Sold property and roof caved in, HELP URGENT!!!

braken2000

I think on the day we moved. We have not tried that route though. I think it transfered on the day to the new house.

sheryldoc

the guys dog gets killed his roof falls down.. id be a bit of a nippy git myself lol..

however its not your mums fault if he didnt pay for a full survey! or that his dog died and theroof fell in!

prudryden

Tell your insurance company the story and find out from your solicitor the time of the actual transfer.

Gorgeous_George

silvercar wrote:

GG, totally agree with your post but where does the "watertight" bit come from? I always understood that you took insurance out from exchange because it was then your responsibility, even if it burnt to the ground! Never heard mention of water tight.

I picked it up from post #1 (3rd paragraph).

I guess if a roof isn't watertight - it's not a roof - more of an unroofy-like thing.

If the OP has his (the buyer's) money, it's simply not the OP's problem. However, if the deal has not reached completion, the buyer could:
1. pull out
2. expect OP's mum to fix the roof
3. negotiate revised price



GG

HugoSP

If the buyer actually saw it AFTER he exchanged contracts then he would have to prove on balance of probabilities that it collapsed before contracts were exchanged.

Try to see it from his point of view. He's just walked into a house that he's bought and found a major problem with it. For all he knows you could be pulling a fast one.

Try to put in place the sequence of events that occurred around the time of exchange of contracts. also as another poster has suggested, see if your insurers will cover you for this. They may consider that it could have happened before exchange took place.

Was there a time lapse in between selling the old and buying the new.

Gorgeous_George

HugoSP wrote:

They may consider that it could have happened before exchange took place.

I think th eOP's mnum is responsible up to completion (rather than exchange).



GG

Wig

If the builders and movers can say they saw it not collapsed on day XX and they saw it collapsed on day YY as long as day XX was after contract exchange, your mum should be ok.

Iam not a lawyer but I would have thought buyer will have to prove it was collapsed before contracts exchanged, and since he can't do this it is surely his tough luck. His surveyor should have picked this up, buyer beware and all that.

Having your builders etc any witnesses write down thier names addresses and the dates they saw the roof and in what condition will be a great help.

AFAIK it will be up to buyer to prove you are lying, rather than you have to prove it collapsed after exchange, the testimonies will help though.

Talk to CAB and/or your solicitor.

silvercar

I think you only responsible until exchange (of contracts) occur. After that the buyer has to rely on his own insurance. If he saw a collapsed roof between exchange and completion and decided to pull out he would lose his 10% deposit.

The buyer was wrong not to get the flat roof inspected, if not a full survey. He was also wrong not to take insurance from exchange.

See if your Mum's insurance will consider a claim, I would guess they may say she has no insurable interest; the insurance company may pay half on the grounds that the seller and buyer should both insure.

If you do end up in court, it will be your word against theirs. You would be making statements as to when it happened, they would be saying they don't know. Remember you may not be an independent witness but you will still be a witness, obliged to tell the truth. If a court found against you, you would be going back to your insurance company and telling them that a court has found that you were responsible and as they were insuring the property at the time they need to pay up.

Wig

Good points made by silvercar

prudryden

I'm concerned about the fact that the OP and others were still in the house, presumably. after the completion. Had you received this permission in writing?