About to complete on sale - but now boiler has stopped working

fluffymuffy

theartfullodger said:

Would have done exactly the same thing, even if imagining either of us might be a ""well-known person in the area "" .  Excuse my OaP stupidity, but please, what difference would that make to doing the right thing? 

Because it's not my money to give away. I have Power of Attorney and must act in my relative's best interest, not my own. 

I have to act within a framework of what the legal position is, and justify acting beyond what is required in law (when it comes to making amends for broken boilers). 

user1977

fluffymuffy said:

theartfullodger said:

Would have done exactly the same thing, even if imagining either of us might be a ""well-known person in the area "" .  Excuse my OaP stupidity, but please, what difference would that make to doing the right thing? 

Because it's not my money to give away. I have Power of Attorney and must act in my relative's best interest, not my own. 

I have to act within a framework of what the legal position is, and justify acting beyond what is required in law (when it comes to making amends for broken boilers). 

Gives you the best excuse for doing the bare minimum then. Had the buyers actually tested the boiler at all? Was it even working at exchange?

fluffymuffy

I don't know. I was in hospital at the time. I've never met the buyers. The estate agent showed them round. 

london21

Try to get it fixed. If not fixable, then decide a way forward.

Inform the buyer, contribute towards a new boiler etc.

fluffymuffy

So now we've booked a plumber, and informed the estate agent, who said to tell our solicitor. So we've done that, in writing. 

Now it turns out that the buyers have not signed the contract yet.  So the boiler was definitely not working at the point the contract is signed, if they sign it before (/if we are able) we get it mended.

We're pulling out all stops to see this happily sorted to everyone's satisfaction. 

canaldumidi

As POA you have a clear duty to protect your donor's assets. Spending their money on a repair that is not legally required could be construed as failing in your duty. It is for the buyer to inspect the boiler and decide if they want to proceed with their purchase, proceed conditional on your fixing it, or walk away.

In any property (even brand New Builds!) there are inevitably faults, from the almost insignificant scratch to a bit of paintwork to the potentially serious ones to the roof, structure or..... boiler.

A seller is not required to fix all these unless it's agreed during negotiation. Until then it's 'buyer beware'.

(yes, I'm an advocate as well as an attorney).