Removal of Scottish Standard Clauses

Eels100

When I say drive-in I mean drive-by :rotfl: but it won't let me edit!

ProDave

I believe as stated already, under Scottish law you have a very short warranty period. So if the vendor has said the heating is working, try is as soon as you move in (even in warm weather when you don't need heating) and if it does not work, the vendor will have to fix it. But this is only a few days you get. No good waiting until September to find it does not work, that would be too late to have a claim.

Again your solicitor should be able to verify this (perhaps this warranty clause in one they are trying to remove?)

AnotherJoe

ProDave wrote: »

I believe as stated already, under Scottish law you have a very short warranty period. So if the vendor has said the heating is working, try is as soon as you move in (even in warm weather when you don't need heating) and if it does not work, the vendor will have to fix it. But this is only a few days you get. No good waiting until September to find it does not work, that would be too late to have a claim.

Again your solicitor should be able to verify this (perhaps this warranty clause in one they are trying to remove?)

Yes, the OP said in their first post that this is what the vendor wishes to remove, anything that might have that warranty. Which is why I said the price should reflect that none of the items with warranty, are in working order. of course the vendor may not accept that in which case they should walk, or take the chance.

And which is why it's nonsensical for some to post that the OP cannot possibly have a second viewing on account of it not being "standard" given that removing these conditions isn't "standard" either. Some people want the vendor to have their cake and eat it.

AnotherJoe

Eels100 wrote: »

How can you know what a property is worth without collecting this information first? Therefore offering is something you do on the basis of having enough info. If this buyer has fired on in there with an offer before being sure of the property that's not really the fault of the vendor, the law or anyone else!

To be fair, given it's in Scotland, the price offered surely would reflect the standard conditions ?which implies items like heating etc are in working order
If the vendor wishes to alter them after the offer, implying they don't work, then it seems reasonable that the price should vary to reflect that as well.

Eels100

It's absolutely possible for both the price and the standard clauses to be varied, but it's not ever in the vendor's interest to encourage activities which might lead to the price being varied, can't blame them for that.

AnotherJoe

Eels100 wrote: »

It's absolutely possible for both the price and the standard clauses to be varied, but it's not ever in the vendor's interest to encourage activities which might lead to the price being varied, can't blame them for that.

I agree you cant blame them, but then its equally valid for the purchaser to walk if they appear to be concealing something.

That vendor attitude could even backfire, maybe heating etc is working, and the OP would be willing to take a chance even with the clauses removed regards the warranty, but without a second look they wont get the opportunity to make that decision.

So it isnt necessarily always in the vendors interest, maybe the second viewing would cement in the OPs mind that this is the house for them and they will decide to overlook faults that, without seeing them, might seem very serious but on inspection are minor.

exiled_red

Speak to your solicitors, about the effect that these clauses have on your rights, In Scotland you have a week after completion to raise any issues about things that aren't working, see if the clauses mentioned here remove these for specific items etc.

When we bought our house (in Scotland), it was an estate sale and they removed some similar clauses we didn't care as we were planning to replace them all any way, but we found that they did actually still work.

Speak to your solicitor and get advice as to what this means, what it covers and doesn't cover and how much would be reasonable to adjust your offer in light of the conditions if that is what you want to do. Your solicitor is the best person to speak to you are paying them for advice.

AnotherJoe

the-saucepan-man wrote: »

We're mostly concerned about things like the heating system which aren't checked as part of the home report. The listing for the house mentions the heating system, so I'd assume that if they've advertised it as part of the house, it should be in working order. I just want to be sure that we're covered if it isn't.

Just adding a bit to my response, surely thats the point, it may not be working, and you wont be covered because the seller cant guarantee its in working order. You are not going to get it covered.

I said this earlier about the vendor but it seems to me that you also want your cake and eat it, you want guarantees its working when clearly the vendor isnt going to provide those (though they should have perhaps mentioned that at your viewing)

OTOH it would be misleading to advertise the house has no central heating as that would imply it needs to be fitted from scratch which is entirely different from, say worse case, replacing a boiler.

You need to decide what price decrement is acceptable to you to take the risk. Whats a new boiler, £2k-£3k? But, I still would walk without a second viewing unless that second viewing is just to inspect the heating system.

the-saucepan-man

glennevis wrote: »

I had 7 days after moving in to check everything included in the purchase was in working order.

ProDave wrote: »

I believe as stated already, under Scottish law you have a very short warranty period. So if the vendor has said the heating is working, try is as soon as you move in (even in warm weather when you don't need heating) and if it does not work, the vendor will have to fix it. But this is only a few days you get. No good waiting until September to find it does not work, that would be too late to have a claim. Again your solicitor should be able to verify this (perhaps this warranty clause in one they are trying to remove?)

exiled_red wrote: »

In Scotland you have a week after completion to raise any issues about things that aren't working.

Indeed, this is what I believe is covered in condition 4 of the Scottish Standard Clauses. This is exactly what I'm concerned about, with the seller removing this condition we no longer have that protection.

Eels100 wrote: »

A second viewing between an offer being accepted and missives being concluded won't be allowed because it's often used as a way for the purchaser to try and find fault and screw the price down.

Understood. Is there perhaps a way for our solicitor to offer the seller some kind of guarantee that we won't reduce our offer if they agree to a 2nd viewing? I suppose that doesn't protect them against us walking away from the sale, but taking away our rights and not allowing this viewing may very well lead to us doing just that.

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

The only thing I’d warn you about is our purchase took 3 months in the end due to the court proceedings involved for the seller to sell the estate.

Thanks for the warning. It's already taken 4 months to get this far and that's solely down to the seller not having his business in order. Trust me, we'd like to get this wrapped up quickly, we just want to be sure our rights are protected.

Eels100 wrote: »

Yes, the OP isn't committed to buying, but nor should they have offered without certainty.

Please don't misunderstand. We are quite certain we want the place, that's not the issue here. It's the terms of the sale that have us concerned.

googler

the_r_sole wrote: »

It's very common to not be allowed a second viewing after having an offer accepted on a property in Scotland, you've committed to buying it so they normally only let you back in once the missives are concluded. If you wanted a second viewing you should have done it before putting an offer in

I concur..

and there's a section in the standard clauses covering access after missives are concluded.