Post Sale Issues - any thoughts?

[MargoLivebetter]

Recently moved. My buyers have put together a list of things that they think need fixing and want me to contribute to them. They got their solicitor to send it to mine. They didn't have a survey done, other than for valuation purposes, and only came to see the property once. They asked no questions about the state of anything, even though I offered to answer any questions they might have.

The property was in really lovely condition IMO obviously. I left it spotlessly clean and there wasn't a scrap of anything that shouldn't have been there left. There's no damp or anything concerning and all the appliances work properly. I also left all the instruction manuals, guarantees and useful information.

Their list has things like replacing a chipped cupboard door, replacing a misted double glazed window, replacing fridge and freezer drawers because the plastic has cracked in some places, replacing cracked tiles on the bathroom floor, replacing some of the paving stones that have become discoloured outside etc. None of these things were hidden or concealed when they viewed my place.

I've moved quite a few times now and I've never had this before. Is this normal nowadays? Do I just politely decline to contribute or is this a thing now?

I'm surprised their list of complaints doesn't say
"vendor left bottle of white wine and we only drink red. Please replace"

@MargoLivebetter no - that’s on them.

If the solicitor won't say "we see this often, it's nonsense" without charging for the privilege, they are shit.
If they are not prepared to do that, they should simply refuse to pass the message on to someone who is no longer their client. Why have they involved themselves at all if they don't believe this is part of the service that has been paid for?

I am surprised the buyer's solicitor even sent the letter. I would have expected them to tell their client it was too late to raise the issues now.

Things like that are what a second viewing is for. You then use anything like that as part of price negotiations.
I would write a letter to their solicitor, and tell them it was the buyer's responsibility to satisfy themselves with the condition of the property before making an offer and exchanging contracts. You will therefore not make a contribution, and that is your final response on the issue.
Send a copy to your solicitor so they know what you have said.

I’d not respond at all.
if the press tell um “snooze ya lose”!!!

seriously, “sold subject to contract” … before contract is the point at which to raise issues!

didn’t charge them extra for the freezer?

if they push, I’d just tell them you’d collect it if they don’t want it and you’ll pop it in Facebook market place!

😂

Ignore it it's a case of 'buyer beware '
My daughter and her partner had loads of issues when they moved last year and their solicitor said exactly that. The sellers did go and collect the pile of crap they left in the shed and the loft .Oh and the broken tumble dryer they left and expected them to get rid of. Not to mention the packed full bins. But all those broke the conditions of the contract so they had no choice. The leak and broken shower and radiator were just bad luck.

Ahhh, the great entitled. Ignore and move on, nothing is to be gained from engaging in this nonsense!

I’d tell them to take up any issues missed by their surveyor directly with the surveyor, to make the point that it was their responsibility to get a survey.

Hahaha what CFs, I would literally laugh in their faces!!! 😂 They had every opportunity to spot these things before committing. When I moved into my current house 20 years ago the day I moved in I opened the over door and it fell off!! Clearly it was broken before I moved in but I accepted it as something I hadn’t spotted and bought a new one!

You should have seen what the Vendors managed to destroy between our "measuring" viewing and when we moved in. My MIL was convinced they hadn't cleaned in months either.

It's sold as seen and buyers have insurance from Exchange to cover any damage the Vendors might do before Completion.

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors/

In particular

1. You only make assertions or put forward statements, representations or submissions to the court or others which are properly arguable.

Your buyers solicitors may well have a case to answer

As others have said, legally they don’t have a leg to stand on. I had similar when I sold my last-but-one house … my buyer didn’t get a survey and viewed the house once, then on completion sent a list of things via her solicitor that she wanted me to pay for, or pay to have inspected. This included a misted Velux window, a broken section of kitchen worktop, the electrics as she wanted them inspected for safety, and bizarrely the fact that there wasn’t a radiator in the bathroom - all things that weren’t hidden when she viewed and would have been picked up by a survey. She also wanted me to provide curtains for the lounge (when I had filled in the fixtures and fittings form saying clearly that I wasn’t leaving these) and replace a wardrobe I had taken - which wasn’t built in, she just thought it was, and again it didn’t appear on the fixtures and fittings form. My solicitor did pass on the list but made it clear that the buyer should have had a survey and therefore couldn’t hold me responsible for any of these issues. We ignored and she never contacted me again. Hope it’s the same for you.

Nopity nope.