Completed on property - burst water pipe days before

DAE

So I completed on a property on Friday.

The day before completion my solicitor called me to say she'd received a worrying call from the vendor's solicitor. Basically there had been a burst water pipe (the property has been vacant for months) which had caused a leak, and damage to the walls and paintwork.

At the time they said it had happened the night before (Wednesday). There was then a bit of back forth between myself and the agent, and I even spoke to the vendor directly (for the first time).

They were a bit sketchy on detail but assured me that the pipe and leak had been repaired, and the affected walls had been replastered and redecorated. They even tried to sell it to me that it was looking better than when I'd viewed it.

Nevertheless, the night before completion I went over to check it out accompanied by the agent. The vendor was there finishing off work. On first inspection it seemed ok. No water running down walls. Entire ground floor repainted.

So not that we had a choice having got that far in the process but we instructed our solicitors to complete the deal.

Since moving in we've noticed a lot of condensation in the property (particularly on windows and on the metal plug fittings). And some of the walls near to where the leak occurred feel a bit damp, though no moisture visible.

Really frustrating especially as it seemed to happen just days before we moved in though the agent and vendor were sketchy on these details. In a way I'm glad he took responsibility and tried to amend the issue. The horror of walking into a flooded property would have been too much. But I'm annoyed we were not informed right away.

I'm also at a bit of a loss what to do now. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this and things we should be doing? Should we perhaps get a survey done? There was a clause in the agreement which said floors etc should be in the condition of the date of exchange which was mid-Jan. Though it seems that now we're complete it's hardly worth my while chasing anything. I'm more concerned with making sure there's no longterm damage and the place will dry out properly. It's put a real dampener (literally) on our move.

sparky130a

Insurance? Though i'm not sure where you stand after allowing someone else to try and remedy the problem...

unforeseen

If there had been a fairly major water leak then it takes weeks or even months to dry the building out. How could they have dried it out and redecorated in a few days?

Davesnave

Dehumidifier?

DAE

sparky130a wrote: »

Insurance? Though i'm not sure where you stand after allowing someone else to try and remedy the problem...

I didn't allow it.

I only found out after the fact and after the work had been done.

What's done is done.

I do have buildings and contents insurance but I'm not even sure what needs to be done as it isn't obvious to me. Perhaps need to fork out for a surveyor who specialises in this type of thing.

DAE

unforeseen wrote: »

If there had been a fairly major water leak then it takes weeks or even months to dry the building out. How could they have dried it out and redecorated in a few days?

Yes I must admit this worries me.

If they tried a bodge job to fix it so it 'looked ok', then I'm sure there's trouble waiting for me.

I am worried.

Mickygg

I'm with unforeseen on this one. Sounds like a bdoge job to cover over. I have a bit of damp I noticed in my conservatory last Saturday. I Fixed the leaking gutter and then heaters on to dry out. I went to decorate today and I can't as it's still damp.
It takes a long time for wet walls to dry out properly. It sounds like the owners literally painted over wet walls. Put heating and dehumidifiers on to dry out fully, then assess.

ComicGeek

Moisture probably now trapped behind the plaster, no way water damage to walls would have dried out in a couple of days. And then plastering itself would take days normally to dry out ready for painting. New plaster likely needs to come off and wall dried out properly before redecorating.
Given the poor job of this, I would want someone to look at the water pipe repair as well - no point doing the redecorating if it happens again when the gaffer tape comes loose.....

silvercar

I thought you accept the condition of the property on exchange and it is your job to insure it between exchange and completion.

G_M

If you (your solicitor) used the Standard Conditions of Sale edition 5, then insurance was the responsibility of the buyer from the pint of Exchange. So look at your insurance policy.

However it is likely that it is a condition of the insurance that if the property is unoccupied for more than 30 (45? 60?) days, then the water must be drained down and/or the heating kept on etc.

So it is likely that any claim will be rejected.

And even if not, the insurer may well say that you (sorry, the seller) has caused further problems by re-plastering/decorating etc without first drying the property out - the insurer should have been advised first.

There is also a contractual obligation on the seller to hand over the property at Completion in the same condition as it was at Exchange.

A possible option is to

* get builders quotes to make good (remove damp plaster, wait, the redecorate when dry
* send claim to seller
* sue seller if they don't pay
but your soliitor should advise.

kinger101

silvercar wrote: »

I thought you accept the condition of the property on exchange and it is your job to insure it between exchange and completion.

I always understood the buyer insures from exchange, but at the same time, on completion the property is supposed to be in the same condition as at exchange. OP's solicitor should know (I hope).