Settlement t'mrw. Hold back $250 for unmowed lawn/uncleared drains?

B

Beanie Girl

Need your advice. Settlement on Brisbane IP tomorrow. Pre-settlement inspection was conducted yesterday. Almost everything was in the same condition as at the building inspection which is good news except:

a) the grass has not been cut
b) the shallow drains at the front of the house are filling up with leaf litter and debris

The drains need to be cleared otherwise the ground floor may flood
The backyard of the property has lots of rocks -- a landscaping feature by the former owners so the grass has to be cut mainly by edge trimmer (instead of lawn mower)

Is it possible to deduct $250 from the sale price at settlement because the current owners/managing agent have not maintained the grounds adequately?

I should mention that the owners have moved to USA for some time now. At least half a year. They are not present in Australia to do the grounds maintenance. The tenants they had in their absence did the grounds maintenance but I think since October, the owners have had the house empty and no tenants so their agent could more easily do showings to sell the house.

Appreciate any advice on what's fair to do, thanks!
 
As above, it should only be the main items of the property, fittings, lights etc - read what the contract says.
 
Beanie Girl said:
Need your advice. Settlement on Brisbane IP tomorrow. Pre-settlement inspection was conducted yesterday. Almost everything was in the same condition as at the building inspection which is good news except:

a) the grass has not been cut
b) the shallow drains at the front of the house are filling up with leaf litter and debris

The drains need to be cleared otherwise the ground floor may flood
The backyard of the property has lots of rocks -- a landscaping feature by the former owners so the grass has to be cut mainly by edge trimmer (instead of lawn mower)

Is it possible to deduct $250 from the sale price at settlement because the current owners/managing agent have not maintained the grounds adequately?

I should mention that the owners have moved to USA for some time now. At least half a year. They are not present in Australia to do the grounds maintenance. The tenants they had in their absence did the grounds maintenance but I think since October, the owners have had the house empty and no tenants so their agent could more easily do showings to sell the house.

Appreciate any advice on what's fair to do, thanks!
Click to expand...

In all my years as a lawyer and property investor I have never heard of something like this before! I did have a dispute about a missing remote control though.

Was this agreed to in the contract? Special condition inserted?
 
The Fence said:
I had no idea settlement inspection meant that lawns had to be mowed and gutters cleard of leaves :confused:

I find that a bit silly really.
Click to expand...

Not leaves in gutter but leaves, dirt and debris in shallow drains that the owner excavated all round the front perimeter of the house to prevent water from getting into the groundfloor.

Sorry it sounded petty, just that hubby and I were burnt in a previous IP purchase where trash was left in the house, under and around it. Hard waste trash. And another hole punched in the wall. We were assured by the agent that the owner was mortified his daughter left the place in such a mess and was coming back in a week to clean it up. So on good faith, on settlement day, we paid up everything meekly and held no monies back.. .Surprise, surprise, owner never came back and we are left with the cleaning and hard waste removal bill.

So when hubby brought it up yesterday that we should hold back some money, my first reaction was 'forget it, it's not a big deal'. But hubby does not want to be gypped again. Also, it's still money we have to spend to make it safe for the tenants.

We have emailed the question to our conveyancer in Qld. But at the same time, I thought I'd ask the question here as well as I was not feeling comfortable...I want to be fair to the owners given that they are in the US....but just wanted to know what we are entitled to....so if the answer is that it's limited to fittings and house itself.....I am fine with that.
 
Let us know what the conveyancer says.

terryw is a lawyer and his answer just might give you an indication.

However, it does bring up an issue if say there is major damage or anything majorly untoward.

But i wouldnt call long lawns or leaves acumulating as major.

Dont sweat the small stuff...;)
 
Why stop at $250?

Add some real meaning to your request and withhold $25,000 for your extreme inconvenience that the grass grew and leaves fell between when you signed the contract and settlement day!

Poor you guys!

pinkboy
 
The drains, I should add are immediately in front of the house, the moment you step out the door, you step on the grates of the drain. Our building inspector did the pre-settlement inspection and warned us that if the drains are not cleared, water would flow straight into the house in a heavy downpour 'cos the drains are choked.

