Obligations after a house sale?
I sold my house and a few days later was contacted by the agent and told that the purchaser was unhappy about some items left at the property and he was having them removed and I would be billed for it. Now I sold the house as seen and haven't added anything since the buyer viewed the property and there were no stipulations prior to the sale so am I obligated to compensate the buyer or is it now his responsibility? Any worthwhile help appreciated.
Answers:
You will almost certainly not be liable for solicitors' costs (other than a court fee and £80 fixed costs), unless they sue, and their claim is worth more than £5,000. However, unless you've left tonnes of scrap or waste oil or the like, I doubt it would come to that.
Normally when you sell a house you give "vacant possession". That means you move all your stuff out. Unless the contract says something else, your buyer is quite right to expect you to pay for clearing out anything you left behind.
Again I am assuming this is a UK question.
Everything in the document that had CONVEYANCE printed on it is your Contract with the buyer.
Unless the document said the precise words - with no margin for misunderstanding - that the building and contents were sold together, you would be asked to pay for the contents removal.
You could check it out with Citizens Advice Bureau.
check your contract it is standard procedure to remove everything that is not listed as fixtures and fittings, if you do not you can be charged for the removal you may find you have signed to agree to this, suggest you contact your agent and ask if you can remove them yourself to save the cost but you will need to move them like yesterday.
"Fixtures & fittings" remain with the property, everything else has to be removed by the vendor unless subject to a specific agreement. The purchasers, having obtained vacant possession from you, are entitled to find the place empty.
The buyer may have reasonably assumed, as one would, that all and any property would be removed on or before the date the seller moved out.
The answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers: