They're tryng to make me pay £400!

crabbman2004_2

I completed my house purchase on Friday and when I got the call from some1 in the solcitors office I was told "the keys are ready to collect oh and Ive been told to tell you to expect a bill of £400 to land on your doorstep for some decorating that has taken place this year" I obviously told her we had been told no such thing and that I wouldnt pay...and she said she'd get back to me.

The property is a leasehold flat...obviously part of the solicitors checks are to ensure all ground rent/maintenance etc is up to date...

So surely I am not responsible for decorating costs from earlier this year that they have failed to inform me about until now??

lynzpower

course your not. You are only liable for costs on your home when it IS your home, ie on the day of completion.

They need to chase the previous owners. Shouldnt be hard to do as your sols have thier sols details.

tell them to go jump

david29dpo

track down the twit at the office who called you and get her sacked.

cattie

Usually if there is an amount due to be paid for maintenance/service charges etc on a leasehold property during the time of it's sale, the buyer's solicitor will ensure the amount is deducted from monies paid to vendor during the sale process.

If your solicitor failed to do this then they are at fault. Part of what you pay them for is to enquire about any pending works & outstanding charges.

Richard_Webster

cattie wrote: »

Usually if there is an amount due to be paid for maintenance/service charges etc on a leasehold property during the time of it's sale, the buyer's solicitor will ensure the amount is deducted from monies paid to vendor during the sale process.

If your solicitor failed to do this then they are at fault. Part of what you pay them for is to enquire about any pending works & outstanding charges.

That's basically right but it isn't quite as simple as that. Sometimes they find out about the potential bill after exchange of contracts. You should have been advised before exchange of contracts how the service charges etc work. If there was a likelihood of further expedniture being incurred later in the service charge financial year then possibly some money should have been held back so that when the final total service bill was eventually calculated an adjustment could be made.

You should look at the pre contract explanations you had from your solicitors to see what they say about this.

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.