Sold house. Buyer harassing us.

gandalf2k5

Hi any help would be appreciated. 

We sold our house a few weeks ago to a first time buyer. 

I will try to explain in a quick overview my side of events. 

We moved into our first bought house a couple of years ago when house prices had shot up massively during Covid. With the way the market was we unfortunately had to buy one needing some work which we got done over the 2.5 years that we stayed there.

We moved in and suddenly noticed that the toilet did not work and that all windows had gaps between the seals. That there was something wrong with the wiring/electrical because of the old fuse board constantly tripping. Clutter left in attic and garage... a pee stained mattress one item worth mentioning.

We never made a fuss about any of it and just got it fixed ourselves.

I again will not list everything but below is some things fixed/replaced during our time there...

brand new fully fitted kitchen 
kitchen wrapped
tiles re grouted
windows all resealed, new sills, hinges all fixed along with new handles
new carpets and flooring in every room
all rooms decorated and plastering done
whole garden got new fencing
every light switch and light replaced new by electrician
new fuse board
every interior door replaced new and painted
 
I could honestly keep going on but you get the idea we spent a lot of money. 

We had a baby and decided we needed more space so put the house up for sale which the buyer had a offer accepted on. 

A month after accepting the offer we had high winds which unfortunately moved a tile on the roof. We got it fixed 3 days later by a family member who is a roofer. He managed to notice within they 3 days that it had slightly moved and brought it up to my estate agent. With it being fixed I thought no more of it. 

At the start of the week leading up moving day when missives were due to be signed the buyer brought up the roof. When it was mentioned that It was fixed by a family member who had been a roofer for 20 years he had a melt down. The roof will would have been leaking for months so on and so forth. Ranting about surveys and me trying to do one over him so I payed for a independent roofing company to come in and check the roof and loft all at my own cost last minute for £120. All was signed off as being in perfect condition for the age of the house (40 years).

We left him various goods that he agreed to beforehand for free like the washing machine etc. We also sold him two electric couches and new fridge for peanuts in goodwill seeing that our new house had integrated appliances. We left the house clean and tidied both gardens. We even cleared the attic of all the previous owners items that she had left us. We also accepted home report value instead of trying to drag out any bidding wars or closing dates which would have likely happened seeing that we had various viewings and the offer within the first week. 

A week after moving out on the 5th working day we received this list from our lawyer

1)boiler thermostat missing 

2)boiler pipework has plastic fittings within 600ml of boiler 

3) front door jamming 

4) garage door doesn't lock and keys are missing 

5)bedroom window handle broken 

6)handle missing of stop !!!!!! should be user friendly in an event of emergency 

7) green bin absolutely full and doesn't get emptied for 2 weeks 

8)decking broke out the back 

9)the fire place doesn't heat only the light works 

10)3x draws in kitchen broke draws don't line up with the runners 

11)double socket in living room is berried in the wall and there's a hole in the plaster board to access scoket and then you can't use the right hand side cause a joiner has put his joist in front of the socket 

12) the guy left his kid big toy car and paint tubs in garage as well

All doors and handles where fine on leaving day. The key to the garage was not there when we moved in ourselves. The thermostat was never there when we got the house so we had lived without one. The bin was full in the new house that we moved to and the garage at the new house did not have a key either but we never made any fuss of it. We also never made a fuss of the house we are buying holding us up for 3.5 hours on moving day with them running late. We sat parked up while they unloaded the house. The fireplace mentioned was given for free and worked during the winter when the street got a gas cut. The decking was listed as being rotted and needing replaced in the home report?

Might I add that in our rush to empty and tidy the place for his urgent need to enter the house as early as possible the toy car was left due to not having room in the van or time to drive it to a dump. The paint was left in goodwill seeing that all painting had been done within the last year and could be used for touching up paint. 

He then started going on about the boiler suddenly not working correctly two weeks after this date. Now a survey would need to be done! We never had one problem with the boiler and it served us well through the two years. He is actually a gas fitter so would have been sure to point any actual fault within the 5 days. He is obviously going to write the report himself or through someone he knows. 

I replied to our lawyer that my dealings with the lawyer had been payed for and finished not to contact me again. That the house was sold as seen as is the case with used houses. If he has any problem then he can take me to court. 

Within 30 seconds a return email was returned asking for our new address which is allowed so was granted.

So to try sum up this very long winded story has anyone else had to deal with any this mentally disturbed before when selling a house? Is it likely to go to court seeing with how obsessed he is? With him now knowing my address what is the chances of him harassing me at my new house?

Any prior experience or knowledge would be appreciated. 

user1977

Presumably your solicitor has advised you which of these items you might potentially be liable for in terms of the warranty in the missives about services/appliances etc (and whether the buyer has reported them in time), and which are a load of nonsense? They're hardly likely to pursue the latter to court.

anselld

Yes very long winded but it boils down to this being Scotland and there are different rules which mean not everything is "sold as seen" as you have suggested and the buyer is legally entitled to report certain defects within a limited timescale.

gandalf2k5

He told me that everything listed was a load of nonsense that the house was sold as seen. All white goods and items where sold with no warranty and to be fair he got most for free or basically nothing. The only items payed for were two electric recliners and the free standing fridge totaling £240. He said only the boiler would fall within any meaningful claim. The boiler being not far from a screwed in carbon monoxide alarm and a wireless thermostat not being at the property hardly falls under anything to moan about in my view. There was never a thermostat on viewing day and with him being a gas fitter surely he should have checked then? Him now going on about a report and him working in the gas trade obviously means that he will get some outlandish report. Again I never had a problem with the boiler once in the 2.5 years and now weeks after his claim is rejected it has suddenly developed a fault? If I am being honest it has taken the shine off of moving having to deal with this idiot. Our new house actually had quite a few faults that we noticed moving in day but again when buying a used house there is bound to be the odd blemmish here and there. We would never dream of having this sort of tantrum or putting anyone through this. He should have bought a new build. 

theartfullodger

In your shoes I'd do the decent thing and sort what should (both legally AND MORALLY) be sorted.

Do you have evidence for your assertions of things working?

Been in similar position in Scotland, some money paid, albeit much shorter list, one item handled by an RTFM .. (read the fabulous manual).

Slainte mhath ..

penners324

Just reply saying everything was fine on moving day.

Anymore direct messages you'll report the new owner to the police for harassment 

gandalf2k5

Not really sure why we should be paying extra money when the house was how it is on viewing day. He could have requested any repairs and checked everything then. The doors and handles all worked perfectly on the day we left. The boiler worked fine from the day we moved in. Technically it should have been him paying for the roof survey but again I footed the bill to just get on with it. It was very long winded but there is a lot left out with how much of a pain he was to deal with. He was trying to get a warranty or guarantee with the roof which bear in mind is 40 years old. We bent over backwards not going to a closing date. Selling him items for nothing basically and handing him a lot for free. Cleaned the property from top to bottom and the majority of his claims are things that we have encountered in the new property.  You would be mortified if you seen what mess the house looked like when we bought it compared to how done up it is now. There is a way to conduct yourself when buying a house especially in a chain. And unfortunately his actions from start to finish made dealing with him hard work.

BarelySentientAI

gandalf2k5 said:

Not really sure why we should be paying extra money when the house was how it is on viewing day. He could have requested any repairs and checked everything then. 

It's Scotland.  He doesn't have to.

gandalf2k5 said:

The boiler worked fine from the day we moved in.

Irrelevant.

gandalf2k5 said:

Technically it should have been him paying for the roof survey but again I footed the bill to just get on with it.  We bent over backwards not going to a closing date. Selling him items for nothing basically and handing him a lot for free. 

Nice of you, but irrelevant.

gandalf2k5 said:

Cleaned the property from top to bottom and the majority of his claims are things that we have encountered in the new property.  

So what?  You might put up with things that others don't.

gandalf2k5 said:

You would be mortified if you seen what mess the house looked like when we bought it compared to how done up it is now. 

He isn't buying the house how it was when you bought it.  Again, irrelevant.  I assume that there's been a nice little increase in value and several years of your occupation to compensate for you doing it up.

gandalf2k5 said:

There is a way to conduct yourself when buying a house especially in a chain. And unfortunately his actions from start to finish made dealing with him hard work.

Calling him "obsessed" and "mentally disturbed", then suggesting that you "wouldn't throw this sort of tantrum" doesn't seem like a particularly good way to conduct yourself either.

Did I read your earlier comment right?  Your solicitor that has just worked on a property sale in Scotland said "everything was a load of nonsense and the house was sold as seen"?

gandalf2k5

My lawyer advised me that no points mentioned above covered anything in the missives bar the boiler. You must know better. Again the boiler worked fine the day we left and you can bet your last pound that we would have heard if it didn’t work. Not really sure where your attitude or tone with me has came from but at no point was I offered a resolution on the buyers end. The buyer expected new build warranty and quality. 

BarelySentientAI

gandalf2k5 said:

My lawyer advised me that no points mentioned above covered anything in the missives bar the boiler. 

Then that's the only bit that is relevant, as it's the only bit he can legally chase you for, and would have answered the questions that we were asking trying to help you.

If the boiler is covered in the missives, and he reported it in time, then yes, that's for you to sort.  Fix that and then he has no grounds for taking you to court.  Everything else can be responded to by a letter from your solicitor to him/his rep pointing out that it wasn't covered.

Houses aren't "sold as seen".  They're sold according to the legal contract that both parties entered into.

I doubt he will turn up at your door, but if he does then it's time for some recording on your phone and a report to the authorities.

MeteredOut

Did you have to provide your new address to them? I'd not have done so unless legally required.

And I'd only be paying for anything legally required too - from memory, it's 5 working days in Scotland that issues have to be raised; was the "boiler not working" issue was raised within that period? If not, your solicitor should be telling you if you're liable there.

I can't see how the initial boiler issues that were raised on day 5 (no thermostat, query on piping) should be your responsibility, but again your solicitor should advise.