buying house problems!?

Question

me and my partner are in the process of buying our first house, we made are offer back in september 06,since then there as been problem after problem,the house needs a fire wall in the loft,a extra skin of brick work in the inside wall in the kitchen,also in the bathroom.repairs to the roof.(these are only small) there as been a door put in where a window used to be,which we need to find out if there as been planning for this,also what is holding the wall above the door up. after finding out all this we decided to pull out, but yesterday i had a phone call from the estate agents saying that the vendor would be willing to pay for all these repairs, me and my partner really do love the house, does anyone know when the jobs are done if it is up to the vendor to put it back to its original state, eg: re plaster walls,replace anything that is damaged during the work been done, carpets etc thanks in advance

Answer 1

The seller is responsible for meeting the terms of your contract. If you stipulated in the offer what repairs were to be made and in what condition the house must be in before you buy it, then that is the agreement. Most offers that are prepared by real estate agents have it in writing automatically. Check to see what the offer states and that will answer your question.

Answer 2

How about paying less for the house (to the tune of the cost of the repairs) so that you can ensure that the work is done to standard.

The vendor is unlikely to care particularly about getting a quality job done whereas you want a place to call home.

If the vendor drops the price you'll be able to afford the repairs.

Is the mortgage company going to put a retention on the mortgage - which is just a way of making sure that the work gets done? This is good leverage with the vendor.

So much depends on your circumstances and your willingness to take on a house that needs work doing, but I would say that you'll feel much more confident about the work that is being done if you're supervising it rather than the vendor.

Whatever you decide, get the advice of a solicitor about the contract between you and the vendor - this is where you would stipulate the state of the house that you anticipate buying.

Good luck either way.

Answer 3

Typically all the details are included in the purchase agreement (or offer). This is a contract so they are obligated to fulfill what has been agreed upon. That is, there is no right or wrong way for the repairs to be made, only the way written in the agreement. The problem with this is that it is usually open to a wide degree of interpretation...

If you are worried and want to be safe go and get a contractor (aka professional) to give you an estimate to your specifications and have the vendor discount the selling price by that amount. You'll have to get permission from the home owner to have the estimates done and at the very least that will show them you mean business and are serious about the house.

Answer 4

Make it a stipulation that you need to inspect it after the work has been done. If they really want to sell, it should be done right, or you can come back and sue. I got 50K back from the house I last bought, due to misleading information, and the survey missed it. Make sure it's the way you want it. It is the biggest investment you will probably ever make.

Answer 5

What type of survey have you had done? Was it the most detailed? If so go by what is in there. Ultimately it is up to what the vendor agrees to do i.e. get it in writing via your solicitors and do not complete before it is done.

Answer 6

no matter how much i loved the house if theres been that many problems before i moved into the house what am i going to uncover after i move in. All the stress of the situation will just move in with you if you go ahead with it. Id be looking for somewhere else

Answer 7

you can get the general property value of your house in relation to your area but going to http://www.doiop.com/realestate and inputting your zip code.