home buying nightmare! repairs estimated at £60000!!!

mufi

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance and, if so, does it cover you for litigation?


If you have, and it does, talk to them.


If you have reasonable proof that the vendors lied on the form you have a case, caveat emptor notwithstanding.


Good luck!

DTDfanBoy

bris wrote: »

Caveat Emptor is one of the most important factors when buying anything from a private party and ignorance is the sellers best defence.


.

Ignorance is a lousy defence when it should be very easy for the OP to produce evidence of the repairs which have been attempted.

Caveat Emptor doesn't entitle the seller to lie on the property questionnaire, had they disclosed the problem the OP undoubtedly would have had investigated the matter.

Fraudulent Misrepresentation is quite serious, and also puts the onus on the seller to prove their innocence.

To quote the legislation

Misrepresentation Act 1967

2 Damages for misrepresentation.

(1)Where a person has entered into a contract after a misrepresentation has been made to him by another party thereto and as a result thereof he has suffered loss, then, if the person making the misrepresentation would be liable to damages in respect thereof had the misrepresentation been made fraudulently, that person shall be so liable notwithstanding that the misrepresentation was not made fraudulently, unless he proves that he had reasonable ground to believe and did believe up to the time the contract was made the facts represented were true. "


Do you have legal insurance OP.

I hope you teach your seller a very expensive lesson

pinkteapot

As others have said, you need legal advice ASAP.

You said that the repairs were covered by carpet. I've never known a surveyor doing a Homebuyer's pull up carpet to look underneath. If the repairs weren't visible until you took the carpet up then you'll probably do better pursuing the lying vendor! But only a solicitor can answer for sure.

pinkteapot

bris wrote: »

The courts won't have much sympathy (legally speaking) for a buyer who has the ability to instruct a proper survey or do proper due diligence.

The OP paid for a Homebuyer's Report which is generally considered sufficient, unless buying an old house (>100 years) or something dilapidated that obviously needs major work.

Nobbie1967

I'd pursue the vendor. If recent repair work had been done on the property and you can get that confirmed by a professional surveyor, then unless the vendor only had the house a short time, it seems a fairly obvious case of lying. The vendor will have to give evidence in court and if they start lying there, they will be in big trouble. You will need to find out who did the repair work and what they told the vendor.

boatman

Speak to the neighbours, they may have seen something to help. If the owners were happy to lie then you may find they weren't great neighbours either..

eddddy

The steps you need to follow are:

1. Through your solicitor - Invite the vendor to explain the concealed repairs and apparent contradictory answers on the SPIF.

If your solicitor is primarily a conveyancing solicitor, you should think about getting a solicitor that specialises in property defects instead.

2. Unless the vendor admits liability, you will probably need a surveyor's report (not a report from a timber treatment company). Discuss this with your solicitor, but if this is likely to end up in court, you might want to instruct somebody who is a member of the RICS and who is an accredited Expert Witness (See: http://www.rics.org/uk/join/member-accreditations-list/expert-witness-accreditation-service/)

You may need to pay up to £1000 for an Expert Witness report for use in court, plus lots of legal fees!

Good luck

G_M

boatman wrote: »

Speak to the neighbours, they may have seen something to help. If the owners were happy to lie then you may find they weren't great neighbours either..

If you can find out who did the superficial repairs, it will help build a case against the vendors.

So if Smith & Sons Builders were paid to patch up a small visible area of damaged wood,
a) you have increased evidence the vendors knew and
b) you might get Smith & Sons as witness, or to provide a written statement, that there was known extensive damage

antrobus

homebuyer1 wrote: »

...So what can we do now?....

Take professional legal advice.

homebuyer1 wrote: »

...Are we going to be stuck with this huge bill and months of repairs (we haven't got the money and no where else to live)?..

In the short term, yes.

homebuyer1 wrote: »

....Will the previous owners/our insurance pay for any rot repairs?..

Not willingly, I'd guess.

homebuyer1 wrote: »

....Can we get the previous owners to pay for the cost of the repairs?..

Basically your claim is that the vendor made a misrepresentation regarding a matter of fact - as in falsely "claimed to have no knowledge of any rot or any repairs done to the house" - or lied, to put it simply, and is therefore liable for the loss you have suffered as a result of this misrepresentation. See for example McMeekin v Long [2003].

homebuyer1 wrote: »

....Can we give the house back and get our money back?..

No.

xylophone

You insured your property in good faith and having no knowledge of the rot.

Are you sure that your insurance company will not pay if all else fails?