Questions from buyer

AskAsk

I am at the final stage of the sale of my house.  The buyer has returned the signed contract to his solicitor.  He has asked the following questions, directly to me, via the estate agent.  Should I answer them or should I pass this on to my solicitor so it goes through the legal process?

This Register refers to a Contract dated 23rd August 1967 mentions that the owner  (i.e. myself) must allow access to XXXXX property should the neighbours require access in order to carry out repairs to their respective property whereby they shall make good any damage caused and cause as little disturbance as possible to the owner. Please confirm:

if that has happened in the past, and if so, for what reason;

Which part of the property are we required to give access to?

Drainage: The basis of the current charges is on non-metered basis. How is the current owner charged for water consumption? Has the owner experienced any issues in relation to water and drainage?

Boiler:

How old is the boiler?

Can the seller provide service history for the boiler?

Will a Gas Safe or OFTEC registered engineer leave appropriate documentation covering heating systems, water, appliances for example, boilers, individual room heaters, all open fires, etc. by the Gas Safety Installation and Use Act 1994 behind for inspection?

Fence

Which fence is the owner responsible for?

Have there been any issues related to fence maintenance?

When did the owner last replace the fence?

Is there any damage to any of the fences surrounding the property?

General: has the owner experience any issues re the below – if yes, provide details

Roof

Damp

Asbestos

Gutters and/or downpipes

Bins and refuse: where are the bins and where are they stored. They weren’t visible during the viewing

Windows: is there a reason why some windows are opaque? Are there restrictions that would prohibit replacement of those windows for clear window?

Doors: please confirm if internal glazed door is fitted with safety glass?

Water: please provide location of the water stopcock

 

trakky14

No, make sure your solicitor answers all these on your behalf, they should respond to purchasers enquires not you.

The estate agent needs to tell the purchaser to get their own solicitors to raise the questions with your solicitors. 

dimbo61

Reply with any information you know.
Stopcock is under the kitchen sink or wherever !
Fences erected by Charles the 1st after the battle of 1066
Etc

I have the boiler serviced every year or not serviced in 30 years.

AskAsk

trakky14 said:

No, make sure your solicitor answers all these on your behalf, they should respond to purchasers enquires not you.

The estate agent needs to tell the purchaser to get their own solicitors to raise the questions with your solicitors. 

yeah, I have sold a few properties in my time and bought a few as well and I haven't come across questions like this via the estate agent as everything goes through the solicitors.  some of those questions are already answered on the PIF so I am not sure why he is asking them again!

thanks.

AskAsk

dimbo61 said:

Reply with any information you know.
Stopcock is under the kitchen sink or wherever !
Fences erected by Charles the 1st after the battle of 1066
Etc

I have the boiler serviced every year or not serviced in 30 years.

but should this go through the solicitors rather than the estate agent?  i don't want to end up with an interrogation process directly with the buyer via the estate agent passing his email enquiries on to me!

diystarter7

no ifs, no buts, 100% via the money-grabing solictors.

dimbo61

Yes direct the buyer to ask questions via the solicitors.
That is why you employ them.

mojo293

Some/all of this is covered on forms I received from my solicitor to fill in for the current sale of my house, and my vendors did likewise.

They were the 'Property Information Form', and the 'fixtures and Fittings form'.

But as above, all of those information goes between Solicitors, not Estate Agents at this stage.

user1977

Enquiries made via the solicitors carry a more "official" status - so it's advisable from the buyers' point of view to go via solicitors. Whereas you might prefer to give some reassuring informal responses directly, and have less obligation to compensate the buyer when they accuse you of telling fibs.

In any event I'd be wary about giving them a full history of all maintenance you've ever done (or not done), which seems to be what they're looking for.

Zerforax

Your solicitor won't know the answer to most so the questions will come round to you to answer anyway.

I would start preparing the responses BUT only send your response to YOUR solicitor. They should check before sending responses back to the Buyer's solicitors, who will then share with the Buyer.

canaldumidi

as above.

And when you eventually receive the Qs via your solicior, don't be reluctant to reply "Not known" to anything you are not sure about (eg perhap who owns what fence). Better than guessing!