Amount payable for fixtures and fittings?? Wtf?

[Bumpandus]

Can anyone help i am so confused.

So we are at signing contracts stage and on the report it says purchase price £90000 and amount payable for f&f £9000

What does this mean?

The attached fixtures and fittings form says everything is included. I’m paying 18000 deposit and 72000 mortgage. Surely I’m not expected to pay another 9000 for an empty house ?

Or is it just worded wrong?

On the contract it also says on special conditions: ‘the sale includes those contents which are indicated on attached list as included in the sale and the buyer is to pay contents price for them’.

Am I losing my mind?? Please help!

What's on the list? Did you agree to buy contents and are they worth £9000?

Contact the solicitor before signing. There should have been a form which set out what was included in the sale and what wasn't, and if there was anything to "negotiate" about. If you've agreed £90,000 thats all you should be paying.

They’re trying to pull a fast one. The contents and fixtures list lists everything they’re leaving behind. Not selling to you in addition to the sale price.

Speak to your solicitor.

Perhaps worded poorly.

I imagine it would be their offer to you if you wanted them to leave it fully furnished (all furniture, white goods, curtains etc) and not just the assumed basics, such as door handles, light bulbs and so on. In which case, they'll leave as is for a total sum of £9000?

If so, this is optional, you're not obliged to accept.

We have sold houses in the past part furnished as buyers took a liking to furniture and this was added on the form in a similar way to what you've mentioned

Is the £9K not the %10 deposit you need to pay now? I signed contracts last week and had to send %10 of house price to the solicitor

Talk to your solicitor - you absolutely do not have to pay this £9k, and the fixtures and fittings form should make it clear what is included in the sale price (and there are legal minimum expectations for this) and what they are offering to sell you for the £9k. To be honest your solicitor should have clocked this already!

I think the only people who can answer this is your solicitor and your vendor’s solicitor. If the original TA10 (F&F contents form) states everything was included and didn’t stipulate an additional cost then it seems an error has been made somewhere.

So yous can understand my confusion. I would not accept as it is a completely empty house. The fixture and fittings form just says the lightbulbs and kitchen cabinets etc are included no price. It’s just the report from the solicitors and in the contract about amount payable but hopefully it’s just bad wording.. this is what my solicitor said:

“With regards to any items purchased from the sellers this will be written into the contract only if you agree to purchse them and the seller agrees to sell them and for the set price. This will be included in the completion statement.”

So it seems the solicitor isn’t aware of any extra costs??

Very irritating when solicitors don't use plain English! I'd say you want a new version which makes no reference to this £9k.

All very odd, I wouldn't sign anything that has mention of the £9K on it, insist that it is removed.

The ‘9k’ is on the report from the solicitor . The contract just has that clause on the bottom but doesn’t state an amount. Do you really think they think they can con me with another 9k on an empty property???

Who are you buying from? Is this a new build from a developer? If so, many are sold with only basic fixtures and fittings, flooring excluded etc and if you want the developer to lay floors or include integrated kitchen appliances then you pay an amount on top - but you wouldn’t get to exchange without knowing this.

If you’re buying from a private seller then no, they can’t ask for an additional £9,000 if this wasn’t indicated in the TA10 or acknowledged when you offered and the contract was prepared.

Call your solicitor! They can communicate with the vendor’s solicitors.

Yeah it’s like an ex council house. I think I’m worrying for nothing I haven’t agreed and they can take their curtain poles lol I’m not paying 9k haha!

If the purchase price is £90k then you will need £9k at exchange. Is that what the solicitor is referring to..9k payable as zero for f&f.

From memory the f&f list has a box for the price so if all blank then no cost.

You will hand over 9k and lodge the rest of the money with the solicitor so its ready for completion.

It sounds like the £9,000 has been inserted on the wrong line. It's probably the deposit. The "contents price" is on the line underneath "deposit". But best just to call them and ask.

I have already spoke to solicitors as explained above they as confused as me lol!

This is what the report says:

“Contract details

Interest Rate on delayed completion: Law Society Rate

Purchase Price: £90,000.00

Amount payable for fixtures and fittings: £9,000.00

To enable exchange of contracts we will require the result of the searches we have carried out on your behalf, the signed documents mentioned in “general” later in this report and the deposit (being 10% of the purchase price) “

It depends on the exact wording but I'd suspect that they are saying that £9k of the £90,000 is for f&f. Ie you're paying £81k for the house plus £9k for f&f - when I worked in law (long time ago so don't hold me to this!) it was worded like this to reduce the stamp duty payable on the purchase price. You really need to go back to the solicitor and tell them to explain how much you're paying in total and what is to be left behind in the property - it's there job to help you understand and that's what you're paying for so don't get off the phone until you're clear.

@dramalamma I thought stamp duty had changed at the minute so we won’t be paying anyway

That’s way below stamp duty price level and has been for years! I think it’s a mistake but get it rectified. £9000 deposit - £81,000 to pay on completion. No more. Get an accurate statement from your solicitor and don’t agree to anything over £90,000.

I'd read that very clearly as 9k for the things that the seller has deemed fixtures and fittings. You should request a detailed breakdown of what is included in that (you actually should have already been given this) and then when your sure you don't want any of thoes things respond to your solicitor and the agent confirming that you are not interested in any of the items and so the 9k should not be included in any further paperwork.

I've just sold a house there were about 5 items up for sale as fixtures and fittings. The buyer was sent a detailed breakdown and then a 'total' just like you had. They wrote back stating that they didn't need any of it and then also asked our solicitor to confirm that certain other things were included in the sale (e.g. the oven and carpets) It always was but I think they just got in a bit of a panic.

@Hotwaterbottlelove can I ask if it was worded as it has been worded to me! Or whether you think they have wrote it meaning the deposit.

The solicitor seems to think f&f are included just weird wording...

I also read it the same as @Hotwaterbottlelove . Did you get anywhere with the solicitor yesterday? You should have been asked about this previously if it is additional.

How much are you buying the house for? What offer was accepted? That is the fundamental question. If you offered £90,000 which seems likely from your op given the deposit and mortgage proportions then you need to get your solicitor to remove the extra £9,000 for fixtures and fittings from the contract and the Sellers solicitor has to do the same. It may be an error or it may be that the seller has given incorrect information to their solicitor.

Tell them to reword it. You’re paying for the service, it can be worded any way you both choose. Tell your solicitor to re word it and make it clearer total price inc fit and fittings is 90.

I wouldn’t be paying that. It’s bullshit. They need to remove that clause.