Property fixtures & fittings when buying a house

[Tman*]

When buying a property and the OTP states the two following points:
- includes all fixtures and fittings
- voetstoots

is it reasonable to expect a garage motor to be in a working condition? Can one demand from the seller that it must be in a working condition after discovering the chain is broken?

I sold a home years ago and the new buyer had the audacity to send me the bill MONTHS after he moved in for fixing the defective garage motor. Needless to say I just ignored it.

 

[marysms]

Just out of curiosity lets say the Agent advertises that property has a borehole water, does it also mean I must test to see if the borehole pump is working, how do you get borehole water if the pump is not working?

Also if on the advert they say recently serviced irrigation system, does it mean that I have to actually test that the irrigation system is working or can I make the assumption that the system should be working as it was recently fixed?

 

[richjdavies]

Id go with caveat emptor on most of this. I know thats not the law here, but ultimately if your buying an irrigation system with installation, wouldnt you check it before agreeing thr work was complete?

Same should go with a house that includes said irrigation...

I say should deliberately. Should because otherwise you spent more time and effort than its worth and start realising how many scoundrels there are in the world who will just waste your time, blame the agent, waste more time, refuse, not turn up to court, lose, not pay you... Years of effort for a few grand! All saved if you had just checked beforehand and probably not changed the offer if they had said "sorry it doesn't work we always just opened it manually, so won't be included"

 

[The_MAC]

Fixtures are items that would stay behind if you turned the house upside down.

The garage motor is a luxury in my opinion, it does not form part of the COC. I think it's a bit of a debate. But agree that if the seller is kind enough he would fix it

 

[Erohann]

Fixtures are items that would stay behind if you turned the house upside down.

The garage motor is a luxury in my opinion, it does not form part of the COC. I think it's a bit of a debate. But agree that if the seller is kind enough he would fix it

In no unclear terms they said we can go stick it where the sun doesn't shine, take the keys back, refuse occupational rent and have the sale contract cancelled, with me as the buyer be liable for wastage fees of all attorneys and parties involved.

The above was in response to me sternly pushing for an answer to the two questions:
"Is the garage motor's repair my responsibility, or the sellers?"
"Should the non working stove have been declared or not"
When he kept on saying "grey area", "you got a good deal" and didn't want to give a yes or no answer.

Man maak my kwaad, antwoord net die vraag fktg. Never demanded they fix anything and even prefaced the whole thing with, I understand that some of the responsibilities fall on me as the buyer, I would just like some clarity and a conversation on the points mentioned.

TL;DR great friends helped me hook up the chain to the motor, seemed to work just fine, but now gets stuck and starts closing sometimes. Might just need a new chain thats not as rusty and rigid, will look for a garage man to come assist.

 

[Steamy Tom]

In no unclear terms they said we can go stick it where the sun doesn't shine, take the keys back, refuse occupational rent and have the sale contract cancelled, with me as the buyer be liable for wastage fees of all attorneys and parties involved.

The above was in response to me sternly pushing for an answer to the two questions:
"Is the garage motor's repair my responsibility, or the sellers?"
"Should the non working stove have been declared or not"
When he kept on saying "grey area", "you got a good deal" and didn't want to give a yes or no answer.

Man maak my kwaad, antwoord net die vraag fktg. Never demanded they fix anything and even prefaced the whole thing with, I understand that some of the responsibilities fall on me as the buyer, I would just like some clarity and a conversation on the points mentioned.

TL;DR great friends helped me hook up the chain to the motor, seemed to work just fine, but now gets stuck and starts closing sometimes. Might just need a new chain thats not as rusty and rigid, will look for a garage man to come assist.

stop talking to the seller, speak to the agent or the conveyance attorney. Do not accept them broken.

depending where you are i know a garage guy that can help you pretty cheaply if you really dont come right.

 

[Erohann]

stop talking to the seller, speak to the agent or the conveyance attorney. Do not accept them broken.

depending where you are i know a garage guy that can help you pretty cheaply if you really dont come right.

It was the agent that I spoke to above, after mailing the conveyance attorney the questions (1) whose responsibility is the motor?, (2) non-working stove was not disclosed, should it have been? and they just deferred it to the agent. For what its worth, I have never had contact with the seller from get go.

They ended up replacing the stove, didn't touch the garage. In their defence, the listing did't advertise "motorized garage", nothing was listed regarding it in the defects annexure either. I should have tested it and was wrong for reasonably assuming it works.

I'm in Randburg @Steamy Tom , any recommendations?

 

[Steamy Tom]

It was the agent that I spoke to above, after mailing the conveyance attorney the questions (1) whose responsibility is the motor?, (2) non-working stove was not disclosed, should it have been? and they just deferred it to the agent. For what its worth, I have never had contact with the seller from get go.

They ended up replacing the stove, didn't touch the garage. In their defence, the listing did't advertise "motorized garage", nothing was listed regarding it in the defects annexure either. I should have tested it and was wrong for reasonably assuming it works.

I'm in Randburg @Steamy Tom , any recommendations?

ok cool.

is this an overhead sectional garage door(i assume so from you saying it is chain drive)? if you release the motor using the pull rope does the door move fairly freely by hand?

