House defects

tdsmithj

I have sold my property a week ago. We had some rabbits that the carpet in the corner of the room has been chewed up. Thus leaving about 10 x 10cm area with no threading.

There is also a dent in the floor from where the sofa has been. This I was unaware about but it is easy fixed. But because of this the buyer who moved into the property is not happy. We sold a bit of our stuff e.g. sofa to the buyer hence not knowing the dent. What might have happened that I or someone else sat down on the sofa to hard and dented the floor with the leg. We also forgot to leave the bedroom curtains which I will bring back but we also left the living room blinds for free.

Now the buyer is complaining. Worst possible scenario that I am taken to the small claims court.What is classed as a serious defect that could cause this matter to dispute further?

moneyistooshorttomention

You might find interesting to read another thread running on this forum at the moment - about a buyer who really DOES have cause for complaint about the house they have just moved into (ie a rat infestation) and getting a lot of comments to the effect of "Tough luck". This guy does genuinely have cause for complaint - yuk factor and risk of health problems - and yet being told to "live with it and deal with it yourself" by many.

That being the case - I doubt someone who doesn't really have anything much to complain about would have much of a comeback at you for these rather minor matters.

mummyroysof3

How old was the carpet and how big is the room? If they need to replace it I would offer a contribution to it and that's all

ILW

Tell them to take a hike, they have no case whatsoever based on what has been said.

motherofstudents

It was up to them as buyers to check these things, once you have completed it's tough. These are minor issues, most furniture will make indents on the floor. Just tell them no.

Better_Days

These are not 'serious defects'. They are just the sort of things that you find when you buy a house. If the buyers wanted pristine then they should have gone for a new build.

In any case it was up to the buyer to check the condition of the property before they purchased. I would consider a serious defect to affect the structure of the property and/or adversely affect the value of the property. Neither of these apply in your case.

Do drop off the living room curtains asap though (esp if agreed via the F&F declaration) but don't get into discussions about anything else when you do so.

Edited to add - we once had house rabbits - they were great, but do tend to nibble through wires. Wondered why no-one had rung us for a while!

_Andy_

"Worst possible scenario that I am taken to the small claims court" - never going to go anywhere.

There is no valid complaint and you have nothing at all to worry about.

tdsmithj

Thanks for the. I shall be speaking to her today regarding the issue.

maninthestreet

Bald carpet and a small dent in the floor are hardly 'serious defects'.

AFK_Matrix

I would go with the tough luck brigade. When I bought my house I walked in on the day of completion and found that there was a whole in the lounge wall, looked like there was a fire or something there. So there is a 1 brick wide hole in the wall with no plastering or anything.

But then I didn't check behind the sofa they had there, so my tough luck. It's not something to complain to the people I bought the house from though. I just have to get a few bricks some cement and some plasterboard and plaster to fix it.

GenD

As far as I'm aware houses are 'sold as seen', meaning that the buyer has to look for themselves to determine the condition, and unless there is some clause written into your contract of sale that the carpets etc are in brand-new condition then they have absolutely no comeback. Obviously it's not nice for a buyer to get a nasty surprise, but these are really minor issues and certainly nothing to be surprised about when buying a pre-owned home.

If the curtains were listed as 'included' in the Fittings and Contents form, then that IS a legally binding part of your contract of sale, so you have to supply them.

To be honest, I thought that the 'sold as seen' rule would cover even 'serious defects', and the onus was on the buyer to determine the condition of the property, using their own observation or professional surveyors or other experts, before agreeing to purchase it.