Does the purchaser have any rights here?

[Munchkin]

We have sold our PPOR and settlement is due on Friday this week. The purchaser did their final inspection yesterday and all went well except for two issues.

When they did the building inspection they found a couple of broken tiles on the roof (which we knew about). One has a corner cracked off it and another had been cracked right down the centre but my husband just coated it in silicon and nothing leaked. I agreed that we would replaced the tile with the silicon on it as we had one spare tile. Now they have come back saying there are 3(!) broken tiles that we have not replaced and that we had an agreement to replace them. We DID replace the tile I agreed to replace. This agreement was all verbal and there is nothing in writing or signed.

Also, they are saying the house needs cleaning - vacuuming, mopping etc. They must be on some good drugs because the entire house HAS been vacuumed and mopped, benches wiped, bathrooms and toilets cleaned and cupboards wiped inside and out. I might have missed a bit of skirting with the vacuum but the house is at least in the same state as when they inspected it, probably a bit cleaner as it was cleaned without kids running around in there!

I told my solicitor I'm not going back to the house (we have moved 100kms away and I am utterly exhausted after doing at least 14 trips back and forth over the last couple of weeks - with 3 small children in tow!). She asked if they insisted would I be willing to pay someone to go and clean the house and replace the tiles. I said no, as we have replaced the tile we agreed to replace and in my opinion the house is clean.

I'm also a bit peeved that they are being so picky as we did other things to the place before we left that we didn't even really HAVE to do, just as a nice gesture (as well as leaving behind about 6 metres of firewood for them!) and we also sold the house to them at quite a reduced price to what we had advertised.

Do they have any rights here to make me do these things? Or am I within my rights to refuse?

 

[wylie]

I would call their bluff (but ask your solicitor what happens if they don't settle). Are you relying on funds from the sale to finalise your purchase?

Once you have their money, I'd then go back and stuff some prawn heads into somewhere they won't find them for a while .

 

[Munchkin]

I do need the funds from the sale for our next purchase but it doesn't really affect us if it is delayed slightly as we have already moved. We just need the cash by mid october.

 

[wylie]

We DID replace the tile I agreed to replace. This agreement was all verbal and there is nothing in writing or signed.

She asked if they insisted would I be willing to pay someone to go and clean the house and replace the tiles. I said no, as we have replaced the tile we agreed to replace and in my opinion the house is clean.

I'm also a bit peeved that they are being so picky as we did other things to the place before we left that we didn't even really HAVE to do, just as a nice gesture (as well as leaving behind about 6 metres of firewood for them!) and we also sold the house to them at quite a reduced price to what we had advertised.

Do they have any rights here to make me do these things? Or am I within my rights to refuse?

I think you are within your rights to refuse, but if they dig their heels in and delay settlement, what does your "moral win" mean financially to you?

I would insist that your solicitor confirm that there is nothing in the contract to say you needed to replace any tiles, that you did actually replace one tile that was verbally agreed to, that you cleaned the house and that really has nothing to do with any final inspection anyway.

I would get your solicitor to impress that you have left considerable amount of timber there which equates to money they are saving on buying timber, that you realise they "trying one on"... and then see what comes back.

At very worst, if I was you, I would agree to the cost of one tile but only if it was clear they were going to hold things up that would hurt me financially. Tell your solicitor that if they insist on playing games, you will get a friend to remove the firewood. That is petty, I know, but they are being petty and sometimes you just have to stand up to them.

I cannot possibly believe that the purchaser would even try to get a cleaner in. Every house we have ever bought has needed another clean before we move in. They have bought the house "as is" and final inspections should pick up things like dishwashers taken, light fittings removed, holes in walls that were NOT there on signing of contract etc.

I would stand firm and they will probably back down. If they are really going to be difficult then throw them a few crumbs, pay for a tile, but cleaning... sheesh!!!

You sound like you have done more than many vendors already in leaving it clean.

 

[Munchkin]

Financially it won't mean much depending on how long it is delayed, if it is. Just a bit more interest.

I have a copy of the contract and there is nothing in there about the tiles.

I also don't get the cleaning thing. I always clean a house before I move in anyway. I understand if the house was filthy, but it's not.

Not only did I clean the house I also filled the holes left by the screws where we had a big mirror on the wall, and repainted it. We also got a trailer load of dirt and fixed up the area where our dog had been and resowed the grass, because it looked messy! The purchaser had told us not to worry about it but we did it anyway, and now she is kicking up a stink about the floor being vacuumed! I do not understand some people.

I'm not even so much refusing just because I think they are wrong but it would actually be really difficult for me to even get back to the property at all this week. Ten times harder than it would be for her to pick up a vacuum herself!

 

[Munchkin]

I just checked the emails from the agent after they did the building inspection and it says two broken tiles - so the one with just the corner missing and the other that was siliconed. We replaced one and now they are saying there is still 3 broken tiles!

 

[Terry_w]

The written contract contains the whole agreement. There will be clauses in there saying so.

They also take the property as they found it on purchase.

No sense in driving 100km just to clean again.

Send them a stern letter threatening a notice to complete and saying you will charge them penalty interest if they fail to complete on time.

 

[Melbournian]

get your solicitor to write back a email or fax saying that if they do not settle in time that your will issue a notice of rescission.

I have come across many buyers like these - one spent like 2 hours testing every powerpoint and request x, y, z to be fixed. Another wanted everything to be professionally cleaned and another wanted certain things to be removed.

unless they are specific conditions that you signed on the contract and the issues are serious in terms of structural -nothing much they can do.

and i highly doubt they want to lose their deposit too.

 

[Munchkin]

Well I am really annoyed now!!

My solicitor has received another letter from the purchaser's solicitor stating that I apparently said in the presence of the agent that I would replace all the broken tiles with spare tiles I had in my garage (this is wrong as I only ever had ONE spare tile and they were never in my garage so her recollection of the conversation is obviously off). I contacted the agent who was no help at all, totally useless and basically just brushed me off.

They then stated that the uncleanliness was not limited to inside the house with the bin being full of rubbish and rubbish in the fireplace - tomorrow is bin day, what do they expect exactly when we moved over the weekend? As for the fireplace there are about 4 pieces of screwed up A4 paper in the fire that my kids were drawing on while we were loading the trailer (hmmm you do use paper to light a fire right?)

Now I know everyone's perceptions of clean are different but the house IS clean - my dad walked through it yesterday and trust me he would say something if it wasn't! He picked on the dirt in the driveway I was yet to sweep!

They have instructed their solicitor to with hold $500 at settlement to rectify the issues.

I advised my solicitor I wouldn't be going back there to clean anything, that I replaced the tile I said I would replace and to remind them about all the money's worth of firewood that we have left there that we could easily go and collect before settlement if we needed to

Oh some people make me want to scream! How petty are they.

 

[Terry_w]

Well I am really annoyed now!!

My solicitor has received another letter from the purchaser's solicitor stating that I apparently said in the presence of the agent that I would replace all the broken tiles with spare tiles I had in my garage (this is wrong as I only ever had ONE spare tile and they were never in my garage so her recollection of the conversation is obviously off). I contacted the agent who was no help at all, totally useless and basically just brushed me off.

They then stated that the uncleanliness was not limited to inside the house with the bin being full of rubbish and rubbish in the fireplace - tomorrow is bin day, what do they expect exactly when we moved over the weekend? As for the fireplace there are about 4 pieces of screwed up A4 paper in the fire that my kids were drawing on while we were loading the trailer (hmmm you do use paper to light a fire right?)

Now I know everyone's perceptions of clean are different but the house IS clean - my dad walked through it yesterday and trust me he would say something if it wasn't! He picked on the dirt in the driveway I was yet to sweep!

They have instructed their solicitor to with hold $500 at settlement to rectify the issues.

I advised my solicitor I wouldn't be going back there to clean anything, that I replaced the tile I said I would replace and to remind them about all the money's worth of firewood that we have left there that we could easily go and collect before settlement if we needed to

Oh some people make me want to scream! How petty are they.

