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AIBU?

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Original poster

Bathroom comes with the house??!!

607 replies

greencygnets · 29/07/2018 12:10

So DH and I have just bought a new house (not brand new but new to us :)) and it cost us a lot of money (far more than a care to admit! :))
We moved in yesterday, the house is perfect except for one thing...

They've taken the bloody bathroom with them!!!!

One of the two main bathrooms upstairs is literally empty, like I don't mean just the furniture which you obviously take with you. But they've taken the bath, sink and shower!!!!

The room is tiled but theres random pipes sticking out of walls where these things should be!! The only thing left is the toilet. I honestly don't know what to do... We were going to redo the bathroom anyway at some point but never told this to anybody and weren't planning to do so until at least November/December time but now we don't have a choice!!

The kids come home from the holiday with my in-laws on Tuesday and we've got no bathroom for them!!!!

AIBU to think that the bathroom comes with the house, or is it totally reasonable to take the bathroom with you to your new house??!!

OP posts:
oppossum · 29/07/2018 19:04

Wow...

Our former owners were petty and ‘accidentally’ smashed the front door and window then promised daily they’d arranged for someone to come and fix it. Obviously found it funny to wait until we realised they were bullshitting us. Ended up just paying to fix it

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:10

So many idiots on this thread. No, no solicitor retains 10% of purchase price. Doesn't happen in residential purchases- entire balance is paid to vendor on completion.
It is possible to complete on a Friday afternoon. Yes, not great to allow them a couple extra hours to move but I suspect OP was between a rock and a hard place, given she had to leave her rental on the Saturday or pay more rent.
Even if she hadn't let them have a bit of extra time, they could still have removed the bathroom. It's not like there's an inspector there on completion. I picked up my keys but did not enter my new house until a few days later when I moved all my stuff.
The sellers said they would leave the bathroom stuff in there. Why the hate towards the solicitor- how would he know what they were planning? They said they would leave it.
Also, why the vitriol at the OP, calling her thick etc? What has she actually done wrong here? The only risk of letting sellers stay after completion is that they refuse to leave. This has not happened here. The extra time makes no odds as to whether they have breached the contract or whether the OP can claim compensation. And no, highly unlikely she can sue the solicitor unless someone can inform me of how his negligent act has led to this situation.

LighthouseSouth · 29/07/2018 19:13

PeakPants

"The only risk of letting sellers stay after completion is that they refuse to leave"

no, there are many more risks, hence why they need to be out on the dot.

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:19

no, there are many more risks, hence why they need to be out on the dot.

It's really common in reality that sellers are not fully packed up and that a couple of hours grace is given. This incident had nothing to do with the extra hours- they could have done it whenever completion took place.

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 29/07/2018 19:19

The extra time makes no odds as to whether they have breached the contract or whether the OP can claim compensation

It does make a difference as to whether they can prove that the vendors removed the bathroom, though. If the vendor claims that they left at 5pm on Friday and that the bathroom was still intact at that point, the onus is on the buyer to prove that it was definitely removed by the vendor rather than removed by someone else. Without witnesses (neighbours, removals company) who are happy to say that they saw the vendors removing the bathroom as they left, how can it be proven that someone else had a key (friend of the vendor, tradesman who had worked on the property previously) didn't come into the property after the vendor left, but before the OP arrived the next day?

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:20

Also, lighthouse, often completion is in the morning but with an agreement that vacation is by noon or 2pm the same day. So no, it does not need to be 'on the dot'.

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:21

It does make a difference as to whether they can prove that the vendors removed the bathroom, though. If the vendor claims that they left at 5pm on Friday and that the bathroom was still intact at that point, the onus is on the buyer to prove that it was definitely removed by the vendor rather than removed by someone else.

What total and utter tosh. See above re the fact that often completion takes place hours before vacant possession- normal because you want the completion early if people are in a chain, but unrealistic to expect vendors to be totally out of there by say 9.30 am.

Spanglyprincess1 · 29/07/2018 19:24

Speak to Solicitor it's fixtures and fittings. Read your agreement too in detail just to be sure! Call their solicitor or them and explain your pursuing them if it's not returned. I'd small claims if nessisary as assume it's under 5k to replace

Buteo · 29/07/2018 19:25

Really? Can you substantiate that? I've never heard of such a thing. My understanding was that the whole of the purchase price has to be with the vendor at the point of completion in order for the keys to be released. I've never heard of withholding a portion of the funds 'just in case'.

Yes - our purchasers requested a retention due to there being an on-going legal issue to do with communal grounds. The solicitor withheld £10k back until the issue was legally resolved.

Grimbles · 29/07/2018 19:26

Not really, a friend of mine bought his first house and was due to move in at 2pm, we got there to find the previous owners still moving out. it was 5pm before we started to move him in

Did the vendor get the completion time extended on the day of completion or did they simply stay longer than they should have done?

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 29/07/2018 19:26

See above re the fact that often completion takes place hours before vacant possession- normal because you want the completion early if people are in a chain, but unrealistic to expect vendors to be totally out of there by say 9.30 am

Yes, I understand that, thanks. It doesn't change the fact that, without witnesses, the OP cannot prove that the vendor took the bathroom, rather than it being removed by someone else between the time that the vendor vacated the property and the OP arrived the next day. And without proof or a confession from the vendor, how will they claim compensation from the vendor for something that the vendor will insist happened after they left?

