02-05-2019, 10:37 PM
1
Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
Those of you following my posts in Chit Chat or elsewhere may have read that my sister recently moved into the house she has just bought (on Good Friday). Tenants were in situ when she viewed and at the time she thought all was fine, said nothing needed doing.She did notice some window panes needed replacing, and they were flagged up in her homebuyer survey.
The tenants moved out sometime in January or thereabouts, when they were supposed to.
Once moved in, she found problems that has meant she has had to spend money.
Dustbins not emptied.
Filthy carpets
Bathroom and kitchen dirty, stuff still left in drawers or cupboards
Chandelier removed from the kitchen leaving her with no working light
I found a licensed waste remover in her area who can deal with her bins, for a reasonable sum.
On the day after she moved in, she had a professional cleaner go round, who also dealt with a blocked and overflowing toilet.
She has had to pay for replacement of 15 panes of glass throughout the property.
She bought a lamp in Argos today to have light in the kitchen.
And I forgot to ask if the piles and piles of a local magazine were cleared from her shed!
Oh, and the tenants next door (same seller) have broken the brick wall dividing the drive where sis parks her car.
She has reported some things to the estate agent, but needs to tell him of the rest.
Now. Should the seller have visited the property after the tenants moved out to make sure it was fit for sale?
And did I tell you they left debts on the services, so when sis put money on the key/card, it was instantly gobbled up? She now has the accounts in her name.
The council refused to help with the bins, said SHE had to sort it out, to allow bin men to empty them. Hence me looking for a professional.
I think she would be reluctant to get the solicitor involved after paying his bill.
03-05-2019, 07:32 AM
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Re: Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
Really not much she can do now through a solicitor without it costing her money, but it is very cheap and easy to make a claim for her expenses through the small claims court. I sometimes had to resort to this when I had bad debts incurred through my business and these were very often successful.Try this link... https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money
03-05-2019, 08:14 AM
7
Re: Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
Bratti, when she viewed the property back in November the tenants did say at the time that they'd been served a Section 21 notice to leave, as they knew the house was being sold. The house has been empty since the beginning of this year. Bearing in mind it's in Lowestoft, a good three hour drive away, sis has only been able to gain access once since then, as she was still working. She did notice then how grubby it was but hadn't been able to check any electrics, the boiler etc.Not long ago the solicitor then suggested she had a home survey, which was done, and which flagged up the window panes (blown DG), and a sticking back door. Why this was suggested so late we don't know, but on the basis of that she went ahead with signing the contracts.
When she phoned one of the service providers they said 'oh, we weren't aware the tenants had moved out!' This debt (for which she seems to have paid towards) she has passed on to the estate agent to get reimbursement from the owner. Nobody was aware of any money owing till her son put money on the card/key and it was instantly gobbled up. She had to pay again.
The owner had sis's house built onto the side of the one he is also selling, both having tenants in. The tenants next door have yet to move out but that has also been sold SSTC. (to a nice couple apparently)
She also said yesterday that a blind up on the landing came off, and some of the other blinds she can't operate because they're too heavy.
Maybe when I go up there soon for a holiday I'll go to the house and see what needs doing, and try and come up with ideas.
I might ask her if she wants me to help draft a letter of complaint to send to the seller, via the estate agent.
Thanks for the link Barry. I know about small claims court applications. We'll see how much she's out of pocket and if it's worth her while. The windows definitely are a lot of money.
03-05-2019, 08:19 AM
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Re: Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
Sis has been homeless since last September when she moved out of her house that had to be reluctantly sold. She couldn't afford to stay living there (share ownership rent taking up much of her wages), after her partner died in his sleep some 7.5 years ago. (Crikey, is it that long ago??)She was buying a property near Gt Yarmouth but that fell through, (through no fault of her own) so she had to start looking again.
She was spending nights at various relatives, and eventually settled with her youngest son with the two cats, sometimes staying with me or her eldest son.
If she'd pulled out of this purchase she stood to lose out financially (surveys etc) and the headache of going back up there and house hunting yet again. She was also spending money each month on the storage unit. It was a case of now or never.
03-05-2019, 08:29 AM
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Re: Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
I think you and your sister are being unreasonableDustbins not emptied.
Put the bins out on collection day
Filthy carpets
Were they clean when viewed?
Bathroom and kitchen dirty, stuff still left in drawers or cupboards
Tough, clean them
Chandelier removed from the kitchen leaving her with no working light
Was the light listed as being included in the sale?
03-05-2019, 08:31 AM
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Re: Repairs to house sold on after tenants moved out
What a shame Jazzi. That’s an awful lot to go through. I sincerely hope she gets this worked out. It must be stressful on you both.Hopefully this all gets worked out and she has a nice home to stay in.
That would be nice if you could go out there and help her out. She must feel so overwhelmed with all of this.
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