Vendor sold house with very unsafe electrics

lincroft1710

As I understand it, the purchaser has a limited time period after completion(7 days I believe) where the vendor is responsible for putting right any previously undisclosed faults.

bobbymotors

OP will be better off spending the solicitor fees on fixing the electrics.


If the vendor denies DIYing the kitchen then its caveat emptor every time.

robotrobo

alchemist.1 wrote: »

Just out of interest, how much does one of these cost?

what about when you find problems with the boiler ?, or the central heating , or the toilet , or the whatever!!, what if the vendor had nothing to do with these problems & it was the people before him that had the kitchen wiring done or whatever . I found loads of problems with my bungalow when i bought it !, & the seller was a time served electrician.

alchemist.1

robotrobo wrote: »

what about when you find problems with the boiler ?, or the central heating , or the toilet , or the whatever!!, what if the vendor had nothing to do with these problems & it was the people before him that had the kitchen wiring done or whatever . I found loads of problems with my bungalow when i bought it !, & the seller was a time served electrician.

Eh? I'm lost.

Freecall

So what have we got here? There are two obvious courses of action.

1. Get some badly installed electrics fixed, namely extension leads to appliances in the kitchen, cupboard lights, wrong cable in the garage and a sink which has not been earthed properly. Maybe a day's work for an electrician, cost £500? Outcome certain, it gets fixed.

Or

2. Peruse a claim for an incorrect description of the electrics by the vendor at the point of sale. Maybe half a day's work for a solicitor plus court fees, cost £500? Outcome uncertain, it may get fixed at vendor's expense or it may not. If not then return to point 1 above anyway.

Get it fixed yourself and put the whole thing down to experience. Know that everything has been done correctly and start enjoying your new home.

ceredigion

Within the contract you signed it will of said "caveat emptor".
To late now.

alchemist.1

ceredigion wrote: »

Within the contract you signed it will of said "caveat emptor".
To late now.

Not when you have been mislead deliberately.

moneyistooshorttomention

I would want to know if that phrase "caveat emptor" is (or ever has been) down in the contract. I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

However, "duty of care" not to harm someone's health might well trump any such form of words.

Certainly, people can (and sometimes do) bring claims for misrepresentation - and it does seem rather doubtful whether that old-fashioned concept of caveat emptor applies any longer.

Having said that - as OP hasn't suffered injury or death due to this irresponsible vendor - then I have my doubts whether its worth pursuing this !!!!less character about it.

It's difficult enough to bring a claim against someone who actually HAS injured your health - and I would therefore tend not to bring one against someone who only COULD have injured your health (but hasn't).

My suspicion is that OP's solicitor thinks he has seen a potential "nice little earner" for himself - rather than having OP's best interests at heart.

seven-day-weekend

We bought a bungalow in April.

We knew that one of the floors needed repairing and that the wiring would probably need replacing.

We found out that every floor needed completely replacing, that the soakaways for rainwater were pouring water into the cavity under the floor, that one supporting wall was being held up by a kitchen worktop, that there was no lintel over the patio door, that the garage was unsafe and would have to be demolished.

We never even thought of contacting the vendors. Our house, our problem.

robotrobo

robotrobo wrote: »

what about when you find problems with the boiler ?, or the central heating , or the toilet , or the whatever!!, what if the vendor had nothing to do with these problems & it was the people before him that had the kitchen wiring done or whatever . I found loads of problems with my bungalow when i bought it !, & the seller was a time served electrician.

In reflection , i think i was a bit hasty with my reply & put myself in your position & i thought if the boot was on the other foot , how would you feel?.
And i would also not be very happy, especially if someone could potentially be hurt or worse , so my sincere apology.
What you can do about it !, i don t know , but good luck , & i hope things fall in to place for you with your new purchase.