What can you do if you buy a house and find sellers have left it in a state?

[lecce]

We have had offer accepted on a great house. Details said price reflected fact that cosmetic work is needed and we felt that was more than fair. It is being sold by a building company as the couple have part-exchanged and I understand that such companies usually sell houses at a low price as they make their money from the new-build. It's not a project but there are several bit and pieces throughout that will need attention.

A couple of these the vendor said they would be sorting out anyway before they go. In particular, the bath is broken and won't be sorted but the en-suite shower is also broken and they said they would sort that. But what proof do we have?

I'm also worried about other things that may not be obvious that may turn up when we move in. We are having a survey done this week but I know from experience that it won't pick up on everything. If a property is left in a state what, if anything, can you do?

As part of the exchange of contracts, ask your solicitor to draw up a list, agreed with the sellers, which states what will/will not be done to the property.

Also, get a full structural surey, rather than just a buyers survey.
It is more expensive, but it will pick up ALL structural issues (and in the unlikely evenet that they did miss something their professional insurance would cover all work that needed doing that wasn't picked up).

Full structural survey. Not only will it pick up more things, but you also have comeback via the surveyor if they miss something major. On every house purchase we have made, we have renegotiated the purchase price based on the full survey due to items they have found (admittedly, we have a weakness for older properties in need of some tlc) and the survey has therefore paid for itself several times over.

Also agree with Captain that a list of what will / will not be done (probably best after the survey as you can include items that it finds) is a good idea as part of the overall work that the solicitor does. Also, when we bought most recently there was a very exhaustive chcklist e.g. lightbulbs and fittings to be left / not left etc etc that seemed to be a standard part of the buying process.