Hi

As the title says, is this a thing that can be added to a sale contract?
I’ve bought before abroad, and this is pretty standard. In the UK it
seems not to be the case.

Advantage would be to pick up any last minute damage, and to keep the
the seller on his toes as regards looking after stuff.

Any ideas

We put it in our contract as the place was rented, we did it when it had been vacated and tested EVERYTHING which threw up a load of electrical issues and some plumbing stuff which were required to be solved prior to final exchange. In the end they just gave us money to do it as the owner was a lazy developer.

In a seller’s market there’s a chance your seller will tell you to GTF, I would. It doesn’t really seem normal here but I can see the benefits as buyer. As a seller it’s just going to be a pain with no upside.

Walkthrough as in you get to inspect?

I’ve done this before agreeing to exchange with then a nice short window to completion.

IANAL but once you have exchanged there is little option to do anything bar complete as agreed. I bought a new build, on exchange it was not finished, in fact even on completion the garage roof and a number of other things were not finished. My solicitor said without risking our deposit and starting a massive legal fight I would have to complete as the house was technically habitable (airtight, heating, water etc.). We completed and stayed with family for another week whilst it was more finished. Total s**t show and we would never buy off plan again.

It could be, but in E&W if the buyer takes the property as it is to be found up to exchange, and if there is any change in condition between exchange and completion that is at the vendor’s risk.

So presumably you have satisfied yourself as to the conditon of the property prior to exchange (having a comprehensive survey, photos etc) so if there are any issues which occur after exchange then you claim off the vendor. It’s therefore not really necessary and would probably hold up a ‘normal’ sale.

I had issues before with damage which was obviously caused during the move. I pointed
this out and managed to get them to put in an insurance claim for it. You would have to take a lot of photos to document what a visual check would.
I guess the question would be what leverage a walk though would bring if the seller is unreasonable. Maybe just by adding the clause, it could motivate them into taking a bit more care.

Is that not why you get a survey done / look round the house prior to making an offer?

As a seller I would tell you to get a survey done as normal and make sure you are 100% happy prior to placing an offer. I would also make it known prior to accepting any offer that any last min negotiation will result in me immediately pulling out of a sale.

New build should be covered by warranty / contract. If they don’t deliver give them fair time to put right, then take them to court.

We did this after our survey but that was 6 years ago and our vendor was quite patient as they had had little interest. This was before exchanging and having read the comments above, and with hindsight I’m surprised we got this, however the market was different then.

You can negotiate additional changes/ clauses to the sale prior to exchange – as said above – however once you have exchanged you can’t and failure to complete risks your 10% deposit. The usual two weeks between exchange and completion are unlikely to result in significant additional house damage.

It depends on how much you want to buy and the seller wants to sell. The property market seems fairly much in the sellers favour at the moment and they may withdraw (prior to exchange) and look for another buy if you push them too hard “keep them on their toes”.

I don’t see why not but considering how fast property is shifting by me I’d say jog on and go for the next buyer seeing you as a potential PIA niggler.

There’s always going to be an element of risk when you’re buying. I think it entirely depends on the individual situation. If you’re trying to buy a property that’s been on the market for years and years, then go for it you’ve got noting to loose, with a popular house that’s got plenty of folk sniffing about, as a seller, i’d put you at the bottom of the pile.

Sellers market innit….our buyer has just asked for this. We told him no. He’s already looked at it twice, should’ve looked harder those times….

I don’t see why not but considering how fast property is shifting by me I’d say jog on and go for the next buyer seeing you as a potential PIA niggler.

Absolutely this. I’d walk at that point assuming I was living in the house, no interest in selling to someone who will bill me for scuffed paint and the like or who I need to walk round the instant we complete to document the whole thing so I don’t get stiffed with a bill for their ineptitude.

If it were vacant currently I’d be happy to let you look round as often as you liked but I’d be countering with a charge everytime I needed to let you in.

Doesn’t sound like it will be a sellers market much longer, already been whisperings of having to buy now if you are going to beat the stamp duty holiday due to estate agents and solicitors being overwhelmed 🤔 currently selling Mrs & her ex’s house, on the cusp of exchange* & it’s taking forever.

*where we were just before last lockdown only about £15k poorer as a result ☹️

Seems a fair thing to ask for.

We had our offer accepted in November, but due to virus didn’t exchange until July. The house had been empty all that time as the previous owners had moved overseas.
Arranged through the estate agents to have a quick look round the week before exchange in case the roof had caved in, a pipe burst or all the lead flashing had been stolen in the interim period.

If I were buying and post offer acceptance the seller didn’t let me view again I’d be pulling straight out.

I had that with this house, we agreed a price but I wanted to come back and check a few things – not to quibble on price but to appreciate what I had to deal with after moving in (viewing loft and to check something from the surveyors report with a builder).

The seller got shitty about it, I told them to find another buyer. They agreed for me to go around that weekend…

If I were buying and post offer acceptance the seller didn’t let me view again I’d be pulling straight out.

But this is different to having your offer accepted – this is talking about an interim inspection after exchange of contracts.

I was more responding to those saying they would ditch the buyer – that can’t be done post exchange so assume it was pre.

In current climate I wouldn’t want anyone coming in more than necessary, so would too politely refuse unless they had a really good reason. If there was an issue after exchange you can only go back to either the advert or revert to civil law (and good luck with that). Insure the hell out of it from exchange and cross the fingers.

Other than condition a good reason to do this is to ensure vacanct possesion. I’m sure there was a story on here not so long ago about a buyer whose vendor refused to leave the house?

I had issues before with damage which was obviously caused during the move. I pointed this out and managed to get them to put in an insurance claim for it

I’m trying to imagine what damage someone could cause in the process of moving that (a) is worth putting in an insurance claim for (b) is actually accidental and so eligible for insurance (c) isn’t already covered under the standard terms / warranty of a sale*

Maybe just by adding the clause, it could motivate them into taking a bit more care.

It won’t – they either are wreckless idiots or they are not.

*Perhaps thats not a thing in E&W – but its fairly standard in Scotland to have something like 7 days after entry to lodge a warranty claim for the heating not working or someone taking a TV off the wall and leaving a gaping hole. FWIW I don’t know anyone who has ever managed to money back.

Oh – and we’ve always been really accommodating of people who wanted to come back and measure up for carpets, curtains etc. Its a good time to show people where stop cocks are or explain the heating etc. A little less confrontational that – I don’t trust you and want to inspect.

We moved out of our last house and the removal men caused damage to a wall and doorframe taking our sofa out. We claimed on their insurance and told them to pay the people directly who had bought our house. There are ways round these things. Like above, if I was asked to formalise it in a contract I’d be looking for another buyer.

FWIW I don’t know anyone who has ever managed to money back.

My folks bought a house in Scotland where the owner had hidden some fairly serious flaws. Solicitor told them <£10k to put right probably better to suck it up.

is this why its the buyer responsibility to insure from exchange? anything broken, you could claim for. seems perverse, but….

You can put whatever you want in the contract. It is a contract like any other between 2 parties. Obvs you both have to agree with the content before you sign it.