Flat buyer persistently messaging post completion

[Angelwithhalo]

I sold my flat in February and during the conveyancing exchanged numbers with the buyer at their request to directly negotiate a price reduction for works. On completion I left a folder with detailed instructions of how to use all the integrated appliances, utility meter locations, boiler manual and service history, bin days etc in the kitchen along with a new home card and thought that would be the end of contact between us.

However I have been having a steady stream of texts and queries from the buyer. Some of it is simple things like clarification on how to work the boiler, which water meter belongs to the flat. Others just seems like them complaining but posed as a question for example:
The internet connection doesn’t reach the main bedroom, how did we deal with that inconvenience?
What did we do about windows feel draughty and letting on street noise (windows are original wooden sash and on a busy main road which was apparent before buying)
The lounge smells strongly of damp, did you notice this? (I gave them 5k off agreed price after they had a damp survey)
Complaints about hearing the owner of the flat above moving around (Again it’s a converted period property so I could hear them but just a single adult so occasional footsteps and washing machine, no parties or late nights/early mornings)

There have been lots of other questions and at first I was responsive as I felt bad that the buyer seemed unhappy with the flat and sympathetic to them as a first time buyer but it feels a bit relentless and I’m not sure what the motive is behind messaging me.

Has anyone else experienced this/is this common?
Any advice for dealing with this, I would be tempted to ignore but we are still in the same town so dont want the awkwardness of bumping into them.

We had this when we sold our 2 bed house to FTB. They messaged loads. I just took longer to answer and got more vague and unhelpful and they eventually stopped.

Usually life experiences are expensive.

This was just mentally and emotionally exhausting.

But I'd still tend to fall into your trap. I know with our house, it's properly maintained. I could point out that 1950's housing laid gas piping into concrete flooring, which the concrete coroded the gas pipes. Yeah, house explosions still happen. Nah, we sorted all that. I could point out our fire alarms are wired into the mains and all our windows are fire brigade safety approved.

Every maintenance job we do - we do properly with qualified professionals and certificates.

But look at it from the buyers perspective - all this new stuff - and you gave him your phone number.

You idiot.

You're the easiest and most experienced person to call for advice - and free of charge. I bet you won't give out your phone number again to a house buyer - aka someone who is investing the next 25 years of their life in a mortgage.

I wouldn’t do this. It looks guilty. I’d just give very obvious but brief answers

Guilty about what though? Once you sell a house you have no obligation to tell a buyer anything, it's up to them to do the necessary due diligence on any house they buy. Anything you do tell them is done out of goodwill.

I would have blocked them after two lots of contact but I wouldn't have given them my details anyway. I once had a fella turn up at my house when I was selling my gran's house (I was her power of attorney) and he was the buyer. He was a young lad and his mum had advised him to contact me directly to 'smooth things along'. He'd googled my name and found out where my DH and I lived. Unfortunately, my gran had died the day before so I was a bit all over the place and politely let him in. A few days later he asked if he could 'put some stuff in the outbuildings, just a bed and two chairs'. Still fuming about the fact he'd turned up at my house a few days beforehand I gave him short shrift and withdrew from the sale. He got a right shock and I doubt he ever bothered a seller like that again. Too pushy by half.

tell them it is inappropriate to keep messaging you you are not their landlord. Then block. Or just block straight away. Christ talk about trampling on boundaries!

Would you expect this if you purchased anything from a shop OP?

Why do you need to be polite? They're being extremely rude to keep contacting you. Just block their number and move on.

Oh they sound like a pain in the arse! All houses take a bit of getting used to but they have been there a while now......they need to grow up and figure it out for themselves. You gave them all the detail you needed to so I'd be inclined to block them.

Block

I think I asked 2 or 3 questions, take ages to reply, maybe treat them as rhetorical questions. Just answer one or two important ones and take a while. If they don't get the idea just block them.

My brother and his wife sold their flat to a couple who, within a week, had messaged them to say the toilet seat had broken and wanting it replaced! I thought this was nuts but apparently not uncommon!

Just shows you shouldn't give buyers your contact details - that's why you go through Estate Agents.

‘Hi buyers - you now own the flat. It is not longer my property so please do not message me about it further. Thanks.’ Then block and move on.

Good on you! Awful behaviour.

When selling my house I had a guy present an offer to the estate agent 5k below asking price and told them to tell me "Don't use my offer as some kind of bargaining tool, I'm not messing around, you take this or you leave it, don't use me as a pawn in any negotiating games. This is a fair offer and is my final offer". Someone on the same day offered full asking so I obviously went with them. The 5k under guy apparently rang the estate agent in a panic and said he would offer now 5k over asking as he really wanted the house 😂No thank you.

Block them & if you bump into them say you have a new number.

Surely if they had got a survey these things would have come to light

I'm glad our buyers didn't block us.

They inexplicably turned turned the water half off. After three weeks of piss poor water pressure that contradicted the survey, we contacted them and they told us what they'd done.

It's fair to expect one or two questions if the property has an odd quirk or something random pops up - EG theyve chipped a kitchen end panel so want to know where to go to replace it or whatever.

A constant barage of questions is different!

@StopTheGreyness you reminded me of a buyer I had for the first flat I owned. He put an offer in, we accepted and things started moving along as they should. We then suddenly received a message saying he couldn't get the pre agreed mortgage and would have to pull out! We found out why the next day when I popped home in my lunch break to find a man standing by my front door with a huge mattress, the buyer had gone out and bought furnishings on credit which meant the mortgage company withdrew their offer.

I have to admit I did make a call to the estate agent to tell them what a CF this guy was thinking it would be fine to buy furnishings and think we would just take them in for him and store them in our small 1 bed flat while we waited for him to complete!

Dont be daft. You hand all that over at point of sale

No. Caveat emptor doesn’t apply to house purchase if something has been misrepresented or undisclosed on the TA6 property disclosure form. If a buyer discovers any misrepresentation or undisclosed problems with the property after the purchase, they may be entitled to legal action against the seller. In some cases, the buyer may be entitled to a refund or compensation for any losses incurred as a result of the undisclosed issues.

Surveyors don’t check everything - it depends on the level of survey you have. Our last house sale didn’t involve a physical survey at all - the buyers’ mortgage lender carried out a ‘desk top’ survey and that was that. It’s the TA6 property disclosure form that ‘s important. If something major comes to light that was either not disclosed or misrepresented in some way then the buyer can sue the seller even after completion.

And that’s fine if all of those things have been disclosed prior to sale. If not you may find yourself sued for misrepresentation.

Send them a message saying that sorry, you're afraid that when you buy a house, that's it, the seller has no further obligations, it's not like having a landlord. Then block them.