Is the home buyer in the right?

[mecheng89]

Good afternoon Hubbers!

This questions is directed to those in the home buying/selling game.

Wife and I sold our first home very recently to a buyer, and he's proving to be a P.I.M.A already (we are not estate agents).

The estate agent handling the sale let us know the new owner is unhappy with the state of the shower door (claims it doesn't close easily). He believes this is our problem to fix. That said, the estate agent did ask us to complete a list of "defects", but we did not mention the shower door, and we did not believe this to be worth mentioning. If the door became very broken between when he we signed the offer, then I would not hesitate to get it fixed.

The door is not un-closeable, it just requires a different touch, if I can put it that way. During his own inspection of the house before he put in OTP, he made no mention and no mention was made in said OTP to fix the defect. 

So, legal eagles, who foots the bill? Does this set a precedent for him to go into every nook and cranny to fix the smallest defect and force us to repair?

Thanks all.  

[IceCreamMan]

How much is the bill?

If you listed all the faults but failed to list this then its your account. 

Voetstoots is no shield in cases like this.

Without knowing all the facts etc etc etc its difficult to make a definitive call. What does the estate agent reckon?

 

[fanievb]

Tell him to go fly a kite.

You did not fail to disclose a latent defect, which is usually where a voetstoots clause would be rendered null and void.

You believed that the shower door was not a material defect and as such did not disclose it, plain and simple.

 

 

[mecheng89]

47 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

How much is the bill?

If you listed all the faults but failed to list this then its your account. 

Voetstoots is no shield in cases like this.

Without knowing all the facts etc etc etc its difficult to make a definitive call. What does the estate agent reckon?

 

That I must foot the bill. Which I'm trying to dispute. 

[mecheng89]

53 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

How much is the bill?

If you listed all the faults but failed to list this then its your account. 

Voetstoots is no shield in cases like this.

Without knowing all the facts etc etc etc its difficult to make a definitive call. What does the estate agent reckon?

 

Don't know yet. The work hasn't being done. The buyer naturally does not want to part with a cent. 

[Frosty]

Are you willing to walk away from the deal? There will be others, but you might not get your asking price.

Is the buyer willing to lose out to someone else? If he’s desperate, call his bluff.

[mecheng89]

8 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Are you willing to walk away from the deal? There will be others, but you might not get your asking price.

Is the buyer willing to lose out to someone else? If he’s desperate, call his bluff.

Walking away from the offer is no longer an option, as the OTP was signed 2 months ago. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by mecheng89
Sentence restructure

[IceCreamMan]

18 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

Don't know yet. The work hasn't being done. The buyer naturally does not want to part with a cent. 

would a reasonable man consider it a defect?

If you had listed it would it have made any difference to the buyer's contract. WOuld he have stipulated it be fixed. 

Both questions hypothetical though. 

Its a tough one. I had a similar issue when we sold our house. It was around a security gate with a similar kind of back story. I ended up getting a quote and just agreed to pay it. But it was not excessive so just chalked it to experience. 

[mecheng89]

1 minute ago, IceCreamMan said:

would a reasonable man consider it a defect?

If you had listed it would it have made any difference to the buyer's contract. Would he have stipulated it be fixed. 

Both questions hypothetical though. 

Its a tough one. I had a similar issue when we sold our house. It was around a security gate with a similar kind of back story. I ended up getting a quote and just agreed to pay it. But it was not excessive so just chalked it to experience. 

I believe I am a reasonable man, I would consider it a minor defect, not something worth submitting a demand to repair. A flawless house does not exist. 

What I think is going on here is he was renting somewhere before, put in a month's notice prematurely, rushing into purchasing a new home, and now realizes the house isn't as flawless as he would've liked. 

 

[The Ouzo]

as per someone else further up, a perfectly working house does not exist. There will always be a door or cupboard or tap or something that has a "quirk

[mecheng89]

Let me pose another question - say I dig in my heals and tell this guy to get lost, how likely is legal action? Surely that legal option would be much more costly, not just for me, but for him too? 

[Vetplant]

I don't get some people. 

My mom just got the keys to her new place on Saturday. We moved in and cleaned the gutters(full of compost, so haven't been cleaned in a while), rainwater drain pipes(same) and fixed all the little niggles you forgot was there when you saw the house initially. 

But that is how we operate. We get in there ourselves and fix it. 

Sure, an undisclosed termite infestation or structural issue will be met with an immediate phonecall, but on the small stuff, just step up and fix it yourselves new home owners. 

To the OP, is the buyer a first-time home owner? 

[The Ouzo]

sounds like the customers that dont want to spend the full price on a new car, but they want their used car to be in the same condition or better than a new one.

[IceCreamMan]

23 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

Let me pose another question - say I dig in my heals and tell this guy to get lost, how likely is legal action? Surely that legal option would be much more costly, not just for me, but for him too? 

Yes, I very much doubt anyone of sound mind would pursue legal channels here for something this small.

so very unlikely. 
 

[mecheng89]

1 hour ago, Vetplant said:

I don't get some people. 

My mom just got the keys to her new place on Saturday. We moved in and cleaned the gutters(full of compost, so haven't been cleaned in a while), rainwater drain pipes(same) and fixed all the little niggles you forgot was there when you saw the house initially. 

But that is how we operate. We get in there ourselves and fix it. 

Sure, an undisclosed termite infestation or structural issue will be met with an immediate phonecall, but on the small stuff, just step up and fix it yourselves new home owners. 

To the OP, is the buyer a first-time home owner? 

I don't know. Not sure if such information is public. 

[Vetplant]

31 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

I don't know. Not sure if such information is public. 

Was his offer subject to the selling of a different property? 

Was it subject to obtaining a 100% bond from the bank? 

This gives some clues.