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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to ask House Buyers to pay?

98 replies

HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 18:31

Currently selling house. Put up for sale for £295000 just before lockdown. When housing market opened again, we accepted an offer of £278500 from a couple in rented accommodation with a 25% deposit and a mortgage in principal already agreed. While waiting for survey, the flat roof died so we have had to spend £3000 replacing it. Due to flat roof leak, wallpaper at rear of lounge and a small section in the kitchen is ruined. There is a section of the wall which is damp and will take time to dry out. We have had to remove the wallpaper in the section affected.
As we have added value to property by replacing 11 year old flat roof (cost £3000) and also discounted asking price by £16500, is it reasonable to ask our buyers to sort out redecoration after they acquire the house?

OP posts:
Whenwillthisbeover · 20/07/2020 19:15

@isabellerossignol

Surely they'd be redecorating when they move in anyway? If you explain that the reason for the missing wallpaper is that you had an actual repair done, I think they'd be pretty unreasonable to object. They're not buying your decor, they're buying the actual house. (within reason obviously - I don't think it would be fair to strip every piece of wallpaper off a house before moving out, but if it's a small patch or one wall I don't think it's a big deal).
This.

Who buys a house and keeps the same decoration as the previous owner (that could have had it thirty years”.

Original poster
HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 19:18

@Roselilly36

How far down the line are you? If the structural part i.e new flat roof have been installed to a good standard. The decorating part wouldn’t be too expensive, you need to also think about if the sale should fall through, to re-market it could benefit a sale if the decoration is in good order.
Surveys and searches are done. Meeting buyer at property this weekend as they are bringing a builder to look. I don't know what building work they are looking to do as yet. Not actually met buyers as estate agent did viewing.
OP posts:
Original poster
HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 19:22

In answer to PP, the current decor is lining paper painted with magnolia paint. Pretty non descript really.

OP posts:
Pr1mr0se · 20/07/2020 19:27

If they got a full survey then it's likely they know the flat roof needed replacing so maybe factored that into their offer. However houses are sold 'as viewed' so do at least mention the docoration otherwise you could end up in a legal battle after completion.

WeAllHaveWings · 20/07/2020 19:28

Insurance won't pay for the new roof but will pay to right the damage from the water ingress.

Original poster
HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 19:37

@Pr1mr0se

If they got a full survey then it's likely they know the flat roof needed replacing so maybe factored that into their offer. However houses are sold 'as viewed' so do at least mention the docoration otherwise you could end up in a legal battle after completion.
The surveyor did the "Survey" without seeing property, so nothing came up as the condition of the roof was never inspected. We told the buyers about the leak and arranged to replace roof.
OP posts:
Ohtherewearethen · 20/07/2020 19:38

They could use this to get more money knocked off anyway. They could be planning go gut everything and completely redecorate but they wouldn't tell you that if they think they can get some money knocked off.

TrickyD · 20/07/2020 19:38

Even if you can’t claim for replacing the flat roof on your insurance, you should be able to claim for associated damage, redecoration etc.

Original poster
HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 19:39

@WeAllHaveWings
Thanks for this post. I will contact the insurance company.

OP posts:
SucculentCandle · 20/07/2020 19:40

Shouldn't the surveyor hold some responsibility here? I am agog that they can say they've done a survey and charge for it when they've done no such thing.

cornflakecritter · 20/07/2020 19:41

Sorry, I think this is a clear case of you being unreasonable. This happened to your house when it was your house. It absolutely isn't a cost for the buyers to absorb. Honestly, if this happened to me I would withdraw the offer too.

SucculentCandle · 20/07/2020 19:41

It's not going to help OP but I think they should be taken to task by the buyer for their failure to do their job.

SeasonFinale · 20/07/2020 19:41

I agree. You pay for the roof as maintenance issue.

However your insurer shoukd pay for redecorating as subsequent damage. If buyer is nearly ready to exchange maybe ask them to agree the wallpaper as they will have to.live with it and they may have a preference but make sure you are happy too in case sale falls through

Kazzyhoward · 20/07/2020 19:44

Surely your insurance will cover the cost of decoration?

Insurance doesn't cover normal wear & tear, maintenance etc. Unless something drastic happened, like a tree falling on the extension, it's not covered by insurance.

ShebaShimmyShake · 20/07/2020 19:46

No, it's your house until exchange. The fact you accepted an offer under your asking price is really neither here or there; it's not a favour to the buyers that makes them somehow indebted to you.

