Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think my house buyer is wrong?? Help!

81 replies

Namechange11122223333 · 02/09/2019 08:54

Name change for this as completely outing.

We moved house 7 months ago. Between accepting our buyers offer and actually completing the sale, our boiler packed in. We obviously had it fixed, all seemed well. Now 7 months down the line, the buyer has contacted me to say the boiler has broken again, this time it needs replaced and I will be hearing from her lawyer! According to her I didn't have it repaired properly.

She obviously thinks that there is liability on my part to pay for if she is going to involve her lawyer. Is she right? We have savings but obviously did not count on paying £2/3k for a boiler for a house we don't even own anymore!

We're in England if that helps.

OP posts:
HappydaysArehere · 02/09/2019 09:19

It’s a try on. Take no notice. Let her employ lawyers. You know they wouldn’t. The cost would be ridiculously out of proportion to the problem and they would get no where.

NorbertHerbertGruntfuttock · 02/09/2019 09:20

Who's to say the problem now is the same problem you have professionally mended? She lives in a fantasy world if she thinks this is your problem. Ignore the loon.

Laiste · 02/09/2019 09:27

Oh gosh OP i'd have laughed my head off at this one! Did she email?

Just reply telling her to crack on with her 'lawyer' and that she's brightened up your morning, 'cos you've had a good laugh.

Think of it like a car. Could you imagine getting in contact with the person who sold you a car 7 months ago to say it had a doggy wheel or something? .... No. Exactly.

InterestingView · 02/09/2019 09:28

OP how has the buyer been able to contact you directly?? Just block and ignore.

GreenTulips · 02/09/2019 09:29

When we moved out there was a few hours before the new people moved in.
We left the fire and oven etc in situ.
We have a call from the estate agents saying when they arrived there was a gas leak, and had to call out the emergency services and pay for a repair. Bit because we didn’t remove any appliances we were liable.

These things happen.

dollydaydream114 · 02/09/2019 09:30

Haha, she's being absurd. Of course you don't have to pay for something that broke down after she bought the house. You had it repaired, it carried on working for seven months, and now it's broken down again. Her house, her problem.

dinosaurcookie · 02/09/2019 09:31

Exactly the same happened to us... We submitted the paperwork from the plumber to prove we had fixed it and funnily enough their solicitor never contacted us...

Curious2468 · 02/09/2019 09:33

Its wear and tear and would be hard for her to prove even a week after exchange tbh. Boilers need replacing over time. She hasn’t got a leg to stand on, especially with it having worked for so long. If she wants to throw money at her lawyer let her but I honest can’t see you ever being expected to pay

Ilikethisone · 02/09/2019 09:34

OP ignore her.

I got money back as the boiler was leaking the day we moved in. As part of the negotiation the boiler was to be serviced. I basically called the man that serviced it and had given it the all clear. You could see the leak had been there a while l.

It turned outbhevhadnr even looked at the boiler. Just filled in some paperwork as a favour to a friend (the vendor). There were other problems as well, so it was worth me pursuing.

Not a chance would I have got anywhere 7 months later. Ot was purely down to the fact that their paperwork said the boiler had no problems when it did.

Your paper work said there was a problem and you had it fixed. She chose to proceed on that basis.

Spingtrolls · 02/09/2019 09:36

Ignore her. Don't respond.
Mine is new and the thing still breaks down every 6 or so months.

MelonSlice · 02/09/2019 09:38

Did you get any warranty with the repair, and can that be passed on to the new owner?

Rose87777 · 02/09/2019 09:39

Some people are insane Confused
If she wanted the repair work checked that’s what specialist surveyors are for before you commit to buying. Rest easy OP.

Lookingsparkly · 02/09/2019 09:39

Ignore!

Mosaic123 · 02/09/2019 09:43

We paid for a engineer to look at the boiler before we bought our new place (because the vendors told us it had never been serviced in the 8 years since they'd put it in).

It was fine and we had it serviced properly as soon as we'd moved in.

Do they think everything comes with a guarantee? Just ignore them. Don't waste any brain cells worrying about this one.

Beautiful3 · 02/09/2019 09:43

No I doubt it. Things break all of the time. It worked for 7 months!

Saddler · 02/09/2019 09:44

A nut case trying it on.

Saddler · 02/09/2019 09:45

Probably pushed herself to the limit of affordability and can't afford a new boiler

Likethebattle · 02/09/2019 09:49

Ha ha ha she’s really funny! In Scotland there is a period where you can pursue for repairs if something is obviously not working and it wasn’t stated. However my mums buyers tried to claim for a new boiler. Her lawyer called and my mum said it was serviced under a home care policy. Her lawyer said in that case she wasn’t liable as she has taken all possible steps to care for the system. So 7 months down the line AND you repaired it when needed means she can toddle off.

Likethebattle · 02/09/2019 09:50

She also should not be contacting you!

Beesandcheese · 02/09/2019 09:50

Again. She's crackers. Her problem. I once moved into a house which, when viewed, had a newly fitted boiler. The day we moved in we found the boiler stolen! Fortunately our landlords headache but we were glad of the clear evidence of a break in to take it (properly sealed off pipes too).

IAskTooManyQuestions · 02/09/2019 09:51

The different opinions are interesting. A colleague sold her house (2 years ago) and had to take out an indemnity to promise to bear the cost of replacing the boiler if it broke down within X months/years (I cant remember) . I dont know how old the boiler was.

regmover · 02/09/2019 09:54

Op didn't have to take out an indemnity though, so that's not relevant. The contract of sale has completed. Ignore her Op.

GlamGiraffe · 02/09/2019 09:59

Our building surveyor suggested we have full separate gas and electrical checks. That option would have been available to them too.
Their problem not yours. You take on a house with all things considered, they are presumably foolish if they expect everything to last for ever.

OrchidInTheSun · 02/09/2019 10:00

Ignore. My boiler broke 6 weeks after moving in. Wouldn't have occurred to me to contact the people who sold me the house!

MRex · 02/09/2019 10:02

You left a working boiler. Even if it broke the day after exchange - it's not your house, so it's not your problem. Enjoy your new home; tell her once only that you will only read a letter sent from her solicitor to yours and then just block her.