What would you do?

farmerboy

Just wondered what other sellers out there would do in the following situation.

Our house that is for sale is empty, been to check on it today ready for a viewer on Saturday, and found that we had had a pipe burst and there was about 1" of water all over the ground floor. The burst was found and repaired, and the damage is minimal, basicly all carpets are scrap, and about an inch above the skirting the wall paper has bulged.

The viewer has been put on hold for a week, but at this point not told the true reason, only that we can't make the viewing. We've cleared the water as best we can today, and are going tomorrow to take up all the downstairs carpets and clear the rest of the water, then put in a couple of dehumidifiers and leave the heating on full for a week to dry it out. We're not claiming anything on the insurance as it would only be for the carpets which a new purchaser would have changed anyway.

I know what my next course of action is, but was wondering what other sellers would do in this situation regarding telling future viewers why there are no downstairs carpets?

We're going to be honest and say what has happened to any viewer, mainly because we know this would come back and bite us in the !!!! if we didn't.

princeofpounds

The real thing to be careful about is the SPIF. It can come back and bite you if you fail to declare something you have been asked directly, and they can prove it, and they later suffer loss because of it.

In this case it's likely not as big a deal as failing to mention a planning application for an adjacent abbatoir or something because it only relates to one pipe, unless your whole plumbing is leaky. But best to be honest when directly asked.

If you explain it properly (pipe burst - cold weather? - repaired but didn't replace carpets as new owner might prefer to) it comes across reasonably. Of course it's not going to look quite as nice for viewings.

Catatonia

I would be honest about it, but I would also replace the carpets. You could do so quite cheaply and I reckon you'd put a lot of people off by not doing it.

LillythePink

But what if carpets are mentioned as being in the house when sold - then surely, you would have to either get them replaced or offer money off for the purchase of carpets.

I'd definately go with honesty - it's not as if the house is falling apart and you are trying to hide the cracks - it's a burst pipe - it can happen to anyone anywhere

farmerboy

LillythePink wrote: »

But what if carpets are mentioned as being in the house when sold - then surely, you would have to either get them replaced or offer money off for the purchase of carpets.

I'd definately go with honesty - it's not as if the house is falling apart and you are trying to hide the cracks - it's a burst pipe - it can happen to anyone anywhere

The only thing mentioned in the sale brochure is the laminate floor, but we'll get the agent to ammend that. Every viewer we have is told that it is for sale as you see it, simple as that.