Buying house, weather damage?

liger

In process of buying house, got a survey done last week and the guy said the gas is off because its empty. What happens if there is a burst pipe because of the weather?

The contracts wont be ready till jan at this stage and was just wondering what is the situation if something happens to the house between now and then?

jenggg

I'm in the same boat. The vendor's should have house insurance and this should cover any damage I would have thought? Fingers crossed nothing happens!

antoinolachtnai

I'd say that the vendor should have the gas connected and you should check that the heat is working and the taps are running before you sign. But ask the solicitor.

liger

jenggg wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. The vendor's should have house insurance and this should cover any damage I would have thought? Fingers crossed nothing happens!

If the house is vacant and the seller doesnt have the right insurance they wont be covered for anything.

delllat

im worried about the exact same thing ,dont really know where i stand with it but hopefully wel get some advice from someone who knows

in my area its never been this cold before so the house im buying will never have been exposed to such temperatures before (even when there were people living in it and it was heated fully) now its completely empty and when i was there i turned on a tap and it was running so they hadnt drained the system at that stage anyway

the house was in good condition when i viewed it but that was right before the freeze

im in 2 minds whether to go through with the purchase or not

ricman

You can ask the estate,agent for proof the house is insured for water damage AND ask for another viewing in 2 weeks,And ask for the water inlet to be turned off ,and the water tank to be drained.And get your lawyer to state there may be a reduction in the price if any leaks or water damage is found.
its quite possible the house is not insured at all.How long is the house empty.
theres people out there with no insurance at all.

delllat

its empty 7 months now i think because the elderly person either died or moved into retirement home

it would cost about £1000 to walk away now with wasted solicitiors fees etc

if we exchange contracts next week i will have to pay a non refunable 10 %

if we go ahead with the sale i could pay 100% and the house could require a total rebuild that wouldnt be covered by any kind of insurance

just because a tap might be running doesnt mean 100% that something hasnt busted somewhere (inside a wall /under the floor/behind kitchen units etc

(the seller has the option of concealing damage if he notices it early enough because he has a key and i dont )

antoinolachtnai

Well you can always get the surveyor to come back and look at it again if it gives you some comfort. It is unlikely that even a prolonged cold spell would cause the level of damage you describe.

jenggg

Well I got my keys just before Christmas and within 4 days when I went to check on the house it had a burst pipe! Couldn't believe it! Luckily not much damage done as there wasn't much water in the tank and it had frozen so it had started to thaw and drip down into the kitchen. I was assured the stopcock was turned off but when checked by the plumber it actually wasn't. My solicitor is getting on to the previous owners first thing in the new year. They also left furniture behind that is completely wrecked so I will be having words about that too. The joys!!

delllat

jenggg wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. The vendor's should have house insurance and this should cover any damage I would have thought? Fingers crossed nothing happens!

what stage of the sale were you at when the pipe burst ?

was it your house or their house when the damage happened ?

jenggg

The water in the toilet was frozen the day I got the keys and I assume was frozen in the pipes and tanks. With the thaw on St Stephen's Day the water thawed and started to leak through the burst pipes. The only way I imagine to have avoided it was if the tanks had been emptied by the vendors before the frost and and before handing over the keys. This wasn't done. luckily there was no major damage and the pipework needs to be replaced anyway.

delllat

jenggg wrote: »

The water in the toilet was frozen the day I got the keys and I assume was frozen in the pipes and tanks. With the thaw on St Stephen's Day the water thawed and started to leak through the burst pipes. The only way I imagine to have avoided it was if the tanks had been emptied by the vendors before the frost and and before handing over the keys. This wasn't done. luckily there was no major damage and the pipework needs to be replaced anyway.

firstly get a proper insurance policy in place ,another freeze is coming soon

then get pipes covered in good quality insulation

drain the system or keep the house welll heated during frozen spells

theres not much else you can do

i went down to see my friends house today that had flooded and it was an absolute disaster

1 pipe had a 2cm burst in the roofspace and destroyed a 3 story house ,floorboards in the kitchen were starting to warp ,some of the ceilings had fallen down ,the water was behind the paint in the walls in giant bubbles,plaster will probably need stripped and replacing ,the 3 piece suite and all the furniture+ beds were saturated and smelled really bad,every piece of electric equipment was destroyed

fungus and blue mould were starting to grow over everything ,an absolute nightmare to deal with

sincerely hope that landlord was insured :rolleyes: