendor is only obliged to return the property to the condition as it was at that date. The vendor agreeing to sort out anything else is essentially a goodwill gesture - unless you have firm evidence of a contractual commitment to do any extra work.

I fear the legal arguments - whether contract law or conveyancing law applies here - may be a bit too much for a simple small claims court claim. But I may be wrong and much depends on any evidence of a contractual obligation you may have.

Miss_Imaginative

Thank you all for your replies!

I did wonder whether small claims court may be the next step, and like you said LazyDaisy I do wonder whether going down that route will be too stressful and may not even get a result. This is completely new territory for me and I honestly don't know what leg (if any) we have to stand on. Part of me is very tempted to just accept this and move on so we can start enjoying our house more, as it's just hanging over us at the moment.

However, I'm going to give the estate agent a call later today to see whether they did get any further response from the vendor either over the weekend/today (I never learn, I always stay optimistic). Plus I can establish with the estate agent whether fixing the garage is a goodwill gesture on the vendor's part or within the actual contract.

Miss_I