Call their bluff. Refuse to allow the retention of $500. Tell them you are ready and able to settle on settlement date and see what happens.

 

[Munchkin]

Yes that is what I have advised my solicitor to write back. People are so cheeky!! I wonder why I go out of my way to do nice things for them sometimes.

 

[Aaron_C]

Yes that is what I have advised my solicitor to write back. People are so cheeky!! I wonder why I go out of my way to do nice things for them sometimes.

There's being nice/reasonable, and then there's being an unreasonable, which this purchaser clearly is being. No drama.

 

[wylie]

We had purchasers like that once. Their solicitor (purchaser's brother) told us the cubby house was not up to building code and they wanted a reduction of $2K for a couple of dodgy stumps. We gave in to the $2K ONLY because we would have missed out on the house we wanted had settlement fallen over.

Karma got them though. We heard they had 8 or 12 stumps to be replaced and we took the cubby house which left them with an ugly gap looking straight at the back of the neighbours potting shed behind which they stored lots of junk .

Purchaser was pregnant with a little boy, and I'm sure they would have loved the "raiders of the lost ark" cubby but they got an ugly hole in the yard due to their nitpicking.

We had planned on leaving them the full page spread from 1932 when the house was "house of the year" and was in the paper, but we took it with us. Neither hubby nor I felt good at what we did. We had planned on leaving them champagne as a "welcome to your new house".

A couple of months later, near our new house, we went to an auction and watched as the solicitor brother was bidding, but was outbid by someone else .

Karma all round ...

 

[Munchkin]

Would the tile thing hold up at all anyway having been only a verbal conversation and not in writing? It looks like my agent is going to back up what the purchaser is saying even though I know exactly what I said (I had a look and the two of them are facebook friends - why doesn't this surprise me!)

 

[wylie]

The written contract contains the whole agreement. There will be clauses in there saying so.

They also take the property as they found it on purchase.

No sense in driving 100km just to clean again.

Send them a stern letter threatening a notice to complete and saying you will charge them penalty interest if they fail to complete on time.

Terry's advice is what I would be following. He knows his stuff.

Call their bluff. Is there anything in the contract about the tile?

 

[Munchkin]

No, they have a special condition about the building inspection but nothing was added about anything we had to rectify, that was all verbal

 

[Terry_w]

Would the tile thing hold up at all anyway having been only a verbal conversation and not in writing? It looks like my agent is going to back up what the purchaser is saying even though I know exactly what I said (I had a look and the two of them are facebook friends - why doesn't this surprise me!)

I doubt it.

And look at the practicality of it. Would they risk not settling because of 2 tiles? What would they be worth?

 

[wylie]

... which means they are trying to get another $500 off the already low price.

Tell 'em they're dreaming and then do what Terry says...

 

[handyandy]

Sounds like you have been screwed right through the transaction thanks to your agent.

Seems like he was working for the buyer rather than the seller. You say you sold it for much less than you wanted. Did the agent divulge your info to the buyer?

Print out the face book friend things and shove it to the agent quick smart and threaten to report him to the RE governing body.

Cheers

 

[Munchkin]

I doubt it.

And look at the practicality of it. Would they risk not settling because of 2 tiles? What would they be worth?

I just had a bit of a google and I reckon they'd be up for no more than about 20 bucks!

Council rubbish bin I have someone putting it out for me tonight so not sure why they needed money for that (Even if I didn't put it out, they'd only have to wait 5 days to put it out next week and that doesn't cost anything!). They can buy a box of matches for about 50c and that will fix the rubbish in the fireplace and well, I have a bad back and it would still only take me about 10 minutes to vacuum the empty house.

I don't get how she didn't want me to worry about fixing the yard where the dog was (and it was really quite gross and muddy), but yet she is worrying about these other minor things.

I have just had too much going on lately to deal with this crap. Hopefully my solicitor doesn't call me back tomorrow with any more ridiculous nonsense.