 

[Erohann]

ok cool.

is this an overhead sectional garage door(i assume so from you saying it is chain drive)? if you release the motor using the pull rope does the door move fairly freely by hand?

Yes it is overhead. When releasing it moves freely by hand. Someone in my complex referred me to their garage door guy, so waiting on feedback from him.

Only concern about the pull rope - when left accessible from outside, the garage can technically be accessed by anyone and I'd be reluctant to store tools there.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Yes it is overhead. When releasing it moves freely by hand. Someone in my complex referred me to their garage door guy, so waiting on feedback from him.

Only concern about the pull rope - when left accessible from outside, the garage can technically be accessed by anyone and I'd be reluctant to store tools there.

the pull rope should definately not be accesible from outside.

i will give the guy a shout and ask him what a chain costs and come back to you when he comes back to me

 

[Erohann]

the pull rope should definately not be accesible from outside.

i will give the guy a shout and ask him what a chain costs and come back to you when he comes back to me

Lack of clarity on my side. The garage has no doorway from the home. Only the roller door as entrance/exit. Therfore pull rope is accessed from outside the garage.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

In no unclear terms they said we can go stick it where the sun doesn't shine, take the keys back, refuse occupational rent and have the sale contract cancelled, with me as the buyer be liable for wastage fees of all attorneys and parties involved.

The above was in response to me sternly pushing for an answer to the two questions:
"Is the garage motor's repair my responsibility, or the sellers?"
"Should the non working stove have been declared or not"
When he kept on saying "grey area", "you got a good deal" and didn't want to give a yes or no answer.

Man maak my kwaad, antwoord net die vraag fktg. Never demanded they fix anything and even prefaced the whole thing with, I understand that some of the responsibilities fall on me as the buyer, I would just like some clarity and a conversation on the points mentioned.

TL;DR great friends helped me hook up the chain to the motor, seemed to work just fine, but now gets stuck and starts closing sometimes. Might just need a new chain thats not as rusty and rigid, will look for a garage man to come assist.

You can just spray chain lube onto the chain, even Q20 will work - queue all the wet lube hating cyclists. I can cycle hundreds of km on a chain without any wear using Q20, your garage motor won't do a fraction of that. You only spray the chain on the rollers and then wipe off the outside. Will take you about 15 minutes to do roller by roller but worth it.

A jerky motor can be a door out of alignment, or a motor out of alignment as well. Check the sensitivity settings on the motor as that can sometimes reset after load shedding.

Edit: it might be worth it to get a new garage motor if your current one is old. I was surprised how cheap they are as mine blew up one day - at least the seller said he had no idea how long it would still last. Upgraded to something with a battery backup.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Lack of clarity on my side. The garage has no doorway from the home. Only the roller door as entrance/exit. Therfore pull rope is accessed from outside the garage.

big security risk then imo. if this is just a store room or something i would use it manually and lock it and forget about the motor. if it is like a daily use for a car etc though thats obviously frustrating, but i def wouldnt want my garage door to be opened by a pull string accesible externally.

 

[Steamy Tom]

You can just spray chain lube onto the chain, even Q20 will work - queue all the wet lube hating cyclists. I can cycle hundreds of km on a chain without any wear using Q20, your garage motor won't do a fraction of that. You only spray the chain on the rollers and then wipe off the outside. Will take you about 15 minutes to do roller by roller but worth it.

A jerky motor can be a door out of alignment, or a motor out of alignment as well. Check the sensitivity settings on the motor as that can sometimes reset after load shedding.

Edit: it might be worth it to get a new garage motor if your current one is old. I was surprised how cheap they are as mine blew up one day - at least the seller said he had no idea how long it would still last. Upgraded to something with a battery backup.

and to add, if it is a normal non-ringed chain, take it off, put it in an old pot, dump in some machine oil, turn up the heat and let it heat up in the oil until the oil gets pretty hot, then take the pot off the heat and leave the chain in it for 24 hours. take it out and let the excess drain on an old rag, wipe it down lightly and try use it.

 

[pinball wizard]

and to add, if it is a normal non-ringed chain, take it off, put it in an old pot, dump in some machine oil, turn up the heat and let it heat up in the oil until the oil gets pretty hot, then take the pot off the heat and leave the chain in it for 24 hours. take it out and let the excess drain on an old rag, wipe it down lightly and try use it.

As the other guy alluded to bicyclists, they do a similar thing with their chains and a warm bath of paraffin.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

As the other guy alluded to bicyclists, they do a similar thing with their chains and a warm bath of paraffin.

I should try that, use paraffin wax from a beauty store should work. Actually, my wife still has a paraffin wax bath and some wax somewhere - and she complains about my hobbies lying around the house.

Got some rusty bike chains I need to lube.

 

[pinball wizard]

I should try that, use paraffin wax from a beauty store should work. Actually, my wife still has a paraffin wax bath and some wax somewhere - and she complains about my hobbies lying around the house.

Got some rusty bike chains I need to lube.

I seen the okes on The Hub talking about it. I aint got time for that. I still wash chain with Q20, dry and lube with squirt.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

I seen the okes on The Hub talking about it. I aint got time for that. I still wash chain with Q20, dry and lube with squirt.

I edit my file using nano and lube my chain with Q20.

Queue the religion war - why I stopped being a mod on The Hub.