maintenance with selling - under contract

Hi property experts,

I am selling a unit in sydney and it is now contract unconditional. However the guys downstairs have reported a problem in their smoke alarm and it has been linked to some leak in my apartment. The strata guys now want to rip the tiles off of my bath area and put new tiles in. I am still almost 3 weeks from settlement. They say its urgent because the guys downstairs are without a smoke alarm which is illegal. What are my options now ? Part of me does not want to do anything with it.

Do I need to take up this work and let the buyer know that? The repairs are out of strata's pocket not mine. My concern is that the new tiles will not be exactly the same as the old ones which were installed at the time of the contract.

Your advice is appreciated...

 

Contact your solicitor / conveyancer / settlement agent for advice is what I would do.

That way you are covered and should follow the letter of the law as a result.

 

Buy them a 10 Year Lithium sealed smoke alarm. $60 from bunnings. See if they will accept that.

 

Speak to your solicitor re the next step, but the time everything is in order, it might already pass settlement.

 

I can try that...

The solicitor says you can keep your mouth shut and let the buyer find it out themselves. He will act as he does not know anything. The strata has not given me any written notice requiring access to property which they said they would but still not. So he can get away with that saying he does not know anything...

Is that doable for me at all? Can strata create problems for me down the track in the settlement. I am thinking they may have beef against me because I didnt let them do it on time... She said to me on the phone "i wish you good luck with the settlement" which was kinda meaningful to me.

 

I'm thinking it's illegal for the other apartment to not have a wired in smoke detector. I would let the strata fix it if it were me. Would be a good idea to talk to your lawyer for advice.

 

I'd let strata fix it- just make sure they use the right tiles

 

The tiles currently installed are not available anymore because of the age of the unit. Even the color will not match. Strata contractor said to me that he will install white tiles (in place of pink as of now) I am not sure if the size and style of the tiles will be same or not... I guess not

 

A hard wired smoke alarm is not required by the law. A non removable batery is required. I dont want to do anything illegal though...

 

Would it be worth mentioning that the tiles will be a different colour and giving them the option to pick new ones? I would still fix, not sure what I'd do about the tiles though.

 

I'd check this. I'm thought new code would make wired in battery non optional. Particularly in an apartment building. Ethics would want me to do this regardless.

 

I would hand the entire process over to your Solicitor and your selling agent. They can deal with the purchaser and the strata. This is what you are paying them for. Discussing the style of smoke alarm downstairs is irrelevant and a waste of your energy.

 

The smoke alarm is not the issue here , its your leaking shower/bathroom.

Tell your selling agent whats going on and let him/her inform buyer, and go from there.

 

I have spoken to the selling agent. He told me to go ahead and do it. But I don't think he is informing the buyer which leaves me in a bad position.

 

What's the better outcome - disclosing the issue and getting it fixed (proactive solution with you owning the issue and bills but advising that there's maintenance), not disclosing and settlement being delayed until the property is back in the same condition (pink tiles) when sold or bury your head in the sand and hoping the issue goes away until after settlement (and the vendor coming back for costs)?

Until the strata manager/executive committee have advised that access is required, your hands are tied (follow your solicitors advice).

 

there is nothing out of my or the buyer's pocket. strata is paying for this

tiles will never be the same. job can be completed on time before settlement if tradesmen stay put

 

they have advised on the phone, but not written as of yet as they said yesterday

 

Buyer will appreciate its properly fixed. Just make sure the standard of finished tiling etc is compliant. After that the buyer can deal with Strata.. The issue with tiling is whole floor may need to be waterproofed and relaid - membrane seems to have failed. You cant waterproof a part of a floor. You cant have unmatched tiles. There are hundreds of basic white tiles out there. All different colours.

If it was me I would want to be very sure its fixed well to avoid endless issues later on settlement day. They could seek retention to cover defects and have you by the curlies.

 

What issues can arise at settlement paul? What is retention and why would they seek it from me? It is being paid by strata.

 

If you were in their shoes, what would you like to happen? Is it an older bathroom? If so, they may have been planning to reno it. Don't just act in good faith with the law, but act in good faith to your fellow man.