Horrors of buying a house

[ice_cubes]

how sure are you that sellers are really *overseas* ?

 

[Uraeus]

After the CPA was passed there is no voetstoets clause in the purchase agreement. They now have a disclosure document where the seller has to list every defect he is aware of.

If a defect arises and is not on the list and can prove it is something the seller was aware of, he in K*K.

OK, fair enough. What if your purchase agreement has a Voetstoets clause in it, as my did, even after the CPA? Unfortunately there is little recourse to take on the matter, as the estate agents and seller literally wiped their hands clean of the house with the addition of that clause.

how sure are you that sellers are really *overseas* ?

Uhm. Well the only REAL way to know is if they can show you the plane tickets that they left. The overseas variable just adds in a huge delay time.

 

[FrankCastle]

When ever it rains we can hear dripping on the ceilings, as well as the ceilings are getting
discolored.

This proves that the discolouring has only started now recently otherwise you would have noticed it during your first inspection.
Based on this, the owners can deny they knew about the roof which leaves you with the problem to sort out.

Start looking and shopping around for affordable ways to deal with this.I don't think its an R80 000 problem though.

 

[dualmeister]

This is why it's important to go over a property with a fine tooth comb and list any repairs you would like done as a condition of the purchase. Unfortunately though some defects are not always evident as in this case.

 

[Avenue]

It is a pitched roof, unfortunately it is not going to be an easy fix. I have received on the order of 10 quotes to fix it, and it alone is R40k average.

what kind of roof? tile? thatch? tin?. what do they say is the problem exactly. this will help establish how old the problem is?

 

[Avenue]

OK, fair enough. What if your purchase agreement has a Voetstoets clause in it, as my did, even after the CPA? Unfortunately there is little recourse to take on the matter, as the estate agents and seller literally wiped their hands clean of the house with the addition of that clause.

Voetstoets doesnt apply if there is a latent defect that they try to hide from you.

 

[Uraeus]

what kind of roof? tile? thatch? tin?. what do they say is the problem exactly. this will help establish how old the problem is?

It is a tiled roof. The insurance inspectors said that it is a problem that has been there for years, i.e. that it is maintenance related.

Voetstoets doesnt apply if there is a latent defect that they try to hide from you.

Which is a burden do get the judge/jury to believe that the sellers knew that when selling, and did not disclose it.

Although, the Voetstoets clause says that the sellers and agents are free from all liability in respects to any differences in descriptions made about the property, i.e. If they knew and didnt say something, it does not matter regardless. I guess I have been schooled on this one. Mistakes are expensive indeed!

I'm still curious if I can get another sucker to buy it, as clearly there is no recourse in selling people your problems. Although an eyebrow will be raised when someone sells a property months after buying.

 

[FrankCastle]

Have you had a climb up on the roof to assess the damage yourself.Take some pics and post it here.I'm sure we can offer suggestions

 

[Mila]

Try and find out from the estate Board. They should be able to give you a good guidline.

 

[HavocXphere]

I thought Voetstoets isn't permitted anymore?

 

[Uraeus]

I thought Voetstoets isn't permitted anymore?

I dont think so. Surely it is up to you what you want to put in a contract.

"All parties will agree to dress up as clowns on Halloween"

Me being a first time home buyer, didnt know that you could negotiate to take the clause out. All contracts are negotiable and not set in stone, if they want your business they will adjust. Especially in the case of an estate agent. Not lekker learning this after making potentially the biggest mistake on the biggest purchase of your life.

 

[Avenue]

Have you had a climb up on the roof to assess the damage yourself.Take some pics and post it here.I'm sure we can offer suggestions

It is a tiled roof. The insurance inspectors said that it is a problem that has been there for years, i.e. that it is maintenance related.

Tiles shouldn't leak, unless the pitch of the roof is off, the tiles are broken or the ridging is loose. or if the over lap on the valleys isnt large enough. Have the guys told you exactly what needs to be done? if not, get them to break it down for you, show you what is wrong. take pics as suggested above and post them.

Although, the Voetstoets clause says that the sellers and agents are free from all liability in respects to any differences in descriptions made about the property, i.e. If they knew and didnt say something, it does not matter regardless. I guess I have been schooled on this one. Mistakes are expensive indeed!

yeah, they put that in there, but you cannot sign away your rights. Else I could employ some foreign national at R1 an hour and just get him to sign that its okay.

 

[Avenue]

I'm still curious if I can get another sucker to buy it, as clearly there is no recourse in selling people your problems. Although an eyebrow will be raised when someone sells a property months after buying.

lol after estate agents commission/ transfer duties and then lawyers fees it would be cheaper to just repair the house.

 

[Uraeus]

lol after estate agents commission/ transfer duties and then lawyers fees it would be cheaper to just repair the house.

Great point. Woops, forgot about those applicable fees, I really dont feel like paying them again, .

 

[rorz0r]

You're lucky you're being offered 20%. I just got a big FU. After some rain we ended up with a hole that looked like a bullet hole in the one piece of ceiling and there was water dripping out of it. I came up with the bright idea to just put a bucket inside the roof there so it didn't damage the ceiling further. Went up there and found.... a bucket! Mother@##^$!@&#$!
I suspect what happened is the there was a leak, and they put a bucket there and did a bit of a patchy job on the roof, which just caused the leak to "move" and therefore miss the bucket that was already there. We took this up with the transfer attorneys but all they really did was say they will contact the seller, who apparently just said that the guys who fixed the geyser must have left that bucket there. Case closed.

 

[ice_cubes]

Tiles shouldn't leak, unless the pitch of the roof is off, the tiles are broken or the ridging is loose. or if the over lap on the valleys isnt large enough. Have the guys told you exactly what needs to be done? if not, get them to break it down for you, show you what is wrong. take pics as suggested above and post them. .

I agree...its probably the ridging that is loose or the valleys have been stuffed with cement (preventing water to flow freely)

 

[Celine]

to those of you who are telling him to suck it up and move on, shame on you. get the information before you tell people to just accept things. if you want to just accept something you bought that is broken or defective, then go ahead and spend your hard earned money. but i for one would fight to the bitter end and that would include the estate agent and the conveyancer.


http://www.housecheck.co.za/housecheck-home-inspection/

 

[Billy]

I have a fairly new house, with plastic under tiles. We noticed that if the rain came in a certain direction, water came though and dripped onto the ceiling.

I went into the roof and located the "drips" and put up another layer of plastic duct taped into place. This has so far cured the problem, but high winds can move the tiles and it is not necessarily a permanent cure.

However based on what I know, there are no leaksat present, so if I was selling I would assure the purchaser that "there are no leaks"

I would suggest going up into the roof and locating the "drip patches" then look at the plastic, or at the tiles and see if you can see daylight. If you can you have possible water entry points.

As previously pointed out, R80000 seems excessive.

Try to go in the roof in the morning, unless you enjoy Saunas.

 

[Avenue]

I have a fairly new house, with plastic under tiles. We noticed that if the rain came in a certain direction, water came though and dripped onto the ceiling.

I went into the roof and located the "drips" and put up another layer of plastic duct taped into place. This has so far cured the problem, but high winds can move the tiles and it is not necessarily a permanent cure.

we had a serious leak- covered it with fibreglass sheeting dipped in roof paint. thats dried as solid as a rock. Even during last years monsoons its held.

there are always cheaper, equally effective measures you can take.

 

[ToxicBunny]

You can get a product that you put on the roofs then paint over it that will seal up all leaks...

http://www.autospec.co.za/productme...ducts/waterproofing/plasconroofsealwrs1-5.pdf

Also won't cost anywhere NEAR R80k..