Who pays for House repairs-Buyer or Seller?

pradeepa

This might have been asked before here but the search isn't brining up anything. Also, posting it incase there is an ‘updated’ solution.

Found a house, loved it, made an offer, did a detailed survey. Survey results came out mostly good except drainage pipes highlighted as a problem. Got a drainage company to do a CCTV survey , whose results showed that the stack pipe has got blisters all the way inside. Weird, the result was not accepted by the sellers, another drainage survey was done by Dynorod - who was also their utility insurers and we generously shared 50% of the expense. Turns out the problem is same, the quote comes out £4000 inc VAT to replace the pipe, put a liner in, do the decoration stuff. To my shock, the sellers said they cannot do any repairs. Contracts are not exchanged yet, being a first time buyer, I am not sure Who is responsible for spending the repairs- Can someone please advise ? There is no term in the house advert saying buy as is and the sellers didn’t even give us any clue that they won’t bear any cost until we asked them to fix the issue. I am frustrated because we are going to spend £4k more which we set aside for white goods and furniture. Thanks in advance

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Why are you shocked? They may have no money! Nobody is responsible per se - basically you have to negotiate. Why not just knock £4k off your offer?

Person_one

They've been living there perfectly fine without a problem, why would they pay £4000 and put up with all the disruption involved to fix something that has never bothered them and will never bother them?

There aren't really many 'rules' about house buying and selling in this country. This sort of situation is fairly common and its up the parties involved to sort it to everyone's satisfaction. There are a number of ways it could work out, you could drop your offer by the amount it will cost to do the repair, they could accept that, they could refuse or they could meet you in the middle somewhere. If they refuse it will be up to you to decide how much you want the house, is it worth an extra £4000? Does the job need doing instantly? Some sellers might pay and get the repairs done, perhaps if they'd struggled to find a buyer and wanted to keep the sale on track, or maybe if they'd won the lottery and were feeling generous!

marksoton

pradeepa wrote: »

There is no term in the house advert saying buy as is and the sellers didn’t even give us any clue that they won’t bear any cost until we asked them to fix the issue.

It's for you to do your own checking. If you're not happy with something negotiate price and fix it yourself later.

caprikid1

I guess the question is , do the blisters currently cause an issue. If it's not leaking or failing to drain so this could continue for many years. A quote of £4000 to replace a stack pipe seems a huge amount of money , was this one of the Survey companies ? Best bet, get three sensible quotes and look to reduce the price.

moneyistooshorttomention

The asking price of the house may very well have already been set at a level to reflect work needing doing on it already.

When I came to sell my last house I basically looked at an immaculate same size one up for sale in my road and "grots" and selected a price to put it on the market for that I felt was at the appropriate intermediate point between the two levels.

saajan_12

No one is responsible, as the transaction doesn't HAVE to take place. You can demand they fix it, which they can accept or decline (possibly losing the sale). They can demand you fix it, which you can accept or decline (possibly losing the purchase).

pradeepa wrote: »

another drainage survey was done by Dynorod - who was also their utility insurers and we generously shared 50% of the expense.

Why is this generous? If you want the second survey to convince the sellers, you can do it (and pay). The sellers may have been happy to sell as is.

pradeepa wrote: »

Turns out the problem is same, the quote comes out £4000 inc VAT to replace the pipe, put a liner in, do the decoration stuff. To my shock, the sellers said they cannot do any repairs.

The sellers do not have to do any repairs. They may have accepted the offer knowing the condition of the house.

pradeepa wrote: »

There is no term in the house advert saying buy as is and the sellers didn’t even give us any clue that they won’t bear any cost until we asked them to fix the issue.

The offer / acceptance is not binding (in England) so they don't need to finalise any terms until exchange. House buying is assumed to be on an 'as is' basis (except for very few, specific warranties). What clues did you give that you'd expect to change the offer? Since the seller paying for repairs is essentially less money in his pocket due to the sale. You could have been doing surveys to investigate whether you wanted to take on the house at all.

pradeepa wrote: »

I am frustrated because we are going to spend £4k more which we set aside for white goods and furniture.

I understand the frustration at unexpected bills - its a big factor of being a homeowner. You always need contingencies for when the roof leaks / boiler issues / etc. However you're at the key position of being able to walk away - that's the point of surveys, to let you know issues so you can decide WHETHER to buy.

agrinnall

If the sellers do the repairs how will you know that they have been done properly? You might find yourself having to pay out a lot more a few years down the line because they did a cheap and shoddy repair. Far better to negotiate a reduction in the price and get the repairs done to your own satisfaction once you own the property - but bear in mind the sellers may not accept your proposed reduction, so you'll have to decide whether to proceed or not (I pulled out of a purchase when this happened to me).

pradeepa

Thanks for everyone who has responded.
The sellers are not ready to pay the 50% of the cost, but agreed to pay in £1000 . The pipe is not currently an issue to the owners. Regarding the quote- first drainage survey company gave £4000 inc VAT (for fixing the problem, liners, redecorating) , the second drainage surveyor from Dynorod has given a quote only for dealing with the pipe which is £2100, pipe liner- 720 plus VAT and no quote for redecorating, The first drainage survey guy has said this would cause problem soon but unsure of how soon. There is so much of pressure from the sellers that we need to say Yes for the property or they will be putting it back on the market. No negotiations on this. Me being with two little ones, want to get it sorted before we move in. There is another point from the survey report which I am not sure if I need to be worried about

// My engineer feels that there is a buried manhole under the extension which should be accessible under water bylaws, if this

is found to be the case we can supply a further quotation to expose and raise the cover to floor level.//

Marvel1

Why would they spend £4000 on something that has no benefit to them? Suggest a price drop instead.

G_M

I'm amazed they have offered you £1000. This seems very generous.

The pipe is not causing a problem at present and "would cause problem soon but unsure of how soon." So maybe next year, the year after or in 10 years.

That is just normal house maintenance.

If you want a property that will need no repairs in the next 5 years, buy a brand new house.

Do you drive? If you bought a 2nd hand car, fully working, with a valid MOT, but a car mechanic told you "the tyres are partly worn. They are fine at present but 'would cause problem soon but unsure of how soon' you'd still buy the car at the prce you'd agreed and change the tyres when they needed changing.