Kitchen roof destroyed before exchange - options?

breeny

Hi all,

First post here, so be easy on me!

We're were going to exchange on a 3-bed victorian house in London later this week, and today we got a call from the estate agent saying the vendor popped into the house today (it's vacant due to it being a probate sale) and found the kitchen ceiling destroyed by a leak from a radiator in the bedroom above it.

The leak has been sorted, and the vendor is being upfront and honest and said the ceiling needs total replacing, and has provided us with 2 options.

1. He gets the ceiling replaced prior to us moving in (although this will probably mean that we won't be able to complete till the new year as the joists have to dry out)

2. We can complete and move in as planned, get the ceilings fixed ourselves - and charge the vendor.

I suppose I wanted to pick the brains of you good people to see, from your experience, which of the two options are preferable? Please bear in mind that we have people who are renting our flat, and want to be in before xmas......

Also, how long should it take for joists to dry out?

Cheers - Breeny

WestonDave

Out of preference I'd have a retention (hold some money back) put into the contract to cover the expected costs of replacing the ceiling (and a bit more so if its quoted at £1200, get at least £1500) and move in. That way you are sure you have control of funds to cover the cost and it doesn't hold everyone up. What you don't want to do is hand over the full purchase price, employ someone to do the work and then find the vendor can't or won't pay up.

lincroft1710

Either get him to repair the ceiling and try and check it's been done properly before exchanging. Or get him to reduce the house price by the cost of the ceiling repair plus 10%/20% for inconvenience.

Once he's got the money for the sale, it may be very difficult to get him to reimburse you for the ceiling repair you're having to pay for.

BitterAndTwisted

Also, I wouldn't trust the vendor to have the job done properly. As it's a probate sell you are not likely to be dealing with someone who needs every last penny of the sale for their next purchase. Negotiate for a decent amount to be taken off the purchase-price before you exchange

hazyjo

The kitchen ceiling collapsed in my old house due to a water leak above. The water also ran into a wall between my kitchen and lounge. It had been from a tiny slow drip that I'd not noticed off the hot water tank.

It was much more than 'just letting the joists dry out'. Depending on when it happened, there may be mould and part of the joists may need replacing - mine did.

Also, it probably won't dry out without a dehumidifier - I had to have one or two for at least a week, I seem to remember, probably two. You'd be amazed at the amount of water that comes out of 'nowhere'!

The ceiling was lath & plaster so that was far more of a job than just replacing plasterboard - and very messy.

The bathroom flooring needed replacing entirely.

The whole kitchen needed repainting.

The woodwork in the kitchen/lounge never recovered and during the next two summers, when it got really hot, the woodwork would make this almighty cracking noise as it kind of sucked itself in. It was very split and cracked.

The damp in the wall that was affected never went. I sold a couple of years later and realised that there was mould behind a bookcase, plus all the wallpaper had lifted and shrunk. The skirting boards and doorframe (all part of the same damaged wall) had all 'sucked in on itself' and split. I had to knock £1500 off my asking price cos of damp.

It was well over a grand's worth of work altogether.

HTH.

Jx