Cracks in walls of recently purchased house

jimmyboy82

Hi Geoff, no ours is further down the street, not the best picture from Google 

davidmcn

jimmyboy82 said:

if I dont know about it, and the seller does, do they have to tell me about them?

No. All they need to do is not give false answers to the questions you ask them.

jimmyboy82

Hi David, thank you, do you think they have to disclose cracks that have been patched up? There are quite a few areas that have cracked after being 'repaired' and reopened again, you can tell that by filler, and paint. 
I do have a question, if the seller had a burst pipe, and water was flowing everywhere, would they have to tell me there was a problem, or because it was after the the surveyor had been it's fair game, and it's my issue? 

davidmcn

Like I said, they only need to not give false answers to the questions you ask them. There are standard questions on the property information form, it's possible other enquiries might have been raised by your solicitor - but "tell us about any cracks which the property has or has ever had" isn't going to be one of them.

They are meant to update any answers if they change before exchange, and I expect a burst pipe would be covered by the "have you made any buildings insurance claims" one. But I don't see how that's relevant to your cracks.

jimmyboy82

Hi David, sorry if the last reply seemed blunt, it wasnt supposed to sound that way, I used that situation, being that the pipe wasnt burst when the surveyor visited, but a week later it did, but the forms had been filled in prior to it bursting. The seller knows there is a problem, but doesn't lie on the form, do they have a duty to inform the buyer of the said burst pipe? I assume in that scenario they would. In my scenario if, and that's only an if the surveyor only picked up a couple of cracks, then after lots of cracks appeared, then are they under the same duty to report it as the burst pipe? 

davidmcn

I'll say it yet again - they are only required not to give false information in response to the questions you ask them. There is no general obligation on vendors to start pointing out every potential defect in a property. And they (normally) don't see your survey, so what difference would it make if your surveyor "only picked up a couple of cracks"? They have no idea what your surveyor has or hasn't picked up on.

jimmyboy82

Hi David, thanks for the reply, agreed they only have to submit a response to questions asked, but if the house had fallen down and I didnt know, would that be my issue as I didnt ask the question after the surveyor had been? Obviously that's extreme I know, I'm just not sure where the cross over is. If my gut feeling is the house has subsided, then chances are his would be the same. I think the first instance would be to call the surveyor back, and if he denies the amount of cracks, then obviously it happened after his visit, the fact from a previous picture that he has definitely done some touch up works, then its possible the same has happened elsewhere 

greatcrested

If the house fell down, you would claim on your insurance. That is why the 5th edition of the Standard Conditions of Sale places insurance responsibility on the buyer from Exchange of Contracts.

Up to Exchange, the seller insures, but of course the buyer will view the property immediately prior to exchange to ensure the condition is as he expects.

If you have serious concerns, as you seem to have, then you have 3 possible course of action:

1) contact your original surveyor and discuss your concerns. Ask him to return and comment on the cracks which you believe he missed in his report. He will have professional indemnity insurance to cover him for any negligence

2) pay another surveyor to do a report specifically on this issue, and to comment particularly on whether he believes the 1st surveyor should have noted/commented on the cracks further than he did. You can then use that 2nd report (perhaps) to make a claim against the 1st surveyor (if appropriate).

3) make good the cracks and let time pass. See if they re-open or not.

anselld

If an event occurs which materially changes the response the vendor has previously given in the pif or other enquiries then they would be required to update their response.

However, the simplest explanation is that the surveyor observed the cracks and deemed them cosmetic and not concerning.  You really need to ask the surveyor before you speculate too much.

Soot2006

We had super fussy buyers and we were also selling a house with some pretty astonishing cracks in the walls. We found them after removing wallpaper when we moved in. I worried about them for a year, filled them/repainted and watched the cracks return within months every time. 10 years later I had forgotten about them. So much so that I didn't fill them or repaint before the buyer's surveyor came round. Some of these cracks were 1-2cm across and many metres long! Long story short, the buyer (super fussy, remember) never mentioned them even though they were clearly visible on viewing. Their survey clearly didn't mention them, either. The house is still standing. I assume they are internal/cosmetic cracks in old plaster but honestly I don't know ... Had they caught my eye before moving out, I may have filled and repainted them one last night just like your sellers did.