Buying a House Query
Discussion
Am in the process of buying a fire damaged house. The owner sadly passed away as a result of the fire so now his estate is selling the house.
I had my offer accepted 6 weeks ago and they have now got back to my solicitor saying they want me to accept any liabilities arising from the fire. I have asked them if they are aware of any claims as a result of the fire and haven't heard as yet.
Is this a standard thing? Feels to me like they are trying it on. Any conveyancing sols out there got any advice? My initial reaction is to either say no thanks and walk away if they don't want to drop it or to ask for a signicant reduction in price in order to cover any possible claims.
Any advice veryw gratefully received. TIA.
I had my offer accepted 6 weeks ago and they have now got back to my solicitor saying they want me to accept any liabilities arising from the fire. I have asked them if they are aware of any claims as a result of the fire and haven't heard as yet.
Is this a standard thing? Feels to me like they are trying it on. Any conveyancing sols out there got any advice? My initial reaction is to either say no thanks and walk away if they don't want to drop it or to ask for a signicant reduction in price in order to cover any possible claims.
Any advice veryw gratefully received. TIA.
Wouldn't touch a house anyone had met there end in personally (bad vibes etc) but I can understand buying it if it was dirt cheap.
I used to get the bus past a flat which someone had been hacked to death in and left for days in. It was up for sale at £50k which is about a sixth of it's true worth. Took years to sell.
I used to get the bus past a flat which someone had been hacked to death in and left for days in. It was up for sale at £50k which is about a sixth of it's true worth. Took years to sell.
velocefica said:
Wouldn't touch a house anyone had met there end in personally
Unless you are buying a brand new build, how do you know if anyone met their end there? Even on a new build, there is nothing to say one of the builders didn't fall through the roof and end up brown bread.konark said:
It's a bit like buying a car and being asked to take the rap for any motoring offences pending on that vehicle. Can't see how they can transfer any liability onto you for something that happened when you were not the owner, unless you let them I suppose.
No it's not. Not at all.The buyer is buying a fire damaged house at a price below what it would have been if it hadn't been fire damaged. Buying a car that had been flood damaged, say, at a low price would be a better analogy and you would be expected to take the risk of any future outcomes as a result of the flood damage.
It's pretty straightforward and the OP should just insure if he is concerned.
I'm sure one of the lawyer people will confirm this.
I had a catastrophic fire on the ground floor flat I had, turned out my insurance had lapsed, divorce, new bank account, missed the annual standing order etc.
My teenage son had found an electric blanket from the 60s at a friends house, brought it home and then left it plugged in for 48 hours.
Anyway post fire the owners of the flat above that eventually needed £750,000 to repair wanted to come after me/my property. Turns out there is an ancient law that means if a fire spreads from your property to another you are not liable.
It makes sense, otherwise if you live in a terraced house you would have a risk of covering the whole street if a fire started in your house.
You would need to get some advice as I did, but it seems you won't be liable
I had a catastrophic fire on the ground floor flat I had, turned out my insurance had lapsed, divorce, new bank account, missed the annual standing order etc.
My teenage son had found an electric blanket from the 60s at a friends house, brought it home and then left it plugged in for 48 hours.
Anyway post fire the owners of the flat above that eventually needed £750,000 to repair wanted to come after me/my property. Turns out there is an ancient law that means if a fire spreads from your property to another you are not liable.
It makes sense, otherwise if you live in a terraced house you would have a risk of covering the whole street if a fire started in your house.
You would need to get some advice as I did, but it seems you won't be liable
AndyNetwork said:
velocefica said:
Wouldn't touch a house anyone had met there end in personally
Unless you are buying a brand new build, how do you know if anyone met their end there? Even on a new build, there is nothing to say one of the builders didn't fall through the roof and end up brown bread.
REALIST123 said:
No it's not. Not at all.
The buyer is buying a fire damaged house at a price below what it would have been if it hadn't been fire damaged. Buying a car that had been flood damaged, say, at a low price would be a better analogy and you would be expected to take the risk of any future outcomes as a result of the flood damage.
It's pretty straightforward and the OP should just insure if he is concerned.
Will insurers cover against potential future claims from a fire in the past?The buyer is buying a fire damaged house at a price below what it would have been if it hadn't been fire damaged. Buying a car that had been flood damaged, say, at a low price would be a better analogy and you would be expected to take the risk of any future outcomes as a result of the flood damage.
It's pretty straightforward and the OP should just insure if he is concerned.
You can get indemnities against most issues, the premium depends on the risk. I'd guess in this case the indemnity would be against claims which could be made in future, i.e. the estate doesn't want to still be held liable for dealing with or costs of any possible future legal action by a claimant who comes out of the woodwork months or years down the line.
I would have thought your solicitor should be advising you on the ins and outs? Ours was very good when we needed an indemnity to cover some building regs issues on our last sale, but as sellers we paid for it.
I certainly wouldn't be happy with taking on the risk myself, you've no idea what the scale or cost of a future claim could be, hugely unlikely though it is to ever happen.
I would have thought your solicitor should be advising you on the ins and outs? Ours was very good when we needed an indemnity to cover some building regs issues on our last sale, but as sellers we paid for it.
I certainly wouldn't be happy with taking on the risk myself, you've no idea what the scale or cost of a future claim could be, hugely unlikely though it is to ever happen.
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