Is wallpaper alone such a big deal, though?

Kazzyhoward · 20/07/2020 19:47

Shouldn't the surveyor hold some responsibility here? I am agog that they can say they've done a survey and charge for it when they've done no such thing.

There are different levels of survey. It depends on which type of survey the buyer bought. The cheapest is the "drive by" survey which is mostly desktop based. Next level is a basic survey where the surveyor looks around the house but doesn't do anything invasive or details - it's basically a superficial look around, watching for obvious problems, checking damp in walls, poking head through loft hatch to do a visible inspection of rafters etc. The best, and most expensive is the full structural survey. You can't complain about a survey not covering things you didn't pay them to check for!

Kazzyhoward · 20/07/2020 19:49

However your insurer shoukd pay for redecorating as subsequent damage.

Depends on what level of cover your home and/or contents policy provides you with, i.e. what level of cover you bought.

WhatKatyDidNxt · 20/07/2020 19:49

YABU the house is still yours and it’s your problem. I’m selling my property at the moment, if the viewers tomorrow put in an offer, l accept and then in a months time my bathroom ceiling gives up the ghost. With water pouring in and us seeing the sky. I can’t leave it or get them to pay for, l would have to sort it as they didn’t buy it like that

I think you’re confusing things by talking about a surveyor, it sounds to me like they have had a valuation survey for the mortgage. Which crudely says the house is roughly worth what they are paying. I don’t think they have had a home buyers report which is something quite different as lm sure they would have picked up on the flat roof issue (and a lot more).

Original poster
HouseSaleIssue · 20/07/2020 19:53

@WhatKatyDidNxt

YABU the house is still yours and it’s your problem. I’m selling my property at the moment, if the viewers tomorrow put in an offer, l accept and then in a months time my bathroom ceiling gives up the ghost. With water pouring in and us seeing the sky. I can’t leave it or get them to pay for, l would have to sort it as they didn’t buy it like that

I think you’re confusing things by talking about a surveyor, it sounds to me like they have had a valuation survey for the mortgage. Which crudely says the house is roughly worth what they are paying. I don’t think they have had a home buyers report which is something quite different as lm sure they would have picked up on the flat roof issue (and a lot more).

I have been told that the desktop survey is all that's going to be done. The buyers aren't having a homebuyer's report done.
OP posts:
Standrewsschool · 20/07/2020 19:57

You can’t ask the buyers. If someone asked me to pay for work done on a house that wasn’t mine, I’d probably walk, thinking other stunt will they pull further down the line.

PuzzledObserver · 20/07/2020 19:57

We sold our house to the long-term tenant, having paid over 2 grand to replace the boiler just a couple of months beforehand. We then went and bought a new house, paid over £11K in stamp duty, which we can’t reclaim under the chancellor’s stamp duty holiday.

It’s tough, but that’s life.

I would speak to your buyers. If they tell you they were planning to redecorate anyway, there’s no issue. If they weren’t, you can just slap on some magnolia emulsion, I would think.

Re the surveyor - it was probably a mortgage valuation rather than an actual survey.

OlaEliza · 20/07/2020 19:57

@HouseSaleIssue

In answer to PP, the current decor is lining paper painted with magnolia paint. Pretty non descript really.
In this case, you should make good.
onlywomennotmen · 20/07/2020 19:58

It is only going to cost a couple of hundred pounds to fix so just do it and write it off. If your sale falls through (which is could) then your house will look better for the re-marketing.

Meinmytree · 20/07/2020 20:01

I bought my first house last year. I have redecorated throughout, so had this been the case for me, whilst I would have expected the work to have been carried out, at no cost to me, I would have been fine with it not being redecorated, as long as I was aware.

I'd had to have damp proofing done as part of the mortgage agreement, so moved in with bare plaster on the ground floor walls up to waist height, still damp in places, lots of dust as I said I was fine with the carpet not going back down since I was planning on changing it anyway - it did make me go "aargh" when I got the key and walked through the door, but since I'd already planned on repainting anyway, starting straight away, it wasn't too much of an issue.

WhatKatyDidNxt · 20/07/2020 20:02

The desktop survey thing is crude and general. As l said you are lucky, a proper survey often throws up issues that sometimes even the owners aren’t aware of. Either way you need to sort issues that have manifested since they agreed a sale with you