Property Buyer threatening to take us to court

[London76]

Sorry for the long post…
We are selling our property and before putting it up for sale we painted the main areas of the house and bathrooms, but did not do the bedrooms or doors.
The property was advertised as ‘freshly painted’. The buyer is now threatening court action against us as after viewing the property (before she put in an offer) and getting the survey completed she apparently realised at some point that some of the doors and the bedrooms were indeed not all newly painted. She is now threatening to take further legal action for false advertising if we do not pay to get the remaining areas painted. We are legally under contract now so neither party can pull out without reason, but any advice as to whether she has a leg to stand on? I feel the term freshly painted is pretty vague but not sure where we would stand legally and if it is indeed misleading or misrepresentation to say freshly painted but have not painted everything. She is a solicitor and using the firm she works for to send us the legal letters so it feels a bit intimidating.
I’m more annoyed that she is doing this 3 weeks before we complete, after we have already agreed to delay the sale for 12 weeks to accommodate her financially. We are already losing so much money as we’re having to pay 2 mortgages until it’s sold!

Or maybe we do know the law and you're a well meaning MNer who is encouraging the OP to waste her money and energy over some folly.

I’d look up the law firm she works for. If it’s reputable, you should write the managing partner an email making them aware that you are receiving correspondences on behalf of the firm. I’d guess there’s a very solid chance she’s writing them herself on firm letterhead without the knowledge of the firm.

Actually I'd be tempted to respond.

"I will revert once you have an independent expert report on the paint status of the house."

This letter from her firm - is it clear that they have been engaged by her? (I’m in Aust) I would be tempted to reply can I please understand if you have formally engaged legal counsel here or if you are just using your firms letterheads. It would be unethical to use the firms letterheads for personal use.

She saw the house as it was, that's all there is to it. She had the opportunity not to buy the house if, once she had seen it, she was not happy with the painting that had been done. Don't get involved in any further conversation on it, she's clearly trying it on.

Just internal for painting? If in Aus, could be weatherboard.... So external paint too... And windows?

I'd say she is looking for a discount.

A fair few MumsNetters are Brits who live in Australia, have lived in Australia or are, in fact, Australian.

There is at least one who is a solicitor practising in Australia.

Internet chat forums, no matter where you are in the world, are a poor substitute for legal advice specific to your own situation and jurisdiction.

However, they can be helpful and point you in the right direction, informing your decision whether or not to bother hiring legal counsel.

As the house is in Australia, tell your husband to go to the Reject shop and buy some cheap spray paint. Then quickly spray paint the bedrooms. It will be much quicker and easier than using a roller and tins of paint. I would think that spray paint should technically qualify as ‘freshly painted.’

She sounds batshit crazy and in the UK at least, would get absolutely nowhere if she tried to take legal action. The house was freshly painted, just not the whole house. She could have asked which parts were & didn’t so now she has lost her mind or is gearing up to ask for compensation.

Get advice from your EA & solicitor today because this is a UK site & we don’t know the system or law in Australia. She sounds awful though.

It’s very simple.

Respond in writing saying that you reject her claims, and invite her to escalate. Place her on notice that you will seek to recover any/all
legal costs you incur in defending any action she may contemplate.

If you have legal cover under your insurance, contact them.

And yes, your conveyancer should be involved in the first instance.

If she asks for a discount last minute and you say no can you cancel the sale?

Was there much interest in the house?

Surely she saw the house before buying it, regardless of what the advert said most sales are done under an as seen policy surely, she knew what she was buying 🤷‍♀️

I am betting she wants a reduction or for you to give her money so she can repaint everything she wants. She expects you to "pay her" the cost it would be to professionally paint bedrooms, doors, etc. and then she'll pocket the money and do nothing.

Can your solicitor write them back saying, owners are willing to paint bedrooms in their choice of color.

Sorry that you are having to deal with this at this stage. You are losing money daily, and she is acting like a pampered princess.

What is the definition of “freshly” ? It is already a vague term, last month, within 6 months, a year, 2….

Ignore and send everything to your estate agent and/or solicitor. Ask her to not contact you directly and to always go via these. Then if she persists ask yor solicitors to send the equivalent to a cease and desist letter for harassment.

She’s full of shit and as you think just trying to get as much done for free. I’d have a response going back saying no further painting will occur. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Caveat emptor does not apply in the case of misrepresentation. It it arguable that the seller has misrepresented in this case by saying freshly repainted, when it hasn’t all been.

That said the lack of painting is very trivial and open to interpretation. It would cost a fortune for the buyer to raise such legal action with little chance of success. They’d be mad to take such legal action. It’s just an empty threat to try and get what they want.

There is a possibility that a practicing Australian solicitor might see it, be a specialist in that area of law, and respond. And that OP will have read enough of their posts to be able to reasonably have good confidence in what they say. But it’s a pretty bloody slim possibility.

But AIBU is a shit place to post legal questions even if they’re British based. (We have a decent legal forum on MN, with a couple of really helpful qualified lawyers and if the OP’s question were for a British jurisdiction, that would have a good likelihood of getting a decent response, though she’d still need to spend a f bit of time working out who were the good posters and who was claiming to know what they were talking about but didn’t).

I agree with this. Freshly painted to me implies that it's all freshly painted, unless there's a qualifier. I do think she's being unreasonable, but just paint it yourself with a neutral colour. It'll not help anybody if you wind her up by doing random colours, as suggested here.

This would be possibly a valid complaint had the buyer not seen the property. But she viewed the property.
Freshly painted is ambiguous anyway. What does it include? Every wall? Every piece of woodwork? The inside of cupboards and storage areas? The undersides of cabinets?

There probably are a couple of MN posters who know what they’re talking about. The issue is, even if they did respond, how could OP know which ones they were?

It's not in the UK so I'm not sure about the legality of it all, but in the UK I would advise against going to paint once contracts have been exchanged. Property is as seen, the advert isn't contractual. Find the regulatory body for lawyers in Australia and threaten to complain about her conduct.

Can you send a legal letter back highlighting all the issues she is raising/ delays of her making. This is costing you additional money etc. Presumably she viewed the house and was happy with the paintwork - why has it now been raised as an issue?
Could you counter argue for financial disclosure to ensure she actually can afford to proceed with the sale?
My parents had nightmare sellers when they sold their house. Solicitor contact was the only way they could deal with them.
Sounds like she is trying to get out of the sale but at your expense!

She's taking the p.

I'd be tempted to enquire at her work if they know she's using her position and their name like this.

I think you could safely just ignore it for an the rains various pp have given.

She's just a bully and should've looked before she leapt if she's that bothered. But actually she's just greedy and trying to get you to pick up some costs.

One coat of dark pink paint everywhere! Don't waste time putting on an extra coat or touching up. Take photos before and after to prove you've painted!

Although I think she is bat shit crazy (she doesn't have a leg to stand on unless your ad said "all rooms freshly painted", because the house IS freshly painted in most areas so you were not falsely advertising), to avoid loss of time and more money with solicitors, potential costs related to her (wrongly) suing you, and even the Contract falling through, I would probably just put a coat of paint on the missing rooms.
My wise grandmother used to say the easiest solution is always the cheapest!