Recently I went visit a subsale landed property house. I liked the house. Negotiated an OK price and paid the confirmation fee to the agent. Now working on the bank loan and SPA.

Somehow I am quite concern, this house is more than 7 years what if when I move in, I encounter the following:
1. Roof leaking
2. Wall Crack and
3. Water piping issue
4. Electrical wiring issue
5. Termite problem

Alot of the above I can't verify when I visit the house. Of course I survey the house as thorough as I can like checck if water pipe is functioning, switch are ok. but things like termite roof leaking I cannot check with naked eye. Ofcouse owner said none of the above problem exist. Is there any legal protection against all this if I ever encounter it after moving in?

I think you should have talk to your lawyer regarding this matter. They might have solution for u

due diligence is your responsibility, not te vendor/seller responsibility.

best of luck, all the nego should be done before booking and any agreement to make good be in the SnP. if its not in SnP its your problem.

S&P not signed yet. So any legal clause can be put in the S&P that owner have to solve all this problem if buyer encounter all this within say 6 months of moving in?

nope, you have to find the problem, cannot guess and try to put blanket, no lawyer worth the salt will entertain you.
if you find it then you can ask for repair or amount deduction for repair.

the 2 week between booking and SnP include such checking usually done by your contractor. normally done even before booking.

Yes... legal clause will be impose in SPA, and is a normal clause, until the end of SPA period.
It would say, deliver the house as at you see. You can write in if leakage during SPA period ask seller to take care the cost. Or any extra things u want to add in... however, imo, Termite prob is hard to justify.

so give and take, you have to nego n reserve 10k-20k to fix sub-sale house.

Same thing goes to you when u sell house, you cant tell if house got problem or not.

maybe mistake that i did not get my contractor come when visit the house. I went alone. I have signed confirmation but have not signed S&P. Can i get contractor to check the house? What if the owner will not allow?

Sub-sale property is sold on a "As Is Basis" meaning what u see is what u get. There is ZERO remedy against any of the defects that u have pointed out.

If u wanted some remedy, it must be stated in the SPA. U can try to insert in certain clauses? do u have your own Lawyer to handle the process?

the house you have exclusive after you sign the booking. get contractor in.

check for wiring - tripping, they have a device that can test for ground/trip/
roof - termite/broken
piping - stuck
wall/pillar - crack
water stain
make detail note of all the fitting inclusive, condition of door/window/basin/lighting
take massive photo.

bring a masking tape, marker ... anything just stick a masking tape and write on it, take photo.
dump all this into the SnP appendix section. anything missing from your photo record you can claim when you take key.

then you nego price ... i suggest you do your own repair instead of having him repair .... hence ask for price reduction.

btw sub sale negotiation is all about finding flaw and cut price.

the SPA got write that the house condition must have that 5 issues done or not?

sorry for bugging a 10years old thread.
I had similar issue now, but i m at the seller side

(i) Buyer did 2 rounds site visit, didnt raise any concerns at all. Then proceed with the booking procedures, then SPA signing yada yada

(ii) SPA did mention clearly property sale is "as is where is" basis and the buyer is satisfied with the condition. However got clause saying we need to maintain that condition except for reasonable wear and tear as there is a was a 3 months+ timegap between SPA signing and VP date due to delay in strata title transfer

(ii) All the strata procedures completed, his loan released money, we receive payments, keys given to him. 1 month later tiba tiba he ask his lawyer email us say he found some cracked tiles in toilet and say we must repair, cause its safety issue lucky we found photos from few years back and shoot him back saying its already there for 2 years(ie before he come site inspection, its there). Then silent for 2 weeks, now receive another email from his lawyer say now they found out that 1 light in the room is not functioning, the living room painting condition is not satisfactory etc.

All his evidence is a video took now showing the condition, which almost 2 months past since VP already.

My question is, is there any legal recourse from him to claim all these from us? Its already almost 2 months that the VP has been given to him. He think i m a developer with defects liability period ke?

My problem if he didnt manage to spot the defects before the SPA signing? We gave him full access during the 2 site visitsm but surely he cant be expecting that i list out all the problems i know bout the house?

but of course, he didnt ask for it and i didnt lie, technically speaking there are no misrepresentation

This post has been edited by prozfromhell: Aug 23 2024, 11:26 AM

1. Due diligence
2. Due diligence
3. Due diligence

And
Most cases you are buying at as what it is basis.

One thing i had learned from the lawyer in charge of my client's case recently, attached the photos into SPA like what we do for tenancy agreement. Protect yourself

If it is not raised before signing and a reasonable time after VP, then you can ignore the buyer.

For folks buying old properties, please prepare a budget to renovate/ fix up the place because you will find a lot of things need fixing with the property.

Just keep 40-50K extra in hand to do minor renovations. At least the house can last for next 10 years.

unless if there is a clause in the S&P agreement where he has listed out what are the defect that need to be fixed before last payment release from them.

nope, the SPA was signed with no mentioning of any defects.
in fact we already gotten payment in full lol.

what annoys me is now already almost 2 months after VP, the recent emails received is they complaining one of the lights in the house cannot be turned on.

light bulbs rosak also he asked his lawyer email us claiming is our fault and demand for repair

either that dude was hardcore poor or he is expecting a developer-like defect liability period

This post has been edited by prozfromhell: Aug 23 2024, 03:51 PM

for an ordinary person, i opined that once hand over and joint inspection, thats it. buying an old house ma

This post has been edited by forever1979: Aug 24 2024, 08:28 AM

Just ask your lawyer to send one email out mentioning already pass keys to him. Liability only can happen if written specifically on the snp or few days during collect keys. Lol what an epic buyer you had. Lights also wanna claim lol

VP already and already 2 mth..
No need to tiew this kind of buyer..

Spa ad say as it is basis.. and no warranty after hand over..