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:28

Yes - our purchasers requested a retention due to there being an on-going legal issue to do with communal grounds. The solicitor withheld £10k back until the issue was legally resolved.

Yes, retentions do happen if, as in your case, there is an ongoing legal issue. They do not happen as a matter of course in a straighforward resi conveyance on the off-chance that the vendor might nick a few fixtures.

This is the danger of people having a small degree of legal knowledge through having bought a house and immediately thinking they are experts.

LighthouseSouth · 29/07/2018 19:29

Pants, we obviously have a totally different experience and being packed up for 9.30 is normal I would say.

and Greece has a totally valid point.

I really hope OP gets the cost and more for the hassle of a new bathroom. I'm just saying I think the vendors might have been really CFers and managed to fiddle this so they are very hard to catch.

PotteryLady · 29/07/2018 19:30

They may say they never took it but hopefully your solicitor can get them to pay for a new bathroom and fitting. If they say it was there then they will have to claim on their insurance as it was still their house on the Friday when it went missing!!!!!

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:31

Yes, I understand that, thanks. It doesn't change the fact that, without witnesses, the OP cannot prove that the vendor took the bathroom, rather than it being removed by someone else between the time that the vendor vacated the property and the OP arrived the next day. And without proof or a confession from the vendor, how will they claim compensation from the vendor for something that the vendor will insist happened after they left?

OK, shecame, I know you mean well but you are totally wrong here. No, it is not for the OP to 'prove' that the vendor was the one who removed them. If the vendor wants to raise the argument, s/he must adduce evidence to show that a third party removed it (like how??). Rules of evidence do not operate as you clearly believe they do. All the OP needs to prove is that the property is not in the condition that was described in the contract. That is all. No need for confessions.

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 29/07/2018 19:32

*Yes - our purchasers requested a retention due to there being an on-going legal issue to do with communal grounds. The solicitor withheld £10k back until the issue was legally resolved

So in that case there was a retention due to an unresolved legal issue? That's not the same as withholding 10% of the purchase funds as a contingency 'just in case' something occurs unexpectedly.

Mehaveit · 29/07/2018 19:32

My previous solicitor was actually shit and missed a massive debt on the property the people I bought off couldn't be arsed to pay (think ground rent/maintenance etc). Leaseholder chased me as the owner but it was incurred before I'd even viewed it! My solicitor 'forgot' to check outstanding debts and suggested I was liable. Fortunately a legally trained friend wrote my response wording for me and no more was heard from anyone.

So solicitors can miss things, they may advise you to do things which aren't necessarily in your interests but make their life easier. OP is getting a hard time for a very very rare thing happening to her. And those posters knocking her for letting her DH deal with the legal stuff - so what?? They're a team! Maybe she sorted the mortgage and removals. Doesn't mean she's a silly little girl leaving her DH to do one part of the moving process.

PeakPants · 29/07/2018 19:32

Pants, we obviously have a totally different experience and being packed up for 9.30 is normal I would say.

Does your experience come from buying a couple of houses in your life or from time in practice as a solicitor? If the former, then yes we have different experiences.

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 29/07/2018 19:42

OK, shecame, I know you mean well but you are totally wrong here ... All the OP needs to prove is that the property is not in the condition that was described in the contract. That is all. No need for confessions.

Oh, so how will that work?

OP's solicitor: You stole our client's bathroom so you need to compensate them'

Vendor: 'We didn't steal the bathroom. Someone else must have stolen it after we moved out on Friday but before they moved in on Saturday . But here's some compensation anyway.'

OP's buildings/contents insurance will likely pay out, but compensation from the vendor would be far more elusive.

LighthouseSouth · 29/07/2018 19:43

@PeakPants

I'm not saying people always pack up by 9.30, I thought you were implying it was not a norm. By "norm" I'm not saying 60% of people do it, just that it's something people do and not in a 1%, do you see what I mean?

if you are a solicitor, and you think everything will be okay for OP, that is really great btw.

Buteo · 29/07/2018 19:45

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst it was mostly in response to the following statement, which is incorrect:

My understanding was that the whole of the purchase price has to be with the vendor at the point of completion in order for the keys to be released.

Retentions can happen for several reasons - agreed repair works pending, legal issues and potential outstanding service charges are not uncommon reasons.

LighthouseSouth · 29/07/2018 19:45

@PeakPants

"All the OP needs to prove is that the property is not in the condition that was described in the contract. That is all. No need for confessions."

so you're saying it's fine to leave the property overnight - or more - and that would still apply? We might need to do a long distance move soon, so if this is correct, it's reassuring because the logistics of a long distance move are quite full on.

BoneyBackJefferson · 29/07/2018 19:51

Grimbles

the point is that delays on the day happen, it is no reason to not believe the OP.

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 29/07/2018 19:53

Retentions can happen for several reasons - agreed repair works pending, legal issues and potential outstanding service charges are not uncommon reasons

Obviously. That's not comparable to instructing your solicitor to withhold a portion of the funds as a self-determined contingency against potential damage.

Bluelady · 29/07/2018 19:53

I imagine if OP had to claim on her insurance the insurance company would pursue the vendor pretty relentlessly.