Selling house but discovered something

lucypilates

I’ve already exchanged and only just moved out of my house this week - the sale is due to complete on Monday …

i knew there was an issue with the roof and had it repaired when I first went on the market in March. Obviously there’s no real way of knowing if the repair is complete other than time and seeing if any issues re-arise..

 so once I moved my belongings out of the cupboard, it became apparent that the issue was bigger than I thought and the back wall of the cupboard is really quite affected!

i haven’t said anything … should I? It’sa done deal now and very little I can do between now and Monday and I genuinely didn’t know that the damp had spread further than where I got it repaired …

incidentally, the house I’ve bought has given me a lot of issues that I wasn’t aware of and I’ve just cussed and got on with sorting it out .. so could I expect same of my buyers??? 

Otherwise, my house I’m selling is a great house with no other issues!! 

[Deleted User]

I think it's advisable to be as transparent as possible about this. It may be a done deal but it's a done deal under the circumstances you've outlined to the buyers, not with this newly discovered problem. If you were the buyer, how would you wish the seller to proceed in such a situation? 

Irishpearce26

Options are;

1. Say nothing and have a guilty conscious (there is no comeback as they have exchanged)
2. Get someone out ASAP to look at it and give you a quote
3. Paint over it and forget it (if you think the damp source has been sorted) 
4. Be open and honest with the buyers but expect a bill to fix it
5. Say nothing as its their responsibility to ensure the house has no issues prior to exchange regardless if you have sorted issues with the roof

There is a reason we have surveyors and conveyancers. Ultimately its your decision.

lucypilates

Irishpearce26 said:

Options are;

1. Say nothing and have a guilty conscious (there is no comeback as they have exchanged)
2. Get someone out ASAP to look at it and give you a quote
3. Paint over it and forget it (if you think the damp source has been sorted) 
4. Be open and honest with the buyers but expect a bill to fix it
5. Say nothing as its their responsibility to ensure the house has no issues prior to exchange regardless if you have sorted issues with the roof

There is a reason we have surveyors and conveyancers. Ultimately its your decision.

1. I don’t have a guilty conscience as I wasn’t aware of it and actually made efforts to remedy what I was aware of.

2. today is Saturday, I’m 140 miles away and they’re moving in on Monday … it’s an impossible timeframe 

3. Actually that’s pretty much what I did do of the area that i was aware of .. repaired and made good.

4. I don’t want to pay anymore on my old property now .. the responsibility has changed hands as I have also taken on responsibility for my new place and I can tell you, I’ve had to fork out a lot more than I was expecting … 

5. I think this is the option that fits best 

going through these options has helped me see how i’m thinking and helped me answer my own question … yes, the house is now their responsibility and I tried to deal with what I was aware of but ultimately, it is up to them now moving forwards…  as my new purchase is now up to me to sort out … 

MalMonroe

lucypilates said:

I’ve already exchanged and only just moved out of my house this week - the sale is due to complete on Monday …

i knew there was an issue with the roof and had it repaired when I first went on the market in March. Obviously there’s no real way of knowing if the repair is complete other than time and seeing if any issues re-arise..

 so once I moved my belongings out of the cupboard, it became apparent that the issue was bigger than I thought and the back wall of the cupboard is really quite affected!

i haven’t said anything … should I? It’sa done deal now and very little I can do between now and Monday and I genuinely didn’t know that the damp had spread further than where I got it repaired …

incidentally, the house I’ve bought has given me a lot of issues that I wasn’t aware of and I’ve just cussed and got on with sorting it out .. so could I expect same of my buyers??? 

Otherwise, my house I’m selling is a great house with no other issues!! 

This is something you really should have checked and ignorance is no excuse. When you sell a property you are supposed to be thorough and disclose all and any faults. And complete a TA6 form. You need to disclose this as soon as you can.

If the sale hasn't been completed yet the buyer could withdraw.  But if you think that by keeping the fault concealed you will get away with it, you need to think again. 

If the sale does complete and the buyers discover the fault (which they obviously will) they can - and should - sue you. As you could have done with the sellers of the property you bought. Just because you "cussed and got on with sorting it out" doesn't mean that your buyers will want to do the same. Nor should they be expected to. 

Just be honest. You know it's the right thing to do.

lucypilates

I don’t think I agree with you … at what point does responsibility end?

a house is ongoing maintenance and to expect a house to be perfect is unrealistic ..  

