where do i stand

[dongle]

hi please could someone help me if have just sold a property, it copleted today but when the new owners entered the property today a pipe had burst who is liable? please can someone help

[googler]

I would suggest you are.

At the end of the day, it depends on what your solicitor and the purchasing solicitor have written into contracts and agreed on, but if the funds changed hands on the date of entry, the new owners got the keys on the date of entry, and the contract specified that they would take ownership of the property on the date of entry (and by implication, YOU owned it right up till that point), then it looks as though you're liable for the cost of repairs up to that point.

Unless there's something specific to say that the new owners were taking on responsibility for insurance, maintenance, etc in advance of the entry date, then I'd suggest it's your responsibility.

Never mind, your insurance will cover it - you HAVE got home insurance valid up until the date of entry, haven't you?

[googler]

They entered today; when were you last in the property?

[investment]

let this for the solicitors to fight out

[Propertyguru28]

This is not so much a question of when they moved in, more when the solicitor's exchanged contracts - this is when the responsibility officially transferred to the buyer. They were responsible for carrying out a survey to protect them from liability in such occurances before they exchanged - if they exchanged and this happened afterwards, then wash your hands of it.

[brian]

Home insurance should have been set up with the mortgage transfer, so I would expect the liability to be their insurance company, rather than any expensive personal liabilities.