Money Moral Dilemma: Should we reveal hidden problems with our house?

Former_MSE_Nick

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

We're about to sell the house. There are a few issues you wouldn't see upon first inspection - eg, a massive hole in the carpet under the bed. Should we point these things out when people are looking around? We don't want to put anyone off immediately, but equally I want to be honest.

Unfortunately the MSE team can't always answer money moral dilemma questions as contributions are often emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be enjoyed as a point of debate and discussed at face value.

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Dird

No. Buyer beware. The next people won't do it for you

tomatta

I don't see the harm, no one expects a turn key finish unless they are buying a new build. If someone were to be put off by a hole in the carpet (that they'd probably like to change, or could easily cover with furniture) then they probably aren't the type of buyer you want to be dealing with.

Davesnave

The carpet is a bad example, because it's not part of the property.

A better example would be the crumbling bricks below the damp course in the wall of my previous house, normally covered, but exposed when I dug a pathway alongside. My neighbour also had the same problem, but more advanced. It cost a considerable amount to rectify.

Did I mention this issue when we sold? No.

Would a structural survey have found it? No

Should I have mentioned it? My name is Dave, not Jesus!

gloriouslyhappy

It would be nice if people did point out small things like that hole in the carpet, and even better if big problems were discovered before the sale was completed - while I understand the principle of 'buyer beware', I'm just an ordinary person not a real estate or construction expert, so some help when making the biggest investment of my life would be appreciated.

Marvel1

Just answer the questions on the property information form.

anotheruser

Dird wrote: »

No. Buyer beware. The next people won't do it for you

And that's the problem right there.

If everyone was more honest and didn't hide behind the whole "buyer beware" thing, then we'd all be a lot better off in life. Someone may not buy your house, but the next person will.

We bought our house with loads of problems that the seller could have told us about, but didn't.

It's not exactly practical to ask the seller to start moving furniture about so you can see behind it...

kathrynha

Carpets are something that isn't always left behind, so as long as you're not going to want them to stump up extra for the carpets then I probably wouldn't mention it, but I wouldn't hide it either.

seven-day-weekend

A hole in the floor I would repair before selling. A hole in the carpet under the bed I probably would not mention (especially if there is only one position where the bed can go....it will be hidden by the buyer's bed!). Neither would I hide it and if they wanted to look under the bed I would not object.

We left, with the buyer's agreement, two beds when we sold our house. One of them had broken slats on the base. We did not mention this to the buyer, but did replace/repair them before completion.

Tyler119

a hole in the carpet certainly is not the biggest issue. After purchasing our house, it turned out the back half of the neighbours garage was around 2.5 ft in our boundary. It was likely we never would have noticed...if it wasn't for our plans to demolish the existing garage and erect a two storey extension. That created a conversation with the neighbour. We only noticed after we had planning and when a wall separating the existing garage and old utility room was taken down. I was the one that noticed the exterior facing wall was plenty wonky.

Anyway should the seller have told us as this was done on his watch, one could argue he should have. However to tell buyers likely would have put off most. The existing garage was always going to need rebuilt regardless of an extension.

However we are a few years down the line and it turns out we bought at a fantastic price and the house is great now all the work is completed...ish...always more to do.

Point is, unless the house is about to fall down, sometimes it can be beneficial to everyone to keep a little quiet.

3mph

The whole concept of house selling might be daft but over time it has found a balance where we know you need to pay for experts to check and it's your decision who and what depending upon the type and history of the house.

Obviously the seller cannot do this.

And as far as everything else the significant things you have to declare on the PIF.