HELP! Leak after exchange of contracts

[nikinokinoo]

Hi I need some advice please!

We have literally just exchanged contracts on a ground floor flat that we are selling.

We’ve rented it put to tenants for a few years and they were great and looked after it and they never reported any issues.

Today I’ve visited the flat to pack up the final contents and have found an area of damp which looks as though it’s been caused by a gutter leak or something - around the back window. Outside that area of the external wall is wet and it looks like water has been running down it for awhile.

I feel stressed as I don’t want there to be an issue for our buyers but we complete in a few DAYS and the chances of me a) working out what is going on, b) getting a quote and getting it fixed and then c) being able to sort the redecoration of the affected area are minimal in that time frame!

I’m thinking that I should get a guttering firm over to take a look and let the estate agents know so they can inform the buyers. It’s just such bad timing and I’m paranoid that it looks like I’ve waited until exchange of contracts to share this issue (which I truly haven’t!)

I’m sure it’s an easy to resolve but then I haven’t got access to the upstairs flat to see if the issue is actually from their drains vs the gutters. We had the gutters cleaned recently so I’m not sure. And what if it’s not the drains but something else? Agh!

The buyer hasn’t bothered with getting a survey so nothing at a high level has been checked.

We’ve never lived at the property so I don’t know whether this is a one off, due to recent heavy rain, or an issue the tenants never mentioned (as they wanted their deposit back!)

What do you think the best course of action is?

Since you’ve exchanged, the property is insured by the buyer now. Don’t know if that’s any help/comfort? I’m astonished that they haven’t surveyed though! Looks like they’ll have a surprise but that’s the point of a survey, means you don’t get unpleasant surprises.

Thanks for this.
I wasn’t sure of who had what responsibility after exchange. I feel bad though that the buyers will be walking into an immediate issue.

I guess I should flag now rather than wait for them to find it on completion….

Could be something as simple as the gutter blocked with leaves. Can you get a stepladder so you can have a look?

Oops - just saw your post about having them cleaned!

If it is a flat it is the freeholders responsibility to insure and maintain the structure so your first port of call should be them.

We actually had the gutters cleared just a few weeks ago (we do every Autumn). It might be that they’ve blocked again (it’s too high for me to check myself) but I’d be surprised…

Ha ha and I just saw this post!

It’s a leasehold flat and both myself and the owner of the upstairs flat have buildings insurance but the freeholder has never really been involved or in communication. There’s no service charge just ground rent which they happily take and then sit passively back!

I have had the experience where I’ve had my gutters cleaned and then when I queried one a few weeks later that was blocked was told “oh I couldn’t reach that one” - but I was never told. Unbelievable. But could be something as simple as that!

We had a very similar issue (only just before we were about to exchange!) - turned out the wooden board the fascia was attached to was rotten and the gutter had slipped at that end so all the water draining from the roof was overflowing down the side of the building.

Can you at least get a quote and an idea of what is wrong from a guttering company? Then you could offer a goodwill payment to cover the cost of the guttering work plus redecoration and leave it at that?

Can you see the gutters? Maybe from the upstairs flat?

Thats a good point. I’ll get the gutter guys back to double check! Thanks

Great idea. That would certainly make me feel less like I’m handing over a problem…..

The more you try to sort it out, the more you are accepting responsibility.
I can see you want to be fair, and who knows whether their insurance would cover it.
It could be you have a duty to tell the buyers? Morally at least. But if you do who knows what might happen, even if you have exchanged.
If solicitors got involved you may end up waiting forever.

The buyers chose not to have a proper survey, so why not just let it go through.
If they want some kind of compensation, you could offer (after completion only) a contribution towards fixing the water problem- but that only and no more!