Can I quit the purchase of a house during the snag step?

Lunastro

Lunastro

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The house presented doesn't have the finishing details up to standard, when compared with the show house, it looks and feels sub-par.
I'm considering a request to abandon the purchase, due to lack of quality on these details. I'm not desperate to buy a house, and I do not entertain the cost of having these repaired and done on my own.
I'm still pending the first reply to my initial snag list.

In short, can I legally quit the purchase of the house if I'm not happy? Assuming I will get the 10% back.

Thank you in advance
 
Have you signed contracts?

If not, you are free to walk away from the purchase and recover your deposit in full.
 
Sarenco said:
Have you signed contracts?

If not, you are free to walk away from the purchase and recover your deposit in full.
Click to expand...

Yes, the house completed afterwards, and then we were invited for the snag inspection.
 
Well, if you've exchanged contracts you have to proceed.

Or the developer can keep your deposit and sell the house to somebody else. Or sue you for specific performance.
 
I imagine you could negate the contract if the finished article is significantly substandard. If the roof is leaking or the windows have fallen out, or there is a hole in the wall.
Or if the builder refuses to deal with the snag list, they could be in breach of contract, at which point you could sue them.
I would talk to your solicitor before taking any drastic decisions.

Have you employed a professional surveyor to do an exhaustive snag list.
If the developer gets the impression that you are seriously unhappy, he might be willing to mutually withdraw from the contract. Depends on location, but property is still pretty easy to sell.
 
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Lunastro said:
The house presented doesn't have the finishing details up to standard, when compared with the show house, it looks and feels sub-par.
I'm considering a request to abandon the purchase, due to lack of quality on these details. I'm not desperate to buy a house, and I do not entertain the cost of having these repaired and done on my own.
I'm still pending the first reply to my initial snag list.

In short, can I legally quit the purchase of the house if I'm not happy? Assuming I will get the 10% back.

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Surely you have solicitor to advise on this and are not relying on legal advice from strangers on the internet??
 
If showhouse is open I'd suggest you photo and or video standard of finish there so you have some evidence.

How significant are the differences?

I've heard folks joke that for snags the builder send their worst fixer, and the client eventually gives up, as the fixer just makes things worse.
 
The developer we bought from would fit that description..cowboys running it. They leave estates in poor condition and their tradesmen do more damage when sent in to fix stuff.
 
What does your solicitor think?

The legal person handling the purchase is probably better placed to comment than a bunch of anonymous Johnnys on the internet like us.
 
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