Brought house then discovered it wont heat properly and the seller hid damp

RHemmings

Looking at the thread, I think that no matter what the views on things are, it seems that getting an engineer in to look at the heating seems to be the universal next step. If the heating is set up wrong or requires basic maintenance such as bleeding, then it'll get fixed. If the heating is simply inadequate for the house, the OP will then know for sure. If it's not working in some more major way, then the OP will know and can ask for a professional written opinion on that, and know approximately how much it will cost to fix. Whatever the actual cause of the problem is, getting a heating engineer in seems to me to be the thing to do. 

moneysaver

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

More fool you. The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken, there are plenty of sellers out there who will hide or disguise things.

Moneysaver

jimbog

moneysaver said:

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken

able to provide a link for this?

Albermarle

moneysaver said:

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

More fool you. The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken, there are plenty of sellers out there who will hide or disguise things.

Moneysaver

I do not think even many experienced buyers would check the power of the boiler, especially as the tendency of boiler fitters is to overspec them, rather than the opposite.

Anyway back to the main topic- No reactions from the OP, so maybe we are all wasting our breath so to speak. 

[Deleted User]

oneysaver said:

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

More fool you. The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken, there are plenty of sellers out there who will hide or disguise things.

Moneysaver

What do you believe the seller was 'hiding', or was 'broken', in that particular instance? The facts are that unless the seller has lied when answering questions, or has failed to mention known, established defects, then they have no liability if the buyer has an issue. Having a subjectively 'wrong sized boiler' is not a defect, and unless the seller had been specifically asked if the boiler was sufficient to fully heat the house to a certain temperature, and said 'Yes,' and this was found to be untrue, then there is no misrepresentation either.

Only the most masochistic of sellers would go round their house pointing out its failings when there was no obligation to do so.

gazfocus

To an extent, the important question would be when did the OP complete on the property and how long has it taken the OP to discover the heating not being adequate. If you’ve been in the house for a few months, I would say that regardless of what is ‘wrong’ with the heating, your chances of redress against the seller are almost non existent because the seller could simply claim it was working fine at the point of exchange and you cannot prove otherwise. 

Unfortunately heating playing up is just part and parcel of owning a home so the best thing you can do is stop putting energy into trying to find a way of pinning it on the seller and get someone round to take a look and see what they recommend as a ‘fix’.  

AskAsk

moneysaver said:

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

More fool you. The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken, there are plenty of sellers out there who will hide or disguise things.

Moneysaver

you are totally wrong.  as a buyer, you can not rely simply on the TA6 answers for the central heating being in working order, that just means it turns on and is safe.  it doesn't mean it has to work efficiently.

if you read your survey, the surveyor will always says that he hasn't fully tested the central heating system and would recommend that this get tested by a gas safe engineer.

so it is the buyer's responsibility to get the central heating system tested before purchase if he wants to make sure that it is working.  most buyers don't bother with this and they probably should do, but if you never instructed an inspection by a gas safe engineer before purchase then you can't ask for compensation after purchase as you didn't do your due dilligence as advised by the survey.

Flugelhorn

moneysaver said:

bouicca21 said:

When I bought my last house we soon discovered that it was so cold that at night we had to sleep with coats and/or dressing gowns on.  The answer turned out to be simple - the boiler was the wrong size for the house.  Never occurred to us to try and get compensation.  Just scrimped and saved for a new boiler …

More fool you. The rules of buying houses are clear so things are not hidden and broken, there are plenty of sellers out there who will hide or disguise things.

Moneysaver

are you in Scotland @moneysaver - I think the rules may be different there

sheramber

I am in Scotland. When I sold my house I had the option to state that everything was in working order or to decline.

I declined.  Not because things weren't working,  but Sod's Law something would have broken down  shortly  after moving in.

[Deleted User]

sheramber said:

I am in Scotland. When I sold my house I had the option to state that everything was in working order or to decline.

I declined.  Not because things weren't working,  but Sod's Law something would have broken down  shortly  after moving in.

You couldn't legally have any comeback for stating the facts in good faith. That aside, is that all they ask you? Don't you have to say what's working and what's not? Otherwise a null answer could mean anything from the landing lightbulb flickering to the electrics and plumbing not working. Or, in your case, everything is working just fine.