Bought a "new" house, huge issues.

Status
Not open for further replies.
alf101 said:
Wait for xrapidx to find this thread, he's good at buying lemons, whether its cars or houses.
He'll have a few tips for you.


If you'll be staying there for more than 10 years it may work out well, if you're staying there for less than 5 years you may run into a bit of a loss when you sell.

Painting isn't that expensive, and nor is sorting out your garden.
those 2 things make a huge difference.
Click to expand...

The plan is to be here for at least 10 - 20 years so it's a long term move. As I told the owner I will sort out the petty issues they refuse to do. But the bigger issues I will fight them on.
 
you need to list the problems you have found with the property that weren't given to you at the time of your viewing the property.

http://www.rawson.co.za/property/advice/latent-and-patent-defects-124

the voetstoets clause does not apply if the previous owner knowingly withheld any defects. so this person stands to lose here. if i were you i would pay your attorney a visit and inform them that you will be deducting R200 thousand from the purchase price. see how quickly the owner responds to that when this latent and patent clause defects clause is slapped in his/her face.
 
Celine said:
you need to list the problems you have found with the property that weren't given to you at the time of your viewing the property.

http://www.rawson.co.za/property/advice/latent-and-patent-defects-124

the voetstoets clause does not apply if the previous owner knowingly withheld any defects. so this person stands to lose here. if i were you i would pay your attorney a visit and inform them that you will be deducting R200 thousand from the purchase price. see how quickly the owner responds to that when this latent and patent clause defects clause is slapped in his/her face.
Click to expand...

Thanks Celine.

We have been very diligent in making clear what the issues are. We have sent through a full list to the owner, attorneys and the estate agent. The estate agent even came around to look and even she was pretty shocked at the state of the place. She did send an email telling the owner that they need to attend to these issues and then just climbed back on her fence.

When the owner saw the list she got very very stroppy and refused to speak to us unless via the estate agent. So she really is rather childish.

We feel these issues were known to her and she is now is taking zero responsibility. In fact in a recent email she says she takes no further responsibility for anything that is wrong with the house. We shall see about that.
 
froot said:
Lawyer. Period. Reason: you may not, by law, remove fixtures. You can't even remove your DSTV satellite. Or light fixtures.
The house, other than that, is sold voetstoots, so plumbing, etc might very well be your problem. But yeah. lawyer all the way.

Edit: if I'm not mistaken, it's also required to have an electrical compliance certificate issued before the house can be sold - could that void the contract?
Click to expand...

Lastly I think, they have not got the electrical compliance. . . They have had 7 months to do this and we have been hounding them about this. . . They have completely ignored us and I have now had to get my electrician out to quote on this which is complete nonsense. Why am I doing this ****?
Click to expand...

There's your foot in the door.

Selling a house without a C.O.C. is against the law and voids the contract. Get your lawyer in on it immediately.
 
Wait is this a bank repo?

If thats the case, good luck.

If its a bank repo, they already insolvent = even if you win a court case they can claim to only being able to pay you R5 a month into fixing it up so yeah, you have a problem on note.
 
Elimentals said:
Wait is this a bank repo?

If thats the case, good luck.

If its a bank repo, they already insolvent = even if you win a court case they can claim to only being able to pay you R5 a month into fixing it up so yeah, you have a problem on note.
Click to expand...

Technically not a repo per se. It's what the bank call a 'help you sell' where the bank helps both buyer and seller in the sale of the property. But yes the fact remains the owner is apparently broke.
 
If you're paying occupational rent then you have claim against the agent or leeser to have the issues fixed as the house isn't yet yours and therefore not your responsibility. Once the deed transfer goes through its all yours, including the problems.
 
Rent another place, move out, cancel the deal. Then buy another place.
 
This kind of thing is so worrying, we have just bought a place (also desperate sellers well below market value). We popped in to get some measurements for something and saw the pool was green and the place a tip, we freaked out and got hold of the agent right away who assured us the pool will be perfect when we move in and the place cleaned up. There were bags of garbage in every ****ing corner of the property. We are moving in end of May so hopefully the house will be sorted by then.

I hope you get this sorted OP. Its infuriating that people can be like this, no matter their circumstances.
 
Carol35 said:
This kind of thing is so worrying, we have just bought a place (also desperate sellers well below market value). We popped in to get some measurements for something and saw the pool was green and the place a tip, we freaked out and got hold of the agent right away who assured us the pool will be perfect when we move in and the place cleaned up. There were bags of garbage in every ****ing corner of the property. We are moving in end of May so hopefully the house will be sorted by then.

