Moved into house and theres been a leak for 2 months

[numnum]

a friend has bought a house and when i went to view it with her we looked at the bathroom and there was a flushing toilet noise. we never thought anything of it as theres 3 kids and 2 adults so the toilet is going to get used.

she moved in yesterday and the noise was still there. just by chance the electrician was sorting the metres and she asked him about the noise. he said its a leak

they pulled the floor boards back and everything is soaking. so its definately been leaking for 2 months from when she viewd it till she got the keys and nothing has been done about it

who would be responsible for this? there is something about a 5 day settling time but we're not sure about it. since it was discovered after office hours theres nothing that can be done till tomorrow

has anyone experienced anything like this once they move in

[ladybirder]

Caveat Emptor. It's your friends problem now. She needs to get it fixed asap.

[twix123]

Did your friend not have the house surveyed before making an offer?

[bednobs]

did she have a survey?

[tonywiltshire]

As has been said if your friend is one of the estimated 80% of people who do not commission their own survey and rely on the mortgage lender’s survey there is little that can now be done except have the defect repaired as soon as possible and ask the seller to pay, if they refuse there is little in law you can do. Without labouring the point the purchase of property is often the largest investment many people make and your own survey should be carried out.

[boxtops]

Never heard of a 5-day settling time - what would that be?

I can't image buying a house without an independent survey, is it really 80%, tony?

[tonyav]

Is this house brand new?

[boxtops]

I read it that 3 kids and 2 adults were living there before N's friend bought it.

[tonyav]

Ah right, I wasn't sure if it mean't the buyers family consisted of 3 kids and 2 adults.

[tonywiltshire]

boxtops. The last estimate I saw was from a group of some 30 estate agents who reported 80% of their customers did not commission their own survey. To my mind this is false economy as you can often reduce the asking amount after a full survey and the mortgage lender’s survey is only looking at sufficient security for the mortgage.