Default Buying property in this current climate (bursted pipes)

delllat

late november i viewed a property which was below market value for the area its located in

it was on the market for 6 months and had the price substantially reduced every 2 months

24 hours later after viewing i put an offer in and it was accepted immediately and the solicitors went to work


i live in northern ireland and the worst weather for 125 years hit 2 weeks after my offer

the house is not occupied for 7 months now and we are about to exchange contracts

i am worried about water damage from this extreme weather when the pipes finally thaw

insurance may not cover a vacant property if its vacant more than 14 days etc or if undeclared damage was there when the policy was bought etc

its a 60 yr old house with single glazing so i doubt much was spent on adequate insulation and as usual the pipes are in hard to see places like under floors,inside walls and in the ceiling so potential damage may not show up for a while

i understand that its not my responsibilty to ensure the vendor heats the house until completion date and im guessing he wont as his house is selling for half the price he wanted for it 7 months ago

can i ask to view it again before exchange and again before completion ?

if theres a month between first contracts exchanged and completion is it reasonable to ask them to leave heating on 24/7 etc if i pay for the oil ?

would it be best to walk away from this one and find another in march or april when everything is warmer and damage more visible ?

i dont want to spend my life savings on a house which turns into a swimming pool when the temperature rises above 0 degrees

dudara

Better suited to Accomodation & Property, I think

dudara

Supercell

Op, this is the biggest purchase of most peoples lives. I've read countless stories here about bust pipes and its always expensive to put right.
At the very least , do a second viewing AFTER the thaw (and make sure its properly thawed - all the taps work).
Don't for Gods sign before your sure you arent buying a flooded nightmare.

delllat

Supercell wrote: »

Op, this is the biggest purchase of most peoples lives. I've read countless stories here about bust pipes and its always expensive to put right.
At the very least , do a second viewing AFTER the thaw (and make sure its properly thawed - all the taps work).
Don't for Gods sign before your sure you arent buying a flooded nightmare.

thx for the advice ,the thing im worried about is that going there for 15min with the estate agent to turn on the taps isnt really a "thorough inspection"

that would take days or weeks with the heat on and someone living there to notice that the central heating and hot water system has not ruptured

i assume the oil tank is empty and the electric disconnected because the house is practically sold and it was minus 18 here a couple of nights ago

how can i check a house properly if theres no way to test the hot water system ?

should i pay a plumber to check it or is that a waste of time since the pipes mos likely to burst are the ones hed have to destroy the house to check

Victor

Arrange to have the place surveyed by someone and get them to pay particular attention to the plumbing.

Treehouse72

It is a fact that unoccupied property degrades at a far faster rate than lived-in property. No airing, no heating, no maintenance, no water running, no running repairs. This is why so many of our ghost estates will have to be knocked - not because nobody wants to buy them (although that's true too!) but rather because they are no longer fit for habitation (or capable of being fixed for same) having been unoccupied so long.

Have you had a survey done on the place? What did it say? And when was that done?

And I am a little concerned that you are saying you'd like the house heated between now and purchase date - but what about the other 7 months it's been sitting there without heating? Heating it now for a few weeks won't fix problems cause by the 7 months vacant.

In my very strong opionion, you must not under any circumstances complete this purchase until the survey comes back clear and you are satisfied the recent bad weather - and the unlived-in 7 months - haven't done damage. What's more, you are 100% within your rights to do this.

One other comment: you say the sellers accepted your bid straight away? That is a massive, massive red flag for me and I would very, very seriously reconsider the whole thing. Don't get emotionally involved. It's your life savings. If something feels wrong, walk away.

delllat

to be fair those were summer months and they had viewings and people calling in and out but in november (before the extreme weather) there were no signs of rising damp ,subsidence.mould ,mustiness, damp patches on any interior room

roof was intact,no signs of leakage or loose roof tiles

oil central heating was working oo a timer / electric shower working /water pressure ok

basically the house was in good condition (in november @ viewing )

i offered a bit less than asking price which had been reduced already and would have been happy to give them "that much" for the house "in the condition it was in at that time"

im just a bit worried that the extreme weather combined with the house being empty and likely unheated could have caused or aggravted a problem since if the owner thinks its as good as sold he probably hasnt went near the place (he lives about 50 miles away in another town )

we agreed on taking 4-6 weeks to complete the sale so i thouoght id have the keys by christmas but it dragged on longer than expected so the place is going to be empty for longer than expected in worse weather than this country has ever seen before

im going to have to call the solicitor and tell him we want a final inspection done before anything is signed and a fast completion after that if its still sub zero outside

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2363257

theres a few stories about this happening to people last year and costing 40-120k to fix water damage and last years weather wasnt this severe or long lasting

Treehouse72

What did the original survey say?

delllat

the structural integrity was good,solid block house covered in pebbledash ,
no visible signs of sinking or cracks anywhere
heating and plumbing and electric were working
house was 95% dry ,there was mild dampness in one area ,possibility of dormant woodworm under staircase (same area as damp ) which wasnt a major problem IF THE HOUSE IS OCCUPIED/HEATED/VENTILATED properly

needs modernistaion to bring it up to current levels off decor and improve the energy efficency

neighbouring houses are usually advertised at 80K to 100K , we have agreed on £55K for this one
and everyone was happy until the possibility of further damage entered the equasion LOL