Q. I am buying my first property and due to exchange tomorrow so my solicitor advised that I go visit the property to make sure everything is in order before we exchange contracts. However, when I went in to the property to check everything over for the last time I was horrified to find that all the white goods in the kitchen have been removed as well as the fitted wardrobes in the bedroom. I assumed all of these would be staying? Is there anything I can do, I’m sure the seller said he was including these items in the sale?
A. Whenever you are buying a property it is extremely important that everything is recorded in writing right at the onset of the offer being accepted, particularly when it comes to fixtures and fittings that may or may not be included in the purchase. Verbal agreements are simply not good enough when it comes to such crucial matters as these. Your agent should have made the offer to include these items, and if the vendor had agreed this should have been included on the special conditions of the Sales Memorandum, the document that is issued to your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor as well as yourself and the seller with all the important details of the sale. This would be your first confirmation in writing that the items were included in the purchase so it’s worth checking your memorandum to see if this is the case? If it was included in the special conditions then you have a case against the seller as clearly you have a written agreement that the items were included in the purchase. If however it was not recorded here, next stop is to check the Fixtures and Fittings document. This would have been given to your seller to complete by their solicitor and once completed a copy would have been sent to you via your solicitor for checking. The fixtures and fittings list records everything that is being left at the property and therefore included in the sale. Again – check this list thoroughly to see if the missing items were included. If they were you can refuse to exchange until the items are returned to the property, or if that is not an option you can ask for a price reduction to cover the cost of replacing the missing items. If they were not included then I’m afraid there is nothing you can do at this late stage. The moral of the story is never forget to get written confirmation of everything agreed at the onset of the purchase.