"Draft details" from estate agent?

annaps

Hi all

At a house viewing, if an estate agent gives you a copy of the house's details marked with "DRAFT DETAILS", does that have any legal implications?

For example, does it mean that any information on the document is not legally binding in the way it would be if it was not draft?

Thanks for any guidance.

Dan-Dan

Nothing on that , or indeed , any other ! EA bumpf is legally binding , thats why when it comes to it , the only people that matter in a transaction are the people with letters after their name!

kingstreet

It usually means the vendor hasn't signed-off the particulars under the Property Misdescriptions Act, so draft details may be only a limited snapshot of the property.

googler

kingstreet wrote: »

It usually means the vendor hasn't signed-off the particulars under the Property Misdescriptions Act, so draft details may be only a limited snapshot of the property.

This.

Essentially, if you or anyone else were to claim a breach of either the Properties Misdescriptions or Consumer Protection Regulations, the EA would cite that the details were in draft, not final form.

However, it wouldn't make any difference to you, the buyer, if there were a PMA breach, as this legislation only provides penalties payable to the state, not for compensation to the buyer.

I would imagine the CPR penalties are likewise in the form of fines payable to state coffers, not to the buyers (not researched this).

However, brochures don't form part of your contract to buy, so have no legal status, unless referred to by the contract.

Dan-Dan

googler wrote: »

This.

Essentially, if you or anyone else were to claim a breach of either the Properties Misdescriptions or Consumer Protection Regulations, the EA would cite that the details were in draft, not final form.

However, it wouldn't make any difference to you, the buyer, if there were a PMA breach, as this legislation only provides penalties payable to the state, not for compensation to the buyer.

I would imagine the CPR penalties are likewise in the form of fines payable to state coffers, not to the buyers (not researched this).

However, brochures don't form part of your contract to buy, so have no legal status, unless referred to by the contract.

As an Estate Agent yourself Googler , is there ANYTHING that can be produced by one that is legally binding ? (other than the contract and invoice......!)

Just curious

moneyistooshorttomention

Just be glad of even getting "draft details". Your vendor might have decided to go with a chain with a name partially reminiscent of water and then you're in for it...

Photos = probably not for a while....
Room sizes = quite likely never...
Basic description of house = that might never even appear

Not that that particular chain of EA's make me tear my hair out every time I encounter them...ahem...

The only thing they have going for them is they all seem to be trained into wonderful fake smiles to slap on their face when required.:cool:

googler

Dan-Dan wrote: »

As an Estate Agent yourself Googler , is there ANYTHING that can be produced by one that is legally binding ? (other than the contract and invoice......!)

You can read the legislation covering the field every bit as well as I can, and you can. It's strange that when I write on other areas of MSE, no-one suggests I'm a plumber, music shop owner or travel agent..... but here, others are keen to tell me what my occupation is.

Brochures, other written descriptions, oral descriptions, etc. have a legal 'status' with regard to PMA, but as I said, that's independent of any contract between buyer and seller. The penalties under PMA are huge, but as I said, a breach of PMA doesn't bring any redress to the buyer, only profit to the state.

The brochures aren't part of the contract, IMO, unless the contract contains some phrase referring to them, such as "...includes all appliances or extras as described in sales materials for the property".

The Govt proposed (not sure if enacted yet) the repeal of PMA, with property transactions to be covered by Consumer Protection Regulations. These aren't property-specific, and shift the duty of description by the EA from prescribed matters, listed in PMA, to a general duty of disclosure of all matters 'material' to the sale, without a clear definition of what constitutes 'material'. I'm unsure what the penalties are under these CPRs, but I would imagine they also involve fines payable to the state, not redress to the buyer.

In E&W, solicitors draw up contracts for purchase and sale, don't they? Not EAs?

Dan-Dan

Thanks Googler