To complain to the solicitors about the house?

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We've recently moved home- thankfully, I worried it wouldn't go through- and have since discovered a lot of problems. AIBU to go back to the solicitor about it? I'm worried it might end up costing more than it's worth.

So far we've found damaged windows which should've been replaced but haven't, the boiler isn't working and is leaking, there are two leaks in the airing cupboard, a number of taps were faulty, toilet flushes damaged, one toilet is leaking, a number of door handles are faulty and the front door lock is broken. We're also worried about cracking on the floor in a room- which was always covered when we visited and probably would've been when the surveyor came.

What would you do?

Were any of these problems discovered during viewings and/or survey?

What level survey did you have? If you had the mid or top level survey you might have grounds for complaint if these things didn’t show up on the survey

Surveyors haven't done thier job properly.

Isn't that to do with survey rather than solicitors? Not sure how a leaking boiler etc is the remit of the solicitor.

The windows issue lies with your solicitor.

Boiler would have been spotted with a full structural survey. The floor not so as the surveyor wouldn’t have seen it as the floor was covered at the time.

When you say the Windows should have been replaced, was there an agreement for that to happen?

Our house turned out to have been badly constructed/maintained so had lots of niggles like leaking sinks and crap wiring. It was tough luck. Only thing the solicitor did was to tell the sellers to give us the curtain poles back because we’d paid for them.

You may be able to complain to your surveyor if they’ve missed stuff.

Yes there was an agreement for the windows to be replaced, one has but the others haven't. We used a toilet, but not every toilet on visits- the downstairs one that you would expect visitors to use, doors were open. The survey was a homebuyer report, He wouldn't have seen the floor any more than us without moving things. The windows were picked up on the survey but had already been discussed. He said gas appliances should be checked- we asked for this and they provided a safety certificate, but as it now turns out, did not have it serviced.

They will prob bill you for their complaint processing fees or some other tosh. Maybe stop it hun x

Didnt you get an inventory list?

My boiler was serviced before we exchanged and got the full report.

I go a list of everything and what condition it was in that the vendors signed.

It claimed all the windows and doors were in full working order. The boiler was fine, what they were leaving etc.

When I moved in i discovered the front door lock was knackered and someone had done a piss poor bodge job and the bay window and kitchen window were letting water and the cold in. The boiler was leaking

I call my solicitor, she called theirs and advised I was thinking of suing the vendors due to this. The coughed up the money to replace the door and 2 windows. The boiler went on a bit longer as they had it serviced. So I called the gas engineer whose details were on the service and threatened to report him to the gas safe register. Turned out he didnt even look at the boiler. He just did his mate, the vendor a favour and filled one report saying it was fine.

The vendor paid for the fix and a full service. My solicitor also asked then to cover my legal fees, which they did.

Think they were terrified I was going to actually sue them. The legal fees were about £300. She didnt do that much but was shit hot and took no shit off their solicitor. I sorted the boiler.

You basically buy a house, sight seen. That's why surveys are done, to highlight issues, once it's yours it's yours. Problems and all.

The only thing you have recourse here is the windows if there was a legal agreement to replace and that's not been done.

Also if you had a legal agreement to replace windows your solicitor should have checked this was done prior to completion. So there is fault there.

If it was just a verbal agreement between you and the sellers, then you likely will struggle if there is nothing in writing as it's your word against theirs.

The rest as said are your issues, but the windows it's dependent on what you mean by an agreement.

the solicitor/vendor can only be held to account for things which haven’t been done which were part of the condition of sale. So probably only the windows from what you’ve said.

If the survey should have picked it up you can complain to them.

Otherwise it’s your house and your responsibility.

You could try your home insurance for help.

Isn't there a 7 days window to complain about issues, following the property exchange.

If the survey should have picked it up you can complain to them

No, there is no recourse there as it was a home buyers report which is very basic and just looks for things like structural issues, subsidence and damp. No proper survey was done from what rhe op says.

So they have purchased it sight seen, and not looked to find the issues mentioned, which means the issues are theirs to fix. The only recourse is rhe windows, But I'm concerned there was no legal agreement in place as if there was rhe solicitor should have checked the work was completed prior to sale.

Didn't you have a survey done? A homebuyers report only tells you that the house isn't going to fall over and the roof is in one piece.

Yes go back to the solicitor about the windows and ask for money back, but I wouldn't make a fuss about the rest. If I was selling and someone insisting on this that and the other, I'd bodge it up in the cheapest way to shut them up. You asked for evidence that the boiler was safe, which they provided, but now seem to want a service. They are different. The front door lock is a red herring as you should always replace locks when you move. Whilst it's really annoying for you, by doing it yourself or employing your own tradespeople, you can have exactly what you want.

Hopefully it'll bite them later, but for now draw up a list and work through it. By doing things properly yourselves, you'll have a better property.

You only got a home buyer report, which is really designed for the mortgage lender to cover itself - ie, how much it is lending you - which is likely to be a lot less than the market value of the house.

This is why it is always important to get a full survey not just a homebuyers' report, and to ensure that any agreement is legally documented. Your house, your problem now I'm afraid unless there is a legally binding agreement in relation ti the windows. It's also why most buyers end up hating the people they bought from.

We were burnt in a similar way with our second house and had to spend a small fortune fixing what on the face of it was a move in condition house. We were much more cautious with our next purchase and had full survey, electrical checks, drain checks and boiler inspections.

I thought it was a full survey... I was obviously mislead somewhere along the way. Never mind, I'm grateful for everyone's advice though- thanks all!