Getting out of a contract to buy apartment

M

manta400

Guest
Hi,

I recently went to view my apartment as it is now build and is ready for snagging. When I went to inspect, I was really unhappy with it. The workmanship is shocking. The dividing wall between the two rooms are not straight. The main door is broken. The sitting room window needs to replaced etc The snag list is about 15 pages long. And here is the major problem the rooms are designed in such a way that you can't have the back of the bed to any wall as you won't be able to get to the other side of the room as they are too narrow.

Any advice as to how to get out of this contract and get my deposit back as I fear that if I went to sell it afterwards, nobody would want it.
 
manta400 said:
Hi,

I recently went to view my apartment as it is now build and is ready for snagging. When I went to inspect, I was really unhappy with it. The workmanship is shocking. The dividing wall between the two rooms are not straight. The main door is broken. The sitting room window needs to replaced etc The snag list is about 15 pages long. And here is the major problem the rooms are designed in such a way that you can't have the back of the bed to any wall as you won't be able to get to the other side of the room as they are too narrow.

Any advice as to how to get out of this contract and get my deposit back as I fear that if I went to sell it afterwards, nobody would want it.
Click to expand...

The workmanship or lack of it does sound pretty grim. But the builder would presumably argue the issue with the room layouts is something you knew about when you entered into the contract - didn't you get a floor plan?

You should get legal advice urgently.
 
I have a floor plan. But I didn't think it would be so narrow as that you can't actually fit a bed into the room without having it in the middle of the room and not against any wall.
 
Hi,

I am also in a similiar position. I have signed contracts and paid €12,500 over and was wondering if i can get out of it without losing my money.

When i signed contracts i asked if i could see the apartment or get room measurments. I was told this was not possible at the block was still a building site. There was also no show apartment so i only had a block layout to go by which had no room measurments.

When i finally got in to snag, there was numerous differences to what was in the plans. The sqare footage is 2% less that what i was told orginally. I also bought this particular apartment as it had a seperate kitchen and sittingroom in the plans, but now there is one room instead of two. The second bedroom is also very small and has a wardrobe positioned in the middle of the room so can bearly fit a single bed.

Is there any way of getting out of this contract and getting my money back on these grounds.

Thanks for any help.....
 
Some info for you Nicky40

1. Check if Builder signed the contract
2. Talk to an engineer about the drawings
3. Talk to your solictor.
4. Check if Builder is homebonded and talk to them.

Another point what would happen if you were refused a morgage?
 
Hi,

If the bank was no longer willing to give the orginal mortgage amount, would this make the contract void, or would i still lose my deposit?

My solicitor is away for a few days so can't talk to her until she gets back?

I tried getting information off the building forman onsite, but he keeps saying i need to contact the developer's solicitor. I do not have their details as my solicitor has always dealt with them.

Just want out of the contract at this stage as the apartment is not what i was sold by the auctioneer.
 
if your that unhappy you could try a subsale (meaning finding sum1 else to buy your contract) or u cud ask the builder to let you out of the contract. if its been a while since your deposit was put down, the apartment might be worth more, so the builder might be willing to let you out of the contract and sell to someone else who is willing to pay more, but u should try to ring someone else in your solicitors office first, if ur solicitor is away
 
There's probably a clause in your contract that your purchase is subject to mortgage approval. If you told the bank the house was in such a bad state and not worth the value you originally stated (wouldn't be able to sell on at that price due to construction problems) they would probably refuse a mortgage. One way out of it.

Trying home bond might also be an idea. You could ring them up to find out. They must have certain standards. But I guess they're on the side of the builders.

Must say I've been shocked at the quality of building in Ireland in the last 10 years. I've seen so many newbuilds that were supposed to have double rooms and you couldn't swing a cat, built in wardrobes not in the corner and not able to put a headboard against the wall, sockets in the middle of the wall, not able to open doors fully, ensuite where if you sat on the toilet you couldn't close the door. And party walls so thin you can hear a conversation in the next room. A house where they were pumping out water as fast as they could to sell quickly - built on floodplain. Shocking. I did wonder who was buying all these but I now reckon it's off plan. Anyone buying that way should get out the measuring tape where they are now and compare the bedrooms etc so they actually know the size of the rooms on the plan and that they can actually put a standard double bed + wardrobe in it an be able to walk - rather than climb out of the bed.
 
"There's probably a clause in your contract that your purchase is subject to mortgage approval. If you told the bank the house was in such a bad state and not worth the value you originally stated (wouldn't be able to sell on at that price due to construction problems) they would probably refuse a mortgage. One way out of it. "

No - this would not be the case. The builders will not permit a loan approval clause. It is why purchasers must be satisfied before signing contracts that they can get the finance. If they cannot ultimately get the finance they face losing their deposit - at the least and at worst being forced to complete teh transaction.

There is a problem with buying off plan: very often the plans are so poorly prepared that it is not possible to ascertain dimensions.

Do any of the architects/ technicians/engineers who post here know if there are minimum room dimensions for Building Regulation compliance?

If no, then purchasers should not buy if the dimensions are not clear and attached to the Contracts as plans and specifications.

The problem has been though that until last year, purchasers were so afraid of missing an opportunity that they were willing to sign contracts even when they were not sure what they were buying.

mf
 
The Dept. of Environment have a document published with guidelines for minimum room sizes, storage space requirements etc. Don't have a reference for it but it should be available on http://www.environ.ie (www.environ.ie) If the apartments were sub standard in terms of size and accommodation it's doubtful they would have passed DOE inspection when a floor area certificate was sought by the developer.

In relation to an apartment being 2% smaller- that's not much really and you have to allow for small errors, thicknesses of finishes etc. Building plans rarely account for plaster thickness, tiles etc so it's quite easy to lose 25mm or more on a room dimension from this alone.
 
I checked the minimum recommended size for a single bedroom (accoding to the above mentioned wedsite) and it is supposed to be 7.1 m2 excluding the build-in wardrobe space.
My second bedroom is 6.3 m2 including the build-in wardrobe space and 5.7 m2 excluding it. This is well below the recommended minimum size for a single bedroom. Are the builder allowed to call this room a bedroom if it does not meet the minimun guildline? Should it not of been called a study?

Any help greater appreciated...
 
If the developer feels you are going to make a big enough fuss then they might let you out. 2% of a size difference won't do it, I have come across 5% on some of the apartments I've valued. You have to be able to proce that what you are buying is not what was originally agreed on. Your solicitor is the only man to argue your case, so you have to wait untilt they return. Even if they let you out you stand to lose your deposit and your legal costs. You can sue them for the deposit but if they fight you, you'll probably lose more legal fees, even if you win.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top