Negotiating a price reduction after survey

bob2

Have just had a survey carried out on a property on which we have had an offer accepted. A few problems have turned up that need fixing - e.g. a rotten garage door frame, some asbestos containing materials that should ideally be removed, a small tear in the roof felt, some exterior woodwork that needs painting very soon.

Anyway, nothing structural or major - but together these repairs will add up.

Just wondering whether anyone has experience of the best way to negotiate a price reduction to take these problems into account.

Should we simply state that we wish to reduce our offer by X pounds? Or suggest that the seller reduces the sale price and see what they offer?

What is the best way to approach this?

silvercar

Allow for the fact that the sellers may have a price below which they can't make the house move they need and will not sell. Do you still want to buy knowing what you do?

The best approach is to make a list of the problems (so the seller knows you are not just trying it on), try to quantify the cost of the repairs. Then approach your buyer with this list and a suggested new price. Be prepared to compromise.

As a seller and buyer i always think that anything the survey shows up that is obvious from initial viewings is already included in the price offered. If the survey identifies hidden problems then you can negotiate on the cost of putting them right.

clairehi

It depends both on how good your initial offer was, and what the sellers position is.

However this work doesnt sound particularly urgent/serious to me and if I were your vendor Id tell you to take a hike Im afraid.

Most of these things would be obvious by visual inspection, so its not like youve got any big surprises. and all houses need maintaining, Id be very surprised to buy anywhere that was completely perfect.

the homebuyers report should make it clear whether these defects are urgent/significant.

bob2

Just to clarify...

We had a full survey carried out and the only issues that I wish to use to negotiate are those that our surveyor has indicated need addressing.

Most of the problems were not obvious on visual inspection. Except the rotten door frame which we should have spotted but didn't.

The sheer amount of asbestos containing materials was a big surprise. Not all of it needs removing - but some of it does.

Accepted offer is about 3% below asking price.

Yes - I know the seller may tell us to take a hike. But we would still like to try. Removing some of the asbestos is going to be costly.

Doozergirl

I'm afraid that they aren't things that I would be prepared to renegotiate price on as a vendor either. There is nothing that really affects the integrity and therefore the value of the house, IMO. Asbestos is only trouble if it is moved, so would need to be handled properly when the time comes. It isn't so hard to deal with if it isn't the really nasty stuff and there isn't a lot of it.

I would be more inclined to ask the vendors to rectify the problems and hope that they will either fix/paint and if they can't be bothered then offer you some kind of financial recompense. If that is all a full structural survey comes up with, you're coming out pretty unscathed! I'd be congratulating myself on a good buy!

Red_Elle

I wouldn't drop my price either for this. Surely with things like this a house is priced to take it into account in the first place?
With our house the whole windows need replacing and GCH putting in upstairs, so we accepted £10k less than other properties that have those two things. If someone wanted to negotiate less because they have to put in new windows I wouldn't budge. Would rather do the work myself and sell it afterwards for even higher.

bob2

Well - thanks for the opinions. I realise that most vendors might be reluctant to agree to a price reduction - but nevertheless I was interested to find out whether anyone could suggest any strategies.

Some asbestos isn't too difficult to remove - but a large asbestos cement water tank is. It is too large to fit through the loft hatch and consequently would need to be broken - which is potentially hazardous and not a DIY job.

Regarding asking the vendor to rectify the problems - that may be appropriate for some of them - but perhaps not for the asbestos. Unless I can verify that any asbestos removal was carried out safely I would have to pull out of the sale. I don't want them to simply start attacking some of the materials with a hammer!

sazale

We recently renegotiated the price after the survey and were very nervous about it. We knew the house needed alot of work but things came up that were a bit more than expected. We got estimates for the price of the work and faxed a list to the estate agents and much to our surprise they agreed to the reduction!!! I would suggest to anyone that if they feel strongly about it to try they can only say no and you'll be no worse off. That is what a survey is for, to open your eyes to things.

Doozergirl

bob2 wrote:

Well - thanks for the opinions. I realise that most vendors might be reluctant to agree to a price reduction - but nevertheless I was interested to find out whether anyone could suggest any strategies.

My suggestion was to ask them to rectify and hope they offer some financial recompense to you.

bob2 wrote:

Some asbestos isn't too difficult to remove - but a large asbestos cement water tank is. It is too large to fit through the loft hatch and consequently would need to be broken - which is potentially hazardous and not a DIY job.

Regarding asking the vendor to rectify the problems - that may be appropriate for some of them - but perhaps not for the asbestos.

If the tank/asbestos is in the loft, then there's no real reason to remove it at all, even after it's been decomissioned. Just leave it = no problem.

I've seen it a couple of times this week. If people think that an OP is wrong to ask for a price reduction after thay have asked for opinions, then the OP should really accept those opinions with grace. If the OP is looking for agreement then I can see how opinions might offend.

silvercar

It is normal practice to leave old dis-used water tanks in situ. The previous owners left a metal water tank in our loft. I've written on the fixture and fittings sheet that it will be left in the loft as it is too big to fit through the hatch.

bob2

Regarding the water tank - yes I know it is normal practice to leave old tanks in place but the situation is a little different here.

- The house is "crosswall" construction and the tank is currently positioned over a strong point (i.e. over a load bearing wall). This is where the new tank would need to be positioned.

- The old tank is asbestos cement so is heavy in its own right (much heavier than a disused metal tank) and consequently there may be nowhere else in the loft space it could be safely positioned.

- Dragging heavy, brittle, asbestos containing material around in loft space is not smart.