Buying a house - disagreement about what's included

[Abubu]

Hi,

We are in the process of buying a house. We have just been told that the cooker is not included in the sale and that if we want it we need to pay extra.

The marketing blarb issued by the agents mentioned "space for white goods" but specifically mentioned the cooker in the kitchen description so we assumed it was included.

Is it fair that we are now being asked to pay for it. If the agents had said "space for cooker" like they did with the white goods we would think it was fair enough - but they didn't.

The sellers are saying it was very expensive (range cooker) so they are not willing to just let it go but I feel a bit like the agents have mismarketing this.

What do you think?

Thanks.

I think it is normal for a free-standing expensive range cooker to be negotiated separately. Obv something like a built-in hob and oven you would expect to be left behind. Can you cut and paste exactly what the agents said? Have you had the checklist of fixtures and fittings through yet?

abubu unless it's being left then it should say 'space for ...'
so yes you have been misled by the agent but i don't understand why the seller didn't notice this error when they presumably proof read their details before going to print
after all this is another and an immediate expense that you'll have to incur
what does your solicitor advise?

My EA said that if our cooker was in the particulars we'd have to leave it. I guess there is nothing contractual about it but it is strongly inferred.

I'd ask how much they want for it. If they want say £500 say they can keep their cooker but you are reducing the house purchase price by £500. They won't want the bother of having a CORGI man around to disconnect it.

I don't think the particulars are legal and binding are they? When you offered on it did you specify anything to stay? Most people assume carpets are being left but some people do take them so when you offer you usually say X for the house to include this, this and this.

That is why there is a fixtures and fittings list.

Personally if you love it then it sounds like you may have to fork for it. If you know the make and model you could price it up on-line to see what it would cost.

Have they found somewhere to move to? If they haven't they are risking having a range cooker sat in their garage/shed. Plus as NoseyNooNoo says they would have to pay for someone to come and disconnect it and then reconnect it at the other end.

The agents shouldn't have specifically mentioned it if it wasn't being left, but tbh there's not a lot you can do other than try to negotiate. The particulars aren't legally binding, agents are bound not to provide misleading or wrong info (eg they can't say it has double glazing when it doesn't) but the particulars aren't a contract. You'll probably find a disclaimer such as this on them -

"These particulars are intended to give a fair description of the property but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed, and they do not constitute an offer of contract. Intending purchasers must rely on their own inspection of the property. None of the above appliances/services have been tested by ourselves. We recommend purchasers arrange for a qualified person to check all appliances/services before legal commitment."

It all depends on whether it is included in the fixtures and fittings list that comes as part of the contract of sale. I would also ensure that if it is important that that specific cooker is left that it is named in the list. Otherwise if the list says there will be a cooker all they technically have to leave is any random cooker and not necessarily the one that is currently there.

God, I really do not understand why sellers get their knickers in a twist about this sort of thing. I bet you are paying six figures for this house and the worth of the oven will be a tiny % of that. Can you imagine the hassle involved in actually removing, reconfiguring their new kitchen and reinstalling the bloody thing?

Not that that helps you but I wish people would get a bit more perspective.

We took our wood-burning stove with us when we moved, because it was expensive (around £1200?), and we needed a wood stove for the house we were moving to - we told the EA up front that we planned to do this, but he didn't include the info in the particulars. We told the buyers this at the second viewing, and they were rather miffed that it wasn't on the particulars - but they and we agreed that we could have bought a perfectly good stove for £400, so we ended up knocking £400 off the cost of the house. The cost of moving and reconnecting it was tiny in comparison to the cost of buying a new one, so it was certainly well worth us taking it.

If the particulars include "range cooker" then you are quite within your rights to assume it is included in the sale and the EA and the sellers will have to come up with something to compensate you if they insist on taking it with them. The sellers would have had to sign a copy of the particulars for the EA's file. The particulars are not a contract but the disclaimer about whether or not an appliance is working doesn't cover the inclusion or exclusion of an appliance from the sale. The Property Misdescriptions Act is actually fairly watertight.

You don't want to risk losing the house if it's what you really want, but how about asking their agent to reduce the fees by the amount of their cock-up to "buy" the range for you? Worth a punt? Are they your agents as well?