About to exchange contracts and neighbour raises issue

Eric_5181

Hi all,
I'm hoping to get some advice. I've recently accepted an offer on a property and within the next few days the exchange of contracts is due to take place with a completion date having been agreed.
Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from my estate agent who also deals with the rental of the property next door to advise that they have a leak and after a roofer attending the property they believe this is coming from the property. What do I do? I am awaiting the report from the roofer but I don't know if I need to inform my solicitor of this and whether it is likely to affect the sale? I'm happy to look at the information provided and undertake the work providing it's reasonable but I'm concerned that there may be repercussions if I don't inform the purchaser and then future problems arise. Has anyone experienced anything similar?
Thanks

G_M

When do expect to Exchange? Bear in mind this date might slip.
When have you 'agreed' to Complete (Competion date is not agreed till Exchange).

Get your finger out and fix the leak. You've got time.

Eric_5181

Thanks for your response. We have agreed the 13th April and I have every intention of fixing the problem, however I am unsure if I can just do this, or whether I would need to inform the new purchaser that this issue has arisen. I don't want to be liable if in future the problem re-occurs, particularly as weather dependent we aren't necessarily going to know the issue is resolved?

G_M

Provided you have
a) established what the issue is
b) fixed it before Completion, and
c) retained a receipt/guarantee from the contractor

I would not mention it.

However I would not wait for the neighbour's roofer' report. If it is your roof, then you need to deal with it. Get at least 2 if not 3 roofers round yourself asap and ask for a diagnosis and quote to fix.

Completion may or may not happen on 13th so you have a couple of weeks.

When are you exchanging? You might want to delay Exchange to ensure enough time.

The alternative is to involve the buyers. Tell them the problem and ask them if they want you to fix it, or prefer to have £X of the purchase price. But that might mess up /delay their mortgage.......

Eric_5181

It apparently appears to be caused either by my chimney or some sort of damage the part of the party wall which extends above their roof (terraced house) although my house shows no signs of damp or leakage. I think the best thing is for me to have my own builder take a look and repair what he believes is causing it.My concern is that as there isn't necessarily a straightforward cause & solution I don't want to be held liable if I fix the chimney for example and the problem turns out to be a wall as I understand these things can be difficult to pinpoint.

G_M

Another option is to involve your insurers.

But at present, your dilemma seems to be whether to inform your buyer or not.

Personally I would do everything in my power to get the problem identified properly, before Exchange, and then decide what to do on the basis of a proper understanding of the issue.

Eric_5181

Thanks so much for your opinion. I'm going to get my regular builder to take a look and go from there, hopefully it's a straightforward solution that can be fixed and everything can proceed as planned. There have been no issues in the 4 years I've owned the house and it seems to have suddenly appeared so may be an obvious solution.Failing that, I'll speak to the solicitor and see what they advise to do.