When (if?) to tell buyer about... idiosyncrasies?

bicyclist

Selling an inherited house. Well, subject to everything checking out, it has been sold. When do you tell the buyer about things like the oven cooker hood light switch turning on the fan at the same time (it's not supposed to!) or about that one window you just can't find the key for… Their surveyor has done his survey - although we're still waiting for his verdict as far as I know. Thanks.

Edit: Thanks all for the info! I would be inclined to update the new owner about various bits & pieces (they were VERY stoked to have their offer accepted!) I'm a co-executor though, so I'll see what the other one thinks. Thanks again!

MyRealNameToo

Typically you wouldnt, your obligation is to answer the questions you are asked honestly and to the best of your knowledge. You dont have to offer anything up that they dont ask about and its up to them to decide if your answers are too vague or caveated else they have no come back if they accept a "everything's basically ok" and then question the missing window key.

RelievedSheff

Most don't. We didn't and the people we have just bought from didn't.

We are slowly finding them out as we get to know the new house. Luckily nothing too unexpected has cropped up yet!

user1977

Consider that many people selling inherited properties won't even be familiar with such idiosyncracies themselves.

Skiddaw1

Likely as not the buyer will want to do a fair bit to the house anyway especially if it is a probate sale and therefore possibly a bit tired/dated internally. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

clairec666

I doubt either of the "issues" you mentioned would make them pull out of buying. No harm in telling them, it'll save them the irritation of discovering those things for themselves when they move in.

SarahB16

I was an informal go-between between the previous neighbours who lived on my road and the new neighbours that moved into their house. Not sure how common that set up is but it worked very well for both sets of neighbours and I didn't mind.

whizzywoo

We had lived in our previous house for 40 years. When we moved out I left the new owners a letter with the following info:

Forwarding address in case any mail slipped through the re-direction (important because I was waiting for hospital dates)

Meter readings.

Our mobile phone number.

How to access the water meter, that there is an aerial in the loft and not on the roof, that an upstairs switch didn't work the landing light but put a light on in the loft, the grill element had unexpectedly blown the day before completion and there was a spare element in the cupboard, that there was spare glass for the summerhouse in the garage, etc etc.

Just a nice thing to do I thought.

Bigphil1474

I started writing a list for our buyers, turned into about 6 pages of A4 notes. Nothing major. For example, we had a range cooker with 2 electric ovens. If you replaced the bulb in the fan oven, after a couple of weeks it would go pop and some of the electrics would go off. We stopped replacing the bulb in that oven and learned to live without it. We had a sump pump in the cellar which needed the battery replacing once a year, explained what the alarm sounded like etc. Left the notes and all the paperwork for the appliances we gave them etc. in a folder next to a bottle of wine, on moving day.

jimi_man

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81935772#Comment_81935772

But it might, so why take the risk.

If you feel that you really want to tell them, then after contracts are exchanged and when you finally leave the house just prior to completion then you could leave a note. That's what we did, just to explain a few things like which bin day, where things were (stop cocks etc), where spare cooker/fridge/oven bulbs were/where spare tiles were and a few other things. We also left them a bottle of something to welcome them in.

Edit - I've just seen that the poster above did the same!

BungalowBel

If I was going to tell them at all, I'd leave a note.