Renegotiating asking price

Valencia

I am in the process of buying a house and I have now recieved the quotes for the work to be done on the propery, as per homebuyers report. I have decided to write a letter to the vendors via the EA, asking for a reduction in the asking price. How best do I go about writing the letter and what phrases should I use.

The vendor has said that they don't want to go any lower in price, when I mentioned in passing that once I recieved my quotes I would be asking for a reduction in the price. But seeing as my offer was subject to satisfactory survey and contract am I within my rights to renegotiate?

The house price is £102,000 (original asking price was offers over £105,000, but the house had been on the market a while, and they accepted £102k). The valuation also came back at £102,000 in its present condition.

I need to fix quite a bit of the electrics as they have failed the inspection - this amounts to £700. I need to fix part of the roof/chimney, the gutters, provide additional ventilation to sub floor area and this amounts to about £1000.

But seeing as the work that needs to be done won't be adding any value to the house, if I have to fork out for them, then I will be out of pocket. I would like to put in a new offer of £100,500 with the view to complete by mid Jan and I will pay for the works myself. Does this seem fair?

How do I word the letter?

I myself am a FTB with no chain and am the only person buying the property as they took it off the market when I made my first offer. They have also started packing would you believe, so it is obvious they are ready to go to their new place.

I'm just unsure about my next move. If they agree then I am happy to complete.

totalguitar

If the valuation is £102k in it's current condition and your offer is £102k then i would say that is a fair price. The work that need carrying out could probably be done for less so make a lower offer but be prepared for them to reject it (I would) and pay the £102k + the money to put right the faults on the report. It does depend on how much you want the house and the seller will know your keen as you already made an offer so may not be prepared to drop the price.

silvercar

The vendor may not be in a position to do the move they want if you reduce the price.

If its valued at the price your paying with work needed, you've got a fair price.

Doozergirl

It makes sense that the vendor doesn't want to drop the price, who would? It doesn't mean they won't though. The fact that they are packing puts you in a stronger position as they already mentally left the house behind.

If you're all but ready to exchange then I suggest you provide photcopies of your quotes to the agent and ask that the price is reduced accordingly and you will exchange next week, complete the week after. You don't have to write a letter, the reasons are self explanatory. I think you're being fair in asking for the exact cost of work. They may ask you to meet them half way, but I suspect if you hold out, they will agree to the full amount. It's up to you how hard you push, though I strongly suspect you won't lose the house at this stage if you do choose to push hard.

If the vendor can't afford to move after they've reduced the price by £1500, then they must be completely mad to be moving house.

meadowcat

You stand a risk of the vendor withdrawing from the sale and putting the house back on the market.

I would. In fact I did a couple of years ago. Accepted an offer of £10,000 below asking price. Waited months for a surveyor. We knew this delay was just so that they had their own sale completed and the money in their bank, but we were OK with that. We were treating them fairly, but they obviously thought that put them in a strong bargaining position.

They then tried to use the survey to reduce the price by a further .... get this ... £20,000. Grossly insulted by this, we put the house back on the market, sold it immediately and had a trouble free sale.

So, if I were you, I would be very careful. Depends on how much you want the house and whether you can risk losing it. Remember, the vendor does not HAVE to sell to you and you might just push them too far.

alanobrien

This is always an interesting question as i have never known a house not need some remedial work...even new builds in some cases.

Its also interesting that surveyors valuations nearly always come out close to the agreed selling price coincidence perhaps ?

Anyway there is no harm in asking for a reduction to cover the work but be prepared for a rejection if the Vendor has already factored that into the selling price.

Best of luck with the negotiations....

Doozergirl

meadowcat wrote:

You stand a risk of the vendor withdrawing from the sale and putting the house back on the market.

I would. In fact I did a couple of years ago. Accepted an offer of £10,000 below asking price. Waited months for a surveyor. We knew this delay was just so that they had their own sale completed and the money in their bank, but we were OK with that. We were treating them fairly, but they obviously thought that put them in a strong bargaining position.

They then tried to use the survey to reduce the price by a further .... get this ... £20,000. Grossly insulted by this, we put the house back on the market, sold it immediately and had a trouble free sale.

With respect, I can quite understand how dropping another £20,000 would upset you, but unless your house was well over £1 million we're talking very different percentages - in this case, an entirely justified proposed reduction of just over 1% of asking price.

It is entirely normal and acceptable to ask for a reduction after survey. Most people will offer on what they can see until a surveyor shows otherwise.

If the vendor really won't stand for it, the OP has the opportunity to agree to the original price; the vendor is not going to cut their nose to spite their face by refusing to sell at all.

silvercar

Its also interesting that surveyors valuations nearly always come out close to the agreed selling price coincidence perhaps ?

A house is worth what someone is prepared to pay.

We pay surveyors to tell us what we can't see.

To renegotiate the price based on something that the buyer was aware of before the survey is unreasonable. If a survey shows up something the buyer couldn't be expected to know about then its reasonable to discuss this with the seller.

If the vendor can't afford to move after they've reduced the price by £1500, then they must be completely mad to be moving house.

Not necessarily, in good money-saving fashion they may well have taken the smallest mortgage possible. If the savings they have kept aside is the minimum they are happy to rely on, then a reduction of £1500 may be enough to necesitate increasing the mortgage which involves more paperwork etc and could delay the whole chain.

Doozergirl

silvercar wrote:

Not necessarily, in good money-saving fashion they may well have taken the smallest mortgage possible. If the savings they have kept aside is the minimum they are happy to rely on, then a reduction of £1500 may be enough to necesitate increasing the mortgage which involves more paperwork etc and could delay the whole chain.

Then they can afford it then but just choose not to, surely?

Ian_W

40-30!

silvercar to serve!

lush_walrus

Well that is a discussion that can go on and on I guess. I think assuming that the OP is going to be civil about their request for a price reduction and not use it as a blackmailing device IE: I am going to pull out if you dont reduce your price by x, then the vendors will probably bend to a slight reduction.

Personally if I were the other person I would negotiate through the EA, which is always the norm and the big advantage of using one. If you try to negotiate yourself then the whole thing is personal and rather than annoyed at the EA (as people always are) they will be annoyed with you and potentially pull out of the sale to spite you.

Do not write a letter via the EA, no offense but it will be a waste of words, call the EA, be succinct and explain what the findings of the survey are (give them a copy if they dont already have one) and explain that the reason you require the reduction is due to the fact that without it you will not be able to afford to carry out the work, which you view as urgent due to safety.

The EA will then relay that to the vendor and persuide them that the fair way will be a reduction via spliting the costs. Its very normal to re-negotiate after the survey results come back.

If that fails ask the EA to find it via the chain ie they all contribute a sum to keep the sale going, extreme but it happens and can work.