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

Davesnave

anotheruser wrote: »

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

All older houses, (and many new ones too !) come with 'problems.'

With older property, it's unrealistic to expect perfection, just as a second hand car will likely have a few issues, known and unknown.

There is no exact equivalent of paying main dealer prices for a second hand house, although if specialist checks are paid for, there will be fewer surprises and an element of come-back if things go wrong.

Some people focus too heavily on the problems, instead of enjoying the property, accepting it's an imperfect thing in a very imperfect world. The truth is, they're lucky to have it.

Buyer Beware is a regular moan on the Housing Forum, but it really means: "Be aware there will be snags, known and unknown, with this property. How closely you examine it, the area it's located in and the paperwork that goes with it, is entirely up to you. Even then, there may be issues beyond the physical structure, the legal documentation and your personal observations, that will impact on your enjoyment of living there."

But that's a bit of a mouthful!

Cimscate

When I bought my previous house the seller had 'forgotten' to mention there was a huge fap in the hall carpet covered by a rug, didn't bother me that much. When I sold recently I left a large armchair in the bedroom which covered up a burn mark, didn't think it necessary to mention, its hardly likely to be a deal breaker after all.

r2d2s_brothers

My seller forgot to mention that his dog was incontinent and was free to roam the entire house.


No matter, the carpets and underlay came up the day I moved in and the tiled kitchen floor was fine after a few hours with a scrubbing brush and Bleach.

Rain_Shadow

Cimscate wrote: »

When I bought my previous house the seller had 'forgotten' to mention there was a huge fap in the hall carpet covered by a rug, didn't bother me that much. When I sold recently I left a large armchair in the bedroom which covered up a burn mark, didn't think it necessary to mention, its hardly likely to be a deal breaker after all.

That must have a second meaning to the one I know :rotfl:

Davesnave

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

That must have a second meaning to the one I know :rotfl:

I didn't want to say anything, in case I was the only one thinking along those lines!

Reminds me of the woman who was very proud of replacing the 'dildo rails' in her 1930s semi..... :eek:

minislim

if you feel its something hidden that and its being included in the sale then yes. you should always inform.
its this sort of attitude that wastes peoples time and money in some cases.

when we bought our house the owner failed to inform us of a mineshaft at the end of the garden. they were well aware of it. we'd had building surveys done and were having the general searches done by our solicitor. so we'd already invested some money in it.

so when it showed up in the searches we asked for money knocking off the overall price. i'd have been happy had i already known about it. as it was away from the building and when you take out a coal authority report you are then insured for any damage that could be caused by the mine.

maisie_cat

It's a difficult one, we bought from a retired builder who will have known the problems but didn't declare. WE accepted caveat emptor an we had a full structural and the surveyor claimed there was dry rot, the dry rot company said not. But all the joists were rotten, some walls were unsupported & damp and needed rebuilding, the "new" plumbing was leaking, who uses caulk as sealant?
There were around 40 empty beer cans in the loft under the insulation, had we known it would have been enough to ring alarm bells.

The surveyor didn't pick any of what was wrong, we had to strip back and replace joists,ceilings and flooring. We had to rewire, replace plumbing and replace boiler and windows.
The house was not sold as a wreck but it was and cost us around £50k more than we expected. The one advantage is that now it's all been done we can sell with paperwork and know that it's a nice family home

anthony_cannon

buyer beware

Cimscate

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

That must have a second meaning to the one I know :rotfl:

I meant gap, not sure what you meant, ha ha

Rain_Shadow

Cimscate wrote: »

I meant gap, not sure what you meant, ha ha

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