I’ve just sold my mum’s house after she died earlier on this year.
The purchasers have been a pain in the arse throughout the process but today we have finally completed. Hooray!
Except on entering the property they had difficulty in entering. I’ve never used the front door and I think with a mortise lock you have to lift the handle and turn the key a couple of rotations to open the door.
The front door key had been left with agents and they have organised all viewings. There have been twenty viewings in the last four months and the purchasers themselves have had around four viewings themselves all facilitated by the key holder estate agents.
Today, on completion, they have had to wiggle the front door lock to get in. They have entered the property after a few minutes of wiggling the unfamiliar lock.
They have then exited the property not realising it’s a slam lock door.
They are now locked out with all extra keys left inside a kitchen drawer for them as arranged.
They are now creating merry hell with the estate agents demanding payment for a lock Smith. They are also contacting their solicitor in the morning with a view to us breaching a contract and leaving them with a faulty lock on completion.
I intend to challenge this of course as the door, key and lock has been fully functional for several months and it’s their own fault they didn’t anticipate a slam lock door.
Am I liable here for not explaining how to operate a door? Should I have been more explicit? I’ve never used the front door as I’d walk straight into mum’s at the back.
Buyers had a full structural survey and we gave them details of when mum replaced windows and doors.
Does caveat emptor apply?