I think I have made my decision and am happy with it .. thank you for your comment though .. every viewpoint is valid but I have taken on responsibility of my new house now and therefore pass on responsibility of my old house accordingly … they have seen the house and I’ve not hidden anything 

PollyWollyDoodle

Out of interest, @MalMonroe, on what basis do you think the buyers could sue? Presumably they have had a survey.  The OP says she was not aware of the problem so how could she have disclosed it? In England and Wales you’re not obliged to disclose ‘all and any faults’, just to answer any questions honestly. It’s up to the buyer to check. 

jimbog

MalMonroe said:

lucypilates said:

I’ve already exchanged and only just moved out of my house this week - the sale is due to complete on Monday …

i knew there was an issue with the roof and had it repaired when I first went on the market in March. Obviously there’s no real way of knowing if the repair is complete other than time and seeing if any issues re-arise..

 so once I moved my belongings out of the cupboard, it became apparent that the issue was bigger than I thought and the back wall of the cupboard is really quite affected!

i haven’t said anything … should I? It’sa done deal now and very little I can do between now and Monday and I genuinely didn’t know that the damp had spread further than where I got it repaired …

incidentally, the house I’ve bought has given me a lot of issues that I wasn’t aware of and I’ve just cussed and got on with sorting it out .. so could I expect same of my buyers??? 

Otherwise, my house I’m selling is a great house with no other issues!! 

This is something you really should have checked and ignorance is no excuse. When you sell a property you are supposed to be thorough and disclose all and any faults. And complete a TA6 form. You need to disclose this as soon as you can.

If the sale hasn't been completed yet the buyer could withdraw.  But if you think that by keeping the fault concealed you will get away with it, you need to think again. 

If the sale does complete and the buyers discover the fault (which they obviously will) they can - and should - sue you. As you could have done with the sellers of the property you bought. Just because you "cussed and got on with sorting it out" doesn't mean that your buyers will want to do the same. Nor should they be expected to. 

Just be honest. You know it's the right thing to do.

Simply the most amazing post I've read in the 11 years on this forum.
Wrong on just so many different levels

Irishpearce26

MalMonroe said:

lucypilates said:

I’ve already exchanged and only just moved out of my house this week - the sale is due to complete on Monday …

i knew there was an issue with the roof and had it repaired when I first went on the market in March. Obviously there’s no real way of knowing if the repair is complete other than time and seeing if any issues re-arise..

 so once I moved my belongings out of the cupboard, it became apparent that the issue was bigger than I thought and the back wall of the cupboard is really quite affected!

i haven’t said anything … should I? It’sa done deal now and very little I can do between now and Monday and I genuinely didn’t know that the damp had spread further than where I got it repaired …

incidentally, the house I’ve bought has given me a lot of issues that I wasn’t aware of and I’ve just cussed and got on with sorting it out .. so could I expect same of my buyers??? 

Otherwise, my house I’m selling is a great house with no other issues!! 

This is something you really should have checked and ignorance is no excuse. When you sell a property you are supposed to be thorough and disclose all and any faults. And complete a TA6 form. You need to disclose this as soon as you can.

If the sale hasn't been completed yet the buyer could withdraw.  But if you think that by keeping the fault concealed you will get away with it, you need to think again. 

If the sale does complete and the buyers discover the fault (which they obviously will) they can - and should - sue you. As you could have done with the sellers of the property you bought. Just because you "cussed and got on with sorting it out" doesn't mean that your buyers will want to do the same. Nor should they be expected to. 

Just be honest. You know it's the right thing to do.

Wrong wrong wrong. Due diligence is due diligence. It is the buyers responsibility to ensure what they are buying is up to scratch. Anything in between is buyer beware or in laymen's terms tough titties. 

OP option 5 is what i would do, they checked the house out and missed it oh well. Enjoy your move.

Before anyone snipes me, I missed something in my purchase. The flooring that creaked in the bathroom in fact needs a complete replacement but hey ho that's homeownership for you.

fiveacre

MalMonroe said:

When you sell a property you are supposed to be thorough and disclose all and any faults.

That's a pretty big change to the way we sell properties in England, when did that come in exactly?

Falafels

Are you sure that the damp in the cupboard wasn't caused by the roof leak in the first place? Damp can spread to all sorts of weird and wonderful places and if your belongings were in the cupboard then it wouldn't have had sufficient air circulation to dry out. One of the problems with roof leaks is that the leak itself may be quite a distance away from the spot where the water ingress shows itself.

If it was caused by the roof leak, then that should have sorted it at source. It's now a question of waiting for it to dry out. If you think this could be the case, nothing wrong with telling your purchasers that you only discovered the damp when you moved your belongings, and that it should dry out in time.