I hope you get this sorted OP. Its infuriating that people can be like this, no matter their circumstances.
Click to expand...

Sadly estate agents will tell you anything to keep you happy but actually do bugger all. Ours is absolutely hopeless. She just wants these issues to go away so she can get her comm. But I honestly hope they sort the place out for you.
 
Celine said:
you need to list the problems you have found with the property that weren't given to you at the time of your viewing the property.

http://www.rawson.co.za/property/advice/latent-and-patent-defects-124

the voetstoets clause does not apply if the previous owner knowingly withheld any defects. so this person stands to lose here. if i were you i would pay your attorney a visit and inform them that you will be deducting R200 thousand from the purchase price. see how quickly the owner responds to that when this latent and patent clause defects clause is slapped in his/her face.
Click to expand...

Eish! Really feel for you especially since it's the house you want.

+1 on what Celine said - tot up the costs to fix up all the issues including the massive water bill and deduct from the purchase price of the house as settlement.

Couple of years ago I sold a house that had a leaky roof - told the buyer about it, they felt uncomfortable with me fixing before transfer, wanted their own roofer to do it. We compromised, got three quotes (including one from their own roofer) got their roofer to match the lowest of the three quotes and I then knocked the cost off the purchase price. Everyone was happy.

Best bet is to work via the attorneys and involve the 'helpful' bank - you're not going to get any joy from the owner.
 
alf101 said:
Wait for xrapidx to find this thread, he's good at buying lemons, whether its cars or houses.
He'll have a few tips for you.
Click to expand...

Gee thanks :) already returned one LCD and one LED downlight this weekend :p

I went through similiar, but not as bad an experience... the tenants of the place ripped everything they could out... curtain railings, blinds, facets, shower caddies,etc. - the works. Fortunately, when we put an OTP in, and it was accepted, I came back and took photo's of EVERYTHING in the house, so I just sent it to the estate agent and got paid out. The tenants claimed everything was in the garage, they just removed it to paint.

We also didn't get a electrical compliance certificate, and I specifically stated I wanted one because of all the electronics I play with, needless to say, the attorney's claimed the seller didn't have money at the time of purchase, but they withheld money from the purchase...strangely enough the first I heard about it was when I queried it, and they actually sent me a letter stating they had it three months prior.

My only suggestion is try get it out of them - contact the transfer attorney's as well. Its not a pleasant experience, and I'm still fixing faults in this house 2½ years later.

Also had a situation with a "working" well point that has so far cost me R7000 to repair (I recently replaced everything, pump, controller, valves, etc)
 
Last edited:
BTW - I could be wrong, but I think recently the electrical certificate is no longer a requirement, but can be requested at BUYERS expense.
 
Grimspoon said:
Technically not a repo per se. It's what the bank call a 'help you sell' where the bank helps both buyer and seller in the sale of the property. But yes the fact remains the owner is apparently broke.
Click to expand...

Ah, I know these contracts. "Help u stay" and "Help u sell" agreements is what Absa calls them ... they are evil from root to tip.

Someone correct me if I am wrong here please.

The first one, cuts your current monthly house repayments in half on the condition that you sign a "special power of attorney" which is (supposedly) irrevocable under any and all circumstances and appoints the bank to act as an agent for the sale of their property should you default on just one of the reduced payment amounts that was negotiated in the agreement. So your current repayments would eg. drop from R10000 to R5000 per month and as soon as your R5000 payment is even a day late, they start selling your house without the need for all the legal schlep of giving you a summons/notice etc etc etc.

This is _afaik_ where the "Help u sell" part of the agreement kicks in. The owner has almost no control over their house being sold and would thus, as in your case, find every possible way to delay the process.

Unless the owner had more than one house to start with, then I would get myself out of that house asap or not even bother to see the lawyer. If the owner cannot even afford half of his usual repayments, then he probably does not have enough $$$ to pay for any repairs or legal outfall.
 
Yeah the 'help you sell' doesn't seem to give two flying ducks about the purchaser.

As far as I am aware a electrical compliance certificate is mandatory, you don't have a choice. The transfer won't go through until you have one.
 
Electrical compliance certificate is unfortunately not mandatory anymore for a sale.....

I just went through this with the municipality...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X