Unconditional sale "conditions"

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Unconditional sale "conditions"

xpd

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#311086 12-Dec-2023 20:31

I know, seek advice of solicitor etc..... just want others views/experiences while the solicitors go to play :)

If you were to buy a property unconditional (not even a builders inspection), would you expect the seller to have cleaned all under the house of everything ?

Especially since the under house cannot be used for anything due to its space etc ?

I was told by a solicitor that even cleaning anything in the house was not required, as it was unconditional, sold "as is".

I've had a look at various websites in regards to this, but none actually have any examples etc on this situation.

Thoughts etc ? :)

XPD / Gavin

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#3171236 12-Dec-2023 20:44

Not sure I’ve ever bought a house that didn’t have some junk left behind. Never anything in the house but always cr*p in the basement, back yard etc. it’s annoying.

Hammerer

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#3171237 12-Dec-2023 20:51

There is a lot of helpful info out there, e.g. “How clean does a property have to be when you buy it?“

https://www.raineycollins.co.nz/your-resources/articles/article-22-9-22

On the meaning of terms, again, there is a lot of helpful info. So it is easy to find that unconditional does not mean that the seller has no obligations nor does it mean the property is sold “as is” without any means to rectify issues. Most of that useful info should be contained in the standard terms of the sale/purchase contract where the removal of rubbish should be covered.

Handle9

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#3171238 12-Dec-2023 21:10

Removal of rubbish and junk are part of vacant possesion, not an unconditional contract.

Unconditional means the contract can't be cancelled without mutual consent, not that as a vendor there are no obligations.

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#3171249 12-Dec-2023 21:41

We had an issue with rubbish removal, we simply threatened to send the bill to the agent to pass onto the vendor.

As it happened the vendor had left some stuff behind they wanted to recover and in return removed the rubbish.

Our own solicitor stated once we'd accepted the keys we had no official way to remediate this, but they could have put paper work thru before then providing we could prove the rubbish as on the property.. Yeah a real mess.

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MyFriendAutism

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#3171522 13-Dec-2023 17:16

Stipulate the removal of items(rubbish etc...) as part of the contract. I purchased a house 5 years ago based on photo's, agents description & I stipulated the removable of various items(hot tub + junk). It was the agents responsibility on the day of hand over to visit the house & confirm these conditions have been meet.

xpd

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#3171557 13-Dec-2023 18:33

I've been sent photos of what theyre asking to have removed.... and OMFG. Anal.

Even asking for tree branches that came down in bad weather to be removed from under the trees in an area of the yard you cant even see from the house. And a few tins of paint from the shed - which is FOR THE HOUSE.

Off to solicitors tomorrow to sort out...

Fun times :D

XPD / Gavin

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mentalinc

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#3171615 13-Dec-2023 21:59

Consider the cost of paying your solicitor to sort it out vs getting someone around to clean up a few things here and there.

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#3171622 13-Dec-2023 22:30

A old cast iron pot belly stove was left behind under the house when I purchased. I thought it was worth next to nothing and put it on market place for ' offers ' and sold it in minutes for $500 cash! stoked

GV27

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#3171635 14-Dec-2023 06:20

The only stuff I left under our old house was things and items related to the house itself; e.g. spare roof tiles, spare spouting and some pallets that we used to keep things off the dirt floor for storage.

Everything else was our problem, as far as I was concerned. We used a junk collection service once we'd cleared it onto the lawn.

cisconz

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#3171636 14-Dec-2023 06:30

When I sold my house, the RA advised that if it wasn't listed on the chattels, it had to go - we were not allowed to even leave the spare paint, for touch ups etc.

We just did it as it wasn't worth risking delaying the settlement date as that would have cost us more than the cost to remove.

Hmmmm

eracode

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#3171637 14-Dec-2023 07:07

Handle9:

Removal of rubbish and junk are part of vacant possesion, not an unconditional contract.

Unconditional means the contract can't be cancelled without mutual consent, not that as a vendor there are no obligations.

This is correct and 'unconditional' does not mean 'as is' - so the solicitor who told you this is lying because they would know better. The two terms are completely unrelated. 'Vacant possession' is a term that appears in a standard Agreement for Sale and Purchase. It has a legal definition and it is clear that the stuff under the house should be removed.

" ... the previous owner ... must have fully moved out of the property and taken all of their personal belongings and rubbish with them either on or before the settlement date so that the purchaser of the property can take possession, move in unobstructed ...".

The article also says "Settlement cannot take place until the property is vacant."

OTOH vacant possession and cleaning are two separate things too - as per above link by @Hammerer. The property needs to be vacant but not necessarily cleaned - unless the purchaser gets cleaning specifically put in the ASAP.

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#3171638 14-Dec-2023 07:14

OP is selling the house from what I can figure out...
IANAL but IMHO I think wanting trees trimmed falls completely outside of requirements???
Taking the solicitors advice is probably the best solution, but Id be tempted to chop the whole tree down!

Doing your best is much more important than being the best.

outdoorsnz

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#3171665 14-Dec-2023 10:59

xpd:

I've been sent photos of what theyre asking to have removed.... and OMFG. Anal.

Even asking for tree branches that came down in bad weather to be removed from under the trees in an area of the yard you cant even see from the house. And a few tins of paint from the shed - which is FOR THE HOUSE.

Off to solicitors tomorrow to sort out...

Fun times :D

Sounds like they will be inspecting the property 2 days before settlement and come back with most annoying requests! My last property the person asked for blown light bulbs to replaced in the sleep out, tins of paints for recent painting to be left, small cracked window etc. It was most annoying and added to the stress of it all.

Be prepared for them to hold back money.

cddt

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#3171687 14-Dec-2023 12:40

We had this happen... I still have PTSD from the last minute demands before settlement. Including trimming trees... do you know how hard it is to get an arborist with two days notice?

wellygary

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#3171713 14-Dec-2023 14:45

outdoorsnz:

My last property the person asked for blown light bulbs to replaced in the sleep out,

if they had not specifically included bulbs in the S+P I would have gone round and taken out every bulb in the house ... :)

last time we went through this, the standard ADSL S+P only listed light FITTINGs as a pre printed chattel,

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