Appliances included in Rightmove description but vendor wants money for it

lady38_me

Hi, just want a bit of an advice. Our offer has been accepted on a really nice house we both liked. It's an expensive house but we still offered £15,000 above the asking price because of the current madness with house buying. As a part of our offer we didn't specify any fixtures or fittings we want to include because everything we wanted was included in the Rightmove description of the house (In the advert, it specifically says something like : Appliances include a range cooker with a five-ring gas hob, an oven, etc.). So ( maybe a bit naively) we thought it means it's included. Yesterday we received the fixtures and fitting form and the vendor ticked the cooker as excluded and put a price against it if we want it (approx £1000). I immediately phoned an Estate Agent who was initially very sympathetic and agreed that it was in the description and offered to talk to the vendor. They have just rung me now and I could feel a change of the tone. Basically they said that we should have specified it if we wanted. As a result of us not specifying the cooker vendor thinks that it shouldn't be included and can ask for money. I asked about the description but they said it was an error (I guess theirs?) in the description and the vendor never specified it should be included. So they summarised that the fixtures and contents form is legally binding but Rightmove description is not.
So, what are our options? Can we still insist on the description and said that the cooker was explicitly included? I don't want to loose the sale because of 1 item but I (at least at the moment) feel very emotional that I was misguided and that actually I explicitly specified the cooker. and we have offered a fair price after all, above the asking one. But the house is nice overwise.
I am sure people have similar experience so would be really grateful for views/opinions/sharing stories. Also, if anyone knows how binding is Rightmove descriptions? And tell me openly if i am wrong and shouldn't feel misguided.

davidmcn

Nothing is "binding" until you exchange contracts, so it's all up for negotiation. Given the typical prices for second-hand appliances, the cooker would have to be gold-plated to be worth £1000, surely?

moneysavinghero

As you have not exchanged there is nothing binding either of you to anything.

The seller is trying their luck. You have two options:

1). Reduce your offer by £1,000 and hope the seller does not decide to go with another buyer (which as you offered 15k over im guessing there were other interested parties)
2). Suck it up and accept that £1k on top of the £15k is not that much more.

Bear in mind that if you go with 2 the vendor might feel they can take their chances and play a few more games a bit further down the line.

AdrianC

The RM listing is only an invitation to view, no more than that. It carries precisely zero legal weight.

Until you exchange contracts, everything is up for negotiation. The F&F form (with any later amendments, even if only verbally agreed) becomes legally binding AT THAT POINT, not before. Nothing is legally binding before contracts are exchanged.

You can insist on whatever you want. The vendor may or may not agree.

If they don't, you can ask to reduce the price (how much is a second-hand cooker worth? A lot less than a new one...), which they may very well also disagree with - or you can walk away.

Chandler85

You can either negotiate it to be included (and pay if you want).  You could reduce you offer, saying you you believed the fixtures and fittings were included when viewed and felt you should have been told otherwise.

Or you can take it on the chin, tell them you aren't paying extra for it.  Then see if they have removed it on completion date, often people don't bother removing stuff like this.

2nd hand cookers, even really nice range ones are unlikely to be worth anywhere near £1000.  Appliances tend to lose their value really quickly.

steve866

I doubt the sellers had anything to do with the appliances being listed, it is probably the agents fault and perhaps a bit too much assuming on your side. In the first instance given your high offer (do you know if they got any other, close offers?) I would just go back to the agent and say your offer included everything listed in RM, please confirm whether the seller is willing to proceed on this basis. The agent will try and make this work for you as he won't want the deal to fall through, he may at the very least get them to agree to meet you halfway.

jimbog

I would do nothing (and those items might well be there when you move in).

If not then the £1000 you would have offered can be better used to brand new items and you'll have change left 

Alter_ego

Are you talking built in appliances or free standing? You are entitled to assume built in appliances are included.

Slinky

steve866 said:

I doubt the sellers had anything to do with the appliances being listed, it is probably the agents fault and perhaps a bit too much assuming on your side. In the first instance given your high offer (do you know if they got any other, close offers?) I would just go back to the agent and say your offer included everything listed in RM, please confirm whether the seller is willing to proceed on this basis. The agent will try and make this work for you as he won't want the deal to fall through, he may at the very least get them to agree to meet you halfway.

Of course the sellers had something to do with the appliances being listed. They would have signed off the property details before they were listed. If the agent included them by mistake, the vendor should have drawn their attention to it at that point.

If stuff isn't going to be included, the agent writes, space for a dishwasher, space for a range cooker, etc.  They are trying it on.

Have a look on Facebook marketplace or similar and see how much second hand appliances go for.  I'd tell them where they could shove their extra £1K.

(We paid £30Kk over asking and the vendor offered to sell us an ancient microwave for £10! In the end they left it free)

Jeepers_Creepers

Make and model of this cooker?! So we can look up 2nd-hand prices and see just how much Mick the vendor is taking.

Have to say, it sounds real tight of them, but - until exchange - they can do what they want. And so can you.

It is perfectly reasonable for you to say that your offer was based on the RM description, and that you expected everything mentioned in it to be included. But, that's all you can do - 'say' it. You cannot force it. They can respond how they like. 

(If the research comes back as the cooker being worth, say, £250, you can offer this. They don't like it? They can take the cooker with them, or try and sell it. Good luck to them.)

Soot2006

No shortage of second hand rangemasters on Ebay for £150-£400 depending on specs. Many good as new. Many other decent brands you can get brand bew for under £1,000.

I would say "no thanks" to their offer, they can take it with them.  Take a deep breath and don't stress about it. House buying is The Worst, but this is the literally the least stressful bit of it!