How to track down vendor

Beth357

Hi everyone,

First timer here so please be gentle! I've just completed on my first house and am really not happy with the condition of it and the amount of work I will need to do. I've asked the estate agent for contact details for the vendor but they won't give them to me - they're saying they're prevented by data protection and that I would need to go through solicitors to contact them. I don't really want to go down the legal route as I only want to ask the vendor to put a few things right in the house. A friend suggested they might have had their post redirected as I'm not getting any post for them, would the post office give me their new address under the circumstances?

Marvel1

Did you have a house survey done?
Bad news: They are not liable for anything that is now your house.

marksoton

Not going to happen. What sort of things are you on about?

G_M

Beth357 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

A friend suggested they might have had their post redirected as I'm not getting any post for them, would the post office give me their new address under the circumstances?

No. But you could always send them a letter addressed to your house. Then it would get redirected.

..... am really not happy with the condition of it and the amount of work I will need to do........ I only want to ask the vendor to put a few things right in the house.

What specifically is the problem?

I very much doubt they will accept any responsibility unless you go down the legal route.

Your solicitor (or us here?) will advise if you have a case.

walwyn1978

What did your survey say about these problems?

When you viewed the property, did these problems show themselves then, and if so did you discuss any of it with the vendor, either via the EA/solicitor or face to face?

If the vendor agreed to resolve a problem and hasn't, is any of this in writing?


Edit - suggestion above re: letter to your new address with their name on should do trick re: making contact

Beth357

I didn't have a survey because the house is only 30 years old. I can't believe the vendor wouldn't be liable for some of the issues. For example, there's a fence that needs replacing which I just assumed belonged to the neighbour as I didn't think the house would be on the market with a rotten fence but now I discover the fence belonged to the vendor. There's an outside light that doesn't work even with a new bulb, not enough keys for all the windows and a carpet that looked ok when I viewed the house but there are dents where the furniture was. I just wanted to move my stuff in and enjoy my new house but now I'm going to have to get all these things sorted and I do think the vendor should have offered to put them right, none of this was mentioned in the property form.

nubbins

Wind up alert!!!

jackomdj

None of that would be the sellers responsibility.
All bought as seen and dents where furniture has been is normal.

Is this your first property?

WeAreGhosts

Are you a first time buyer?

(This does have a whiff of a wind-up ...)

Beth357

nubbins wrote: »

Wind up alert!!!

What do you mean?

walwyn1978

Beth357 wrote: »

I didn't have a survey because the house is only 30 years old. I can't believe the vendor wouldn't be liable for some of the issues. For example, there's a fence that needs replacing which I just assumed belonged to the neighbour as I didn't think the house would be on the market with a rotten fence but now I discover the fence belonged to the vendor. There's an outside light that doesn't work even with a new bulb, not enough keys for all the windows and a carpet that looked ok when I viewed the house but there are dents where the furniture was. I just wanted to move my stuff in and enjoy my new house but now I'm going to have to get all these things sorted and I do think the vendor should have offered to put them right, none of this was mentioned in the property form.

Ok, one by one:

Fence : no chance. You saw it and assumed wrongly.

Outside light: almost certainly no chance unless you specifically asked 'does this light work' and they said 'yes' and there's a written record of that.

Window keys: does one key do all the windows?

Carpet: totally normal. Stiff hoovering should fluff it back up. If still 'down' consider renting a carpet cleaner machine as cleaning the carpet can restore bounce etc.

IMO none of the issues you've mentioned even of you went legal would be ones where the burden of responsiblity falls on the vendor.