Hi all!

We are in the process of purchasing a property. We have won the bidding round, and signed the mortgage agreement with the bank. We are just waiting for the takeover day basically.

However, we are now reading articles on the media about an ongoing sewage stench for the houses along the sewage line, which this specific house is also on.

We have not experienced the sewage stench when we were at the visning, and we do not know the current state of things. We are also not made aware of such an issue so far neither by the sellers (whom we sat and talked with) nor the megler.

Nevertheless we are afraid that this is going to cause a drop in the price of the house after we take over.

Any action we can do here? Legally we are obligated to buy the property, but still, is there a way for us to walk out of the deal?

Any help is appreciated. 🙏🏻

EDIT:

We believe that this issue is not due to the house itself, but the area surrounding the house. Otherwise it would have to be mentioned in salgsoppgave, TG rapport etc.

We will go to the area today to “sniff around” and see if it is as bad as what people say.

We found articles dating back to 2019 about this issue.

https://www.smaalenene.no/5-38-1103991 <- one of the articles we saw. (If you search the article name on Google and click on “cached” you can read the article).

One of the problems is that this stench problem is cyclical. In the winter it’s fine but in the spring it seems to come back. Visning was in winter, so of course there wouldn’t be any issue regarding sewage stench in winter.

Honestly our main goal is not to back off the deal, it would be hard on us and also the sellers. But it is very weird that no one mentioned this problem to us.

6 comments

  1. I don’t think you are legally obligated to buy anything before takeover day. That is the day you commit and sign the contract. I would contact the megler/sellers immideately and ask them about the sewage stench. Do it in writing, so you have the answer documented in case you need it later.

  2. You can always back out before the take over day, but how much you pay in order to back out depends on when the problem became public knowledge, because if it had become public knowledge before you made the bid, you are fully liable to pay the cost of backing out. But if it happened after the bid, you might be able to leave with partial liability assuming that this issue fundamentally alters the description of the house in the materials and contract you have read and signed. But I don’t think lowering the value of the house is an argument you want to use to escape liability, since buying any assets is a risk.

  3. If they knew about it and did not tell you then you can get out or ask for a price reduction. I almost swear I read a similar case to yours a while back, better talk with a lawyer or something.

  4. Norwegian law regarding what a property seller is required to disclose changed January 1. So you might want to look into whether this would be covered by that change.

  5. Do you know how bad the problem actually is? Can you find out, for instance by going there once or twice each day for a period?

    Is the source of the problem known, or is this just an unidentified stench in the area?

    Is this a problem with the property itself, or a problem with the municipal system or with one of the neighboring properties?

    How long has this problem existed?

    Is there a known timeline for when this will be fixed, or do you have to assume that this will continue for years?

    Best case this is a small problem that the municipality will fixed in a short time at no cost to you as the new owner. Worst case it is a problem with the sewage on the property you are buying, that will cost you a lot of money to fix.

    Without answers to these questions it is not possible to give you any other advice than to try to find out more.

    Pulling out of the deal is a very serious action, and you will need to have a strong reason to do that if you want to get out of paying big money to the seller in compensation.

  6. Answer based on the information in the edit:

    This is a problem not with the property itself, but someone else’s problem that affects people in the area. The problem was publicly known before the sales process even started.

    I don’t think it is an easy case to make here that the seller has violated their duty of giving information. I think it is mostly up to the buyers to learn about the area they consider moving to.

    If this problem reduces the property prices in the area, I would think that OP has already purchased this home with a stench rebate, since the problem was already known from before.

    This is a problem that started a few years ago, and that the municipality is working to fix. I think it could worst case take some years yet until it is properly fixed, but most likely it will be fixed before OP wants to sell their new home. Meanwhile it will be an inconvenience on some days.

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