not happy at final inspection

Terry,

That’s very easy to say but I disagree with the advice you have provided.

Involving solicitors certainly won’t solve the problem…I’d say it’d very quickly inflame the situation drastically, and whatever exposure Elodie thinks he / she is up against I’d hazard a guess and say that the exposure to the solicitor would be far greater. The other thing it’ll do is drag out the resolution for a far greater time than needs be.

Elodie…is the mess a complete surprise ?? Did it just all of a sudden appear in the past week or two ?? Or have you known about it for a while and negotiated a decent price for the prop., knowing that the place was a mess ??

By your post, you’ve put yourself in an extremely weak bargaining position by wanting to rent until settlement. The other party is simply exploiting their advantage that you have handed him on a platter.

At the end of the day Elodie, all you want is to own the house and be living there. Talk to your sett. agent, but if you hold up settlement, you won’t lose your deposit, as the sale will go through eventually…but you’ll be holding it up…at your expense, unless it is specifically stated in the contract of sale – not the vendors. This is the exact predicament we were just in last month. What did we do ?? We ignored the vendors..settled, and pro-actively got in there and cleaned the mess up (ours was about 55 tonnes worth). How big a mess are we talking with yours ??

Messy people don’t / won’t clean up mess. Forget them and be proactive…otherwise you’ll pop a vessel stressing over their inaction, and spend a chunk on lawyer fees with no satisfaction.

My short term recommendation – rent a short term place for yourself until it settles, and a storage unit for your extra ‘stuff’. This will give you time at least to get your life together and review your options. It’ll also restore your currently very poor negotiating position back to an even footing against the vendor.

My long term recommendation – don’t go buying “messy” places unless you are prepared to be active and clean it up – messy people don’t clean up their mess – even if they obligated to, it’s called slackness and slothfulness – you won’t change their human characteristics – even with a lawyers threatening letter in your hand….obviously compensate yourself prior to this buy purchasing at a discount. Also, don’t go putting yourself in this predicament in the first place. The vendor can see your weakness and is having a field day given your time squeeze.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you Elodie to sensibly lay out all of your options and choose the path that you wish to take.

What I can guarantee is that taking the “seek independent legal advice” path will definitely not be the shortest and most dollar efficient way of dealing with your current short term problem. It also won’t teach you anything constructive for the long term, but will force you down the US style litiguous farce.

Can you tell I don’t like lawyers ??

Pull on your overalls and gloves and get after it. Best of luck to you.

Cheers,

Dazzling

“No point having a cake if you can’t eat it.”

Previously tenanted properties are usually in need of a good clean/rubbish removal when you buy. Even private vendors tend to leave a lot of junk behind. I can remember only one house that was spotless when we took over. A little old lady was determined to leave the place as she had found it when she had moved in many years before. Another house, which was to be gutted and renovated, sat empty for two months when mysteriously someone broke in and cleaned the place out. I am not sure if we were robbed or what.

On the one hand you’re in a weak position – needing to move asap. The question is, is he in a similar position – needing to rent the property out till settlement?

If he has mortgage repayments then he’s in just as weak a position as you are over the rental.

Was he doing you a good deal initially with the rental rate? Or is he now overcharging? If he’s overcharging, you might be able to find somewhere else cheaper and regain relationship gound. You could put your stuff in storage and rent a friends spare room or something…?

If he was offering a good deal, and has recindered it because of the rebuff – this may be your own fault for not considering the savings you were making (you could have hired a cleaner if you didn’t want to clean it yourself).

It’s difficult to know without the details.

The final inspection before settlement is there to ensure that everything is in place as per your initial viewing when you put the offer in, to verify the appliances are in working order and have not gone missing, etc.

Unless you have included a clause regarding the place having to be clean or cleaned, and rubbish / junk removed, then you really do not have a leg to stand on.

You are at the mercy and goodwill of the vendor, and they are under no obligation to do anything legally, especially if there was no mention in the contract regarding the condition of the place.
Morally it may be another matter, but you are appealing to human nature here.

Let us know what you did in the end, and also, chalk it up to experience for any future purchases….maybe consider dropping a hint the agents way about them considering including a clause in the sale contract where there is the possibility of a property being left in an unacceptable state at settlement.

kp

At the end of the day, it’s all about being “reasonable”. From working as a conveyancer for a number of years, this would have to be the most common issue raised when getting close to settlement. I recall a client refusing to settle because there was dog poo on the front and back lawn. Another client refused to settle because the kitchen cupboards and shelves hadn’t been cleaned.

Apart from the fact that this is not an option and you can’t get out of a contract because of a bit of rubbish…If however a fence was damaged or there was a hole in the wall, settlement may be extended or purchase price negotiated but you cannot get out of a contract on those basis unless the vendor was stupid enough to agree to a special conditon in the contract. Highly Unlikely.

At the end of the day, you need to look at the facts, do i really want this house? yes, well bite your tongue and deal with it. It sounds harsh but the reality is there is nothing you can do….

In answer to your question, if you do not settle, then yes you are in breach of the contract and you will lose your deposit. The vendor also has the option to sue for any other costs.

Re: the renting prior to settlement. The vendor was actually being very generous in allowing possession prior to settlement as this can be very risky and most solicitors/conveyancers will advise against in, so in reality he has every right to lay down whatever conditions he likes in regards to that early possession.

It is very unfair, but unfortunately this is the case.

Elodie,

Well done…chalk it up to experience. Dust yourself off, regroup your resources and get out there and carry on…you are much wiser from the experience – probably something that is extremely detailed in your mind now, and not able to be summarised or gleaned from books or seminars.

Oh, and on second thoughts, probably is best to talk to your solicitor. With advice like that after the event – I’d pick up the phone and run him off…what a plonker. To be a successful investor – you don’t want to be encumbered with clowns like that.

Cheers,

Dazzling

“No point having a cake if you can’t eat it.”