Surveys – renegotiating offer – what's reasonable?

bluemrchimp

Hi all. We've put an offer in on a house, got the mortgage in place etc. Now the survey's come back with the news that the French doors and three quite large casement windows are rotten and need to be replaced urgently. We didn't expect this as we noticed nothing wrong with the place when we went to view it. There were also various other smaller things wrong with the house in the survey, but nothing you wouldn't expect in a house of that age so we are ignoring those ones.

It was advertised as a character cottage and we fell in love with it because it had original features – like wooden windows – which we would not want to replace with UPVC. I reckon from research on the internet