Vendor refuses.what can I do now?

wanderer

We had a periodic electrical inspection done for the property we plan to buy. The report came out with 11 points ,8 of them needed urgent attention. and quoted £1700. The vendor is reluctant to do the work nor adjust the house price. We like the house and have already spend a lot of money on it in terms of home buyers survey, search fees , mortgage survey, and the electrical survey. We would like the vendor to do at least the urgent work. Is that unreasonable?

rchddap1

I would have expected to be able to reduce the house price slightly so that I could get the work done after the purchase.

However, it seems as if you have a basic choice. Buy the house at the price you have agreed and pay the extra for the work....or pull out and see what the vendor does.

[Deleted User]

Is he desperate to sell? He won't find another buyer easily this time of the year. Try to pull out and see what he does. I bet he'll beg you to reconsider and drop the price!

mike_paterson

It is a tricky one.
Is it still a good deal even though you might have to pay £1700 extra ?
Is it worth trying a 50/50 split with vendor - talk to the estate agent and tell them that you are mightily pi**ed off at the vendors attitude to a show-stopper ! The estate agent will not want top lode the deal so make sure they know you are seriously considering dropping out.

Also bear in mind that the £1700 is probably much higher than is realistic. One house I bought had works required that the surveyor quoted at £5000. I had all the work done for less than £1500. You could get your own electrician in to quote to see.

Good Luck

greenwich

wanderer wrote:

The report came out with 11 points ,8 of them needed urgent attention. and quoted £1700.

Not all such reports should be taken at face value. It depends on who wrote it and how much business they were trying to create for themselves. Almost any house more than a few decades old will have electrical wiring that doesn't pass modern tests. Doesn't mean it's unsafe. There was a watchdog programme a few years ago where they did secret filming at a training course for electricty company employees. They were told to call themselves inspectors rather than salesmen, tell the customer that work needed doing right away as an emergency and take advantage of the customer's worry by immediately signing him up for expensive work.

Your vendor is obviously not a mug. Find out how long he has been living safely in his house and then ask yourself whether the wiring will suddenly become unsafe as soon as you move in.

socks_uk

Was the house priced to take account of work that may need doing?

I KNOW that my house needs a little updating and tell potential buyers so. My house is priced to take this into account as is the house that we want to buy (no kitchen... just a sink unit and a wall cupboard!).

I don't have the cash to do the work to our house myself but, as I don't have a mortgage on this house, we are going to keep back some of the cash from the sale to be able to sort out the house we want to buy (if it hasn't sold before we sell ours).

People either want an imaculate showhouse or a very cheap house.

Jill

miller

Do you need any kitchen appliances etc.? Ask the vendor to throw these in with the deal instead of the electrical work. They might feel happier about not having to shell out immediately, you will have something working when you move it and not have to lug anything about.

wanderer

Thanks for all your comments. The vendor feels the electrical work is in good condition . He realises that it may need updating, but feels there is no need to do it now. especially if it costs 1500 plus. I showed the report to my electrician and he said most of the work is simple and easy to fix. the problems are not dangerous in itself but if a fault was to occur , it could be fatal. I am paying 370000 for this house . So I dont want to spend anymore as soon as I move in.

Doozergirl

I guess the vendor's feelings are that if you are willing to spend that much on his house, then £1700 on minor repairs shouldn't be the 'deal breaker'. That decision is entirely down to you though, not him.

You can stand your ground and he may relinquish after a few days, but sometimes people are stubborn and it becomes a point of principle, in which case, if you threaten to pull out, you have to be prepared to follow through, otherwise you are exposed as a game player.

Robert_Sterling_3

I would take it for granted that any buyer is likely to be a game player.

Doozergirl

'exposed' being the operative word!