Seller lied in Property Information form

the_insider

Did you go back to the solicitor that dealt with the purchase for you and explain what's happened as you were advised? I get the impression you have only contacted 'new' solicitors. Your conveyancer will be able to get in touch with the seller's solicitor who should be able to get in touch with the seller.

bunsgalore

Okay thanks, steve_f.

I'll let you know how we get on, as we are just about to make a start with the complaints process against the surveyor and I've logged a query with our selling solicitor about the fact the seller lied. Maybe it will help you if you do start the investigations.

How badly flooded have you been with this bad weather, compared to how you are normally flooded?

vectistim

This is something private detectives are handy for - with their names from the contract, the address, date of moving and solicitors used, they should be successful in finding your vendors.

bunsgalore

If you have the seller's solicitor surely they would have contact details for any new address (at least your solicitor will have the seller's solicitors address). As it's likely the seller also purchased a new property at the same time and they will know what that address is.

steve_f_3

The solicitor we used for the purchase have been shut down for running a dodgy Stamp Duty avoidance scheme!! (They tried to convince me to do this scheme but I refused)

I tend to get mad about this issue every few months, resolve to do something about it, and then hit a brick wall and forget about it.

Thanks Bunsgalore for offering to share your experience. I would be very interested in any updates.

In fact, on a hunch, I have found the son of the sellers on Facebook, he is mid 20s but lived with his parents up to the point at which they sold the house. Tempted to ask him for a forwarding address.

pinkshoes

steve_f wrote: »

The solicitor we used for the purchase have been shut down for running a dodgy Stamp Duty avoidance scheme!! (They tried to convince me to do this scheme but I refused)

I tend to get mad about this issue every few months, resolve to do something about it, and then hit a brick wall and forget about it.

Thanks Bunsgalore for offering to share your experience. I would be very interested in any updates.

In fact, on a hunch, I have found the son of the sellers on Facebook, he is mid 20s but lived with his parents up to the point at which they sold the house. Tempted to ask him for a forwarding address.

I would ask him! Your sellers lied and if I were you, I'd be doing my best to find out contact details!

My parents have just moved 160 miles away, and they sent cards to all their friends in the area with the new address. Surely someone in the area knows them and where they moved to?

Is the son friends with his parents on facebook?

Did the estate agent know where they were moving to? Did they move locally? Do you know which EA they bought from?

pinkshoes

Oh, and forgot to add, if you are going to contact their son and ask for their address, make sure you tell him that you need it because they've won the premium bonds or something, and need to forward it on to their new address!

Lord_Baltimore

steve_f wrote: »

Sorry to say I have done nothing in the intervening time. I haven't got past the hurdle of not knowing the sellers full name or address.

The garden still floods, more than ever in the current weather.

I completely empathise with your predicament Steve but, do you know what, I'd let this thing go now and just sort it out yourself.

Believe me, it goes against the grain for me to suggest letting anyone off the hook but you have to consider yourself and your family in this.

On the positive side, your home is dry and you could possibly get the garden sorted if you find the right blokes who won't charge an arm and a leg.

Get on with your life mate. All the potential hassle isn't going to be worth it.

TBagpuss

The sellers full names should be on the contract - did you keep a copy? If not, the SRA should be able to tell you who took over your former solicitor's files - which should then enable you to check the file for the sellers full names.

The seller's solicitors would be unlikely to disclose their current address to you without their express permission; the solicitors have a duty of confidentiality to their clients, they have no duty of disclosure to you.

A private detective may be able to make initial enquiries for you to try to trace the new address, many will have a set fee for this (they'll be able to check electoral registers etc)

Bunsgalore - I think you mentioned that your flooding was from run-off from a playing field? If so, it may be worth contacting the council / school which owns the field - if the issue is that the playing field has inadequate drainage its possible that they may be willing to address this. It may also be worth your seeking legal advice about whether their allowing the problem to continue once they have been given notice of it would amount to a nuisance.

bunsgalore

TBagpuss wrote: »

Bunsgalore - I think you mentioned that your flooding was from run-off from a playing field? If so, it may be worth contacting the council / school which owns the field - if the issue is that the playing field has inadequate drainage its possible that they may be willing to address this. It may also be worth your seeking legal advice about whether their allowing the problem to continue once they have been given notice of it would amount to a nuisance.

From reading online for advice as long as the surface run off is natural and hasn't been altered in any way the owner of the land there the problem originates doesn't has to resolve the issue. As it's a school playing field and they don't seem to use that corner of the field I can't imagine them wanting to do anything about it as the cost for them would be greater than the cost for us. But I could ask them the frequency of the flooding (from their knowledge) and ask about the drainage etc. that they have as a general enquiry) and then use it as proof of previous flooding as well as finding out about what they do have.

Due to legal restrictions the drainage will need to be specific to getting the water from the boundary edge and then into a surface water drain (as it's not allowed to be specifically directed to a normal drain). Therefore the costs for this is not small and therefore is not something we can just afford to accept.