So it's not such a ridiculous issue at all, I'd hate to be slapped with a huge damage/insurance bill right after we took possession. Insurance probably would not even pay because they would say it's our fault for not doing grounds maintenance.
 
When I sold a property I had the lawns done, everything cleared, tenants had left so much rubbish, it took 5 skips to get rid of it all. I cleared out under the house but did leave some matching bricks and tiles, thinking new owner would be able to use them.

On settlement Purchaser with-held $2,500 until the bricks and tiles were moved. So on settlement day, I raced around climbed under the house with help from a friend and got rid of them all. My solicitor said he was within his rights.

Chris
 
Beanie Girl said:
The drains, I should add are immediately in front of the house, the moment you step out the door, you step on the grates of the drain. Our building inspector did the pre-settlement inspection and warned us that if the drains are not cleared, water would flow straight into the house in a heavy downpour 'cos the drains are choked.

So it's not such a ridiculous issue at all, I'd hate to be slapped with a huge damage/insurance bill right after we took possession. Insurance probably would not even pay because they would say it's our fault for not doing grounds maintenance.
Click to expand...


If the drains were choked at the time of the building inspection (usually within days of signing the contract) then it is almost certain that they were in that condition when you bought, and therefore your responsibility now.
Marg
 
I even had to clear out the shed for one of the IP that I bought. Cost 2 skips, but it's small money compared to how much I bought it under value.
 
Terry_w said:
In all my years as a lawyer and property investor I have never heard of something like this before! I did have a dispute about a missing remote control though.

Was this agreed to in the contract? Special condition inserted?
Click to expand...

I have heard of this before. I sold an IP last year using a dodgy RE who put in dodgy special conditions. Close to settlement, the purchasors sent me a list of "faults" to rectify via MY agent, threatening to withhold funds at settlement if the faults were not fixed. I checked the contract and such an action would have breached the contract. I called the agency and let them know (RE had been fired by that point). In the end, the "faults" were things like blown light bulbs, over door needed a slight adjustment, a battery for the retic etc. Nothing serious. I just fixed the things a moved on. Cost was under $20.

For what it's worth, in WA if a property has been misrepresented (i.e. vendor says oven is working but after settlement purchaser finds it's not) then the purchaser has a certain number of days to put their complaint in writing to have the faults resolved. Under no circumstances can funds be withheld at settlement to rectify faults. This is all in the contract.

My advice to the OP is check the contract! Always read your contract!
 
Honestly, if I was in Brisbane right now, I'd take the broom and sweep out the drains myself :D:D
Marg when we did the building inspection on the property, the front drains were clean, now they are chockers with leaves and debris. (three-quarters full according to building inspector).

It's the protection from the flooding of the ground floor that I'm most worried about. My conveyancer is putting the request in writing, 'can they clear the drains of the debris.' If the selling agent can get it cleared by end settlement day tomorrow, I definitely will not withhold one cent. If they can't get it cleared by tomorrow, I still have to pay someone to get the drains cleared ASAP.
 
Help at hand

Beanie Girl,

If this is a real issues, i am more than happy to pop around to the property and clear the drains for you. I am on holidays at the moment and more than happy to help a fellow Somersoft out. Just PM me the address, and that the tenants (if any) are aware that I will be attending.
 
Look at your contract. Bear in mind that if you failto settle and do not have just cause the vendor can keep the deposit in queensland because your contract will normally be time of the essence for completion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Would you do Termidor treatment after this report?
Replies
12
Views
4K
wylie
W
T
Special Lease Conditions - Do these contradict the Residential Tenancies Act (WA)
Replies
14
Views
3K
wylie
W
Flossy
1st IP in Wallsend NSW - Invalid contract - What to do
2
Replies
20
Views
4K
thatbum
T
W
Landlord trying to relieve us off our rental bond
2 3
Replies
53
Views
8K
kathryn d
kathryn d
T
Engineers Report - Thoughts???
Replies
8
Views
3K
tgarthe
T
Back
Top