Urgent help! vendor refuse to tidy up

[priinnz]

Hi All,

Just want some information from other who have been through the hassle of buying a property.

We went unconditional on our property 45 days ago. The property needed some renovation and we were 'OK' with it.

The builders report came out with some minor defects in the property for which the price was negotiated with the vendors (while the offer was conditional).

All fine until we went in for pre-settlement inspection.
During this inspection we noticed that:
-Property has not been cleaned. There is garbage lying behing garage, mould, dirty carpet, slug trails on carpet. Hence we requested a general cleaning.
-Also saw some dents/cracks in the wall, posters that had been stuck on the walls during our earlier visit had been torn off leaving unsightly marks and other such things due to which we will have to undertake painting, wall repairs etc.

We notified the vendors about this. They are not willing to do anything about it (not even get it cleaned).
So we asked our lawyer to retain 2000 NZD and release rest of the money on settlement date.

However our lawyer insists that the vendor is not "agreeable" to us holding back any money, nor are they "prepared to attend the matters" at hand. Moreover, if we do not pay up today (i.e settlement day) then the settlement will be delayed at our expense!

Please can someone advise me what we can do about this and how? We always thought that the vendor was under obligation to attend to any matters that come up during inspection.

Thanks

[TheLiberalLeft]

I don't know the true legal position, but I know what I'd do. Instruct YOUR lawyer that you don't care that the vendor isn't "agreeable" and to do your job and apply some lawyerly pressure on them, and make it damned snappy while you're at it.

[TheLibrary]

Not sure of legal position either, but it sounds like its going be real headache to move foward the lawyer you have, so you might be better to resign yourself to cleaning up yourselves.

Do you know if they are at least going remove the garbage? Small wall repairs etc, are not that hard to put right, and at least you can do it the way you will be happy with.

[Maccachic]

What does it state in the S and P contract?

[priinnz]

Hi Liberal Left and Maccachic.

Thank you for your quick response.
The S&P states that if any disputes arise presettlement a small sum will be held with a stake holder till we resolve this issue.

However, my lawyer says that both parties should agree to this. Since the vendor is not agreeing we will have to pay the full sum and later we can see them in tribunal!

[TheLiberalLeft]

Surely both parties have to also agree that the full sum is payable, so the reverse also applies?

[Maccachic]

No point in a pre settlement check if you still have to take em to Court anyway could just do it on settlement day? So why is it there? No vendor will agree to holding back a sum would they?

[Davo36]

Well your lawyer will be more qualified in this area than me but when this has happened in the past with me, my lawyer sends a letter to the other party saying something like "We are ready to settle but are awaiting..." - so he's pointing out that the holdup is not from our end, but theirs. So they can't charge for late settlement because it's them causing the delay.

So your lawyer could say, we're ready to settle and will do so as soon as the cleaning etc. is done.

[priinnz]

Hi Davo36,

Thanks for your reply.

My lawyer has recommended we settle without prejudice and then later sort them out in tribunal.

Which we have no option but to agree to.

Has anyone done this in court before?

How can I prove in court that the property was not clean and had damages

[PC]

It's called "Widen the rift and gather the loot".

Go to court is not a cheap or easy option.
Good luck with that.

For $2K - after you have already knocked the price down - forget about it.
(P*** the vendors off at your own peril when buying).

[Maccachic]

Lawyer I am guessing will rack up some more fees via court?

[Scave]

I recall reading that the standard S&P agreement does not stipulate that the property needs to be cleaned prior to settlement. You could however add it prior to signing if both parties are agreeable (doesn't sound like you did that?).
You are however within your rights to have any damage repaired to the same state it was in at the time of signing the S&P agreement and your lawyer should be able to ensure that is enforced. That said, if the damage is minor your legal costs could be more that the costs to repair yourself!?!?

[KyronGosse]

There is a clause in the general terms and conditions of the S&P that deals with this sort of thing. I don't know it off the top of my head and don't have a copy on me atm, but have a read through the small print, particularly the vendor warranties section, it might provide some answers

[DazRaz]

I purchased a property and had a clause saying that the property would be commercially cleaned before settlement. It was filthy. I had arranged to take the next couple of weeks off work to tidy it up, paint and generally get it ready for renting. When the lawyers started talking, the vendor was wanting to delay settlement to get the cleaning done. I didn't want to delay settlement as I had arranged my annual leave. In the end, we got $250 knocked off the price. I thought my solicitor was no where predatory enough.

In the end, it comes down to the result you are wanting to achieve. I decided it was more important to settle on time and arrange the cleaning myself.

If you don't have cleaning in your contract, then I don't think you have a hope of getting anything off.

[essence]

Check out clauses in the Agmt S & P. You MAY find it of some use.

However, if you have already knocked off $'000's in negotiation in the purchase price, do you really want to drag out settlement?

Yes, it may cost you $'s to clean the place up but how much would it cost to take the vendor to court? How much money are you going to donate to the lawyer's retirement fund?

It is going to take the excitement off moving into a new home, which is a real shame. But look at the bigger picture, you're risking many more $'000's by arguing over cleaning that you could do.

Focus on the big picture.