Just moved in... but a few issues...

apcorbett

Well we've moved in to our new house, only six weeks after putting in the offer and putting ours on the market - so it can work!

Anyway... the house is lovely, except we've started to find a few problems - None of them were picked up on the survey...

Downstairs bathroom - Strategically placed bathroom mats hid a bad water damaged carpet

Living room door - Does not shut as it is slightly warped
Main bedroom door - As above
Dishwasher - Works, but then dumps water all over the kitchen floor
Central Heating - Worked for two days, and then that's it - nothing doing! No heating in the depths of winter (transpires that neighbour has seen boiler company in twice since August)


So, the question is:

Should any of this have been picked up on the survey (i.e. doors and carpet), and do we have any recourse on any boiler repairs that might be needed?

Poppy9

apcorbett wrote: »

Anyway... the house is lovely, except we've started to find a few problems - None of them were picked up on the survey...

Downstairs bathroom - Strategically placed bathroom mats hid a bad water damaged carpet

Is the carpet being stained a problem or what may have caused it. Depending on which level of survey you paid for you would be told you wouldn't get a full plumbing check. If it's just the carpet then it's cosmetic only and not worth reporting on.

apcorbett wrote:

Living room door - Does not shut as it is slightly warped
Main bedroom door - As above

Depending on the age of the house it's often normal for door/door frames to move causing them not to fit properly.

apcorbet wrote:

Dishwasher - Works, but then dumps water all over the kitchen floor
Central Heating - Worked for two days, and then that's it - nothing doing! No heating in the depths of winter (transpires that neighbour has seen boiler company in twice since August)

If you paid for a full survey including checks on CH system then it should have been picked up. Otherwise the survey will say that the "CH system etc were not checked and recommend you get an inspection carried out."

apcorbett wrote:

So, the question is:

Should any of this have been picked up on the survey (i.e. doors and carpet), and do we have any recourse on any boiler repairs that might be needed?

Not unless you paid for a full structural suvery including the testing of all systems.

macaque_2

apcorbett wrote: »

Well we've moved in to our new house, only six weeks after putting in the offer and putting ours on the market - so it can work!

Anyway... the house is lovely, except we've started to find a few problems - None of them were picked up on the survey...

Downstairs bathroom - Strategically placed bathroom mats hid a bad water damaged carpet

Living room door - Does not shut as it is slightly warped
Main bedroom door - As above
Dishwasher - Works, but then dumps water all over the kitchen floor
Central Heating - Worked for two days, and then that's it - nothing doing! No heating in the depths of winter (transpires that neighbour has seen boiler company in twice since August)


So, the question is:

Should any of this have been picked up on the survey (i.e. doors and carpet), and do we have any recourse on any boiler repairs that might be needed?

The entire cost of the problems you describe can probably be resolved for a couple of thousand pounds. As a percentage of the purchase cost of a home these days, that is small beer. As it is, most of these problems sound like fair wear and tear. You can gradually put them right over the next few years.

You have a home that you are happy with and thats what matters. Don't mar the experience by getting into wrangles with people. These are just part of life's irritations and you should put them behind you.

Generali

Re the dishwasher. Check the waste pipe (sort of grey and crinkled) - it sounds like it might have either split (quite cheap to repair) or become disconnected (free to repair).

The other stuff sounds like caveat emptor. Should have moved the rugs and all that.

Nenen

Generali wrote: »

The other stuff sounds like caveat emptor. Should have moved the rugs and all that.

I'm sure you're right Generali but personally I'd be far too embarrassed when looking round a house to pick up rugs etc!

It's weird isn't it that many people are so reticent when making such a large purchase. My dh is bored with me keep saying I'd spend longer trying on a dress than I have looking round some houses (especially when shown by EA who always seems in a hurry and only allows 10-15 minutes maximum).

Our last house was marketed as having a refitted kitchen and this was a real selling point... looked lovely on viewing. When we moved in we found that the drawers were all wonky and didn't open and close without a real struggle. Had to get a carpenter to sort them out and cost a fair bit to do so. This time, when I've viewed houses I've tried to casually ask if it's OK to open a drawer to see how it runs. From the reponses I've had you'd think I was asking to watch the couple selling having nuptials! :eek:

Another place we viewed the couple were buying in France and said that it is common there for potential buyers to take photographs as they go round (some even take videos) so that they can look at them when they get home before putting in an offer. That struck me as a really good idea... it's often difficult to remember details of a property, especially when we have viewed several in one day (and the EA ones are often hopeless). However, I haven't yet plucked up the courage to ask if it would be OK to do that!

I'd love to know what vendors think about people asking to pick up rugs, open cupboards and/or take photos... what is the cheekiest thing you've ever seen/been asked by buyers and what have buyers done (either with or without vendors knowledge)?

Strapped

Nenen wrote: »

I'd love to know what vendors think about people asking to pick up rugs, open cupboards and/or take photos... what is the cheekiest thing you've ever seen/been asked by buyers and what have buyers done (either with or without vendors knowledge)?

Nenen, why don't you start a new thread (so as not to crash this one) so we can post our horror stories lol.

OP, I agree with Poppy9's assessment; it all depends what type of survey you had done, although frankly the only biggie is the central heating system and even that I would tend to just get fixed and move on.

Nenen

Strapped wrote: »

Nenen, why don't you start a new thread (so as not to crash this one) so we can post our horror stories lol.

Good idea Strapped... thanks... :beer: (and sorry to OP for going off topic) I've done it here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=7416185#post7416185