Moral dilemma

princeofpounds

Josquin said:

You buy a house 'as is' don't you? Otherwise where does it end-new kitchens etc? No house is perfect and compromises surely have to be accepted.

Yes, but the concern here is that something material may change between the disclosure of information in the seller's property information form and exchange. 

theartfullodger

Do the right thing, you know, British values like decency and fair play.

Do what you'd want to happen were you buyer.

Really!  I'd be ashamed to ask such a self-shaming question.

Plus of course Kharma, what goes around comes around

Morrigan_2020

That’s life, when I bought my current house the sellers had turned off the old (but still functioning) boiler because the place was empty, it never worked again, but it was an old boiler so I knew full well it could have packed in on day 3 of me owning the place and it would be entirely on me to sort.

Rambosmum

As someone who has bought a house where the boiler was broken on day of exchange and we weren't informed, I say don't tell them - when we bought the house, we knew the boiler was old, it would need replacing swiftly, it was a bit frustrating that it was the day we moved in that we found out it didn't work, but it's hardly the end of the world when it is to be expected because of its age. 

Rambosmum

And, the boiler being broken at moving in was considerably less of a faff and shock than finding both showers leaked - one directly in to the kitchen, the other in to the ceiling, only to be discovered when the ceiling fell in!

[Deleted User]

This is a difficult one, particularly this time of year when heat is essential and the boiler does sound like its ready to completely give up imminently. I'd be most unhappy moving into a house in mid winter to find there was no heating and no hot water. Do they have young children at all? 

On the other hand given the fact they have bashed you down on price at every opportunity my guess is that they would most definitely use this as ammunition to demand a further reduction. 

Did they specify what remedial work they were negotiating the price off the back of the survey? Only if they included a boiler replacement in that, then I think you can assume they already have been compensated for it. 

If not, well, that brings you back to square 1. 

Personally, given you don't have any great relationship with them and they've already got several thousands off the sale price, i'd be inclined to leave it, and feign ignorance if/when you get the complaint from them. I mean, its not like its completely buggered yet is it? "It was working when we moved out". Half true, plus they can't really prove otherwise. 

badger09

I would try to get it fixed, partly for my own benefit but definitely not replace it.
Despite their behaviour, I would not be able to let them move into the house with no/intermittent heating or hot water in January/ February. 

Bonniepurple

Morrigan_2020 said:

That’s life, when I bought my current house the sellers had turned off the old (but still functioning) boiler because the place was empty, it never worked again, but it was an old boiler so I knew full well it could have packed in on day 3 of me owning the place and it would be entirely on me to sort.

Same here.  Given the boiler was older than my husband (in his 40s), we thought it had down rather well!

Morrigan_2020

Bonniepurple said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

That’s life, when I bought my current house the sellers had turned off the old (but still functioning) boiler because the place was empty, it never worked again, but it was an old boiler so I knew full well it could have packed in on day 3 of me owning the place and it would be entirely on me to sort.

Same here.  Given the boiler was older than my husband (in his 40s), we thought it had down rather well!

Same for my house, Booker was closer to 50!  The duff electrics were more of a concern because you had to turn the electric heater off to boil a kettle without blowing the lot, ah the joys of fixer uppers!

Crashy_Time

princeofpounds said:

lobsterpot11 said:

princeofpounds said:

This is a business transaction and your only real moral obligations are to follow the law and not to misrepresent what you are selling. The buyer bought that boiler from you, not a lobsterpot11 boiler coverage insurance program. Depending on the language in your answers, you should have clear conscience. It's not as if the buyer is operating on a higher moral plane.

As long as it doesn't actually break, I would do the transaction, not leave a forwarding address for them (any future communication can be via EA or solicitors), and if there is anything to deal with, do it afterwards. 

Thanks @princeofpounds
That makes sense. They have made mugs of us really in this whole process, so yes, I agree about them not being on a higher moral footing! If it *does* break down completely - what should we do?

Get a different gassafe technician in. Tell them you will not consider a replacement because you are moving very soon, you just want to get the boiler running again even if very imperfectly, if possible, and if it's not working you will leave it to the new owner to decide what to do with a new boiler. This will give you a second opinion and ensure their incentive is to repair rather than sell a replacement.

I'm not saying your previous technician was upselling, it's not the most likely scenario, but it does happen.

IF they can't repair it reasonably, then ask for a quote to replace. Keep that quote, so if the buyer comes back to you trying to chase the matter after the transaction, you have a quote in hand to use as evidence in settlement. If they ask for £3000 for a new boiler, you can tell them it actually costs £1700 (or whatever), that the boiler was 18 years old and highly depreciated and that was disclosed to them. So you will offer 10% of that price, plus 10% goodwill for the hassle, in full and final settlement. Take it or leave it and there will be no further discussion. 

Very good advice.