Here are a few things to think about before you enter into an agreement to sell.
Do you have any chattels in the property which you intend to sell with the property i.e. heat pump, or oven. If you specify these in the agreement, then you give a warranty that they are in the condition that they are in, but are in reasonable working condition. So if these chattels are not in working condition, then you should consider either having these repaired or not including them in the agreement and removing them when you do sell.
If you have carried out building work to the property which needed building consent, then you need to have obtained consent for it. The standard sale agreement includes a warranty that if you have carried out or had someone else carry out building work on the property, that you obtained consent and had final sign off. It can be pretty tricky to get retrospective consent for work that you have done, especially if you are no longer in the property. The two main building consent issues that we often see and which are easier to spot when looking at photos of property are:
- Removal of a structural wall. If a wall is structural it needs building consent to be removed. Often walls are removed between a kitchen and lounge, or between the bathroom and another room to create more space.
- Tiled wet floor bathrooms.
If you do have any concerns please get in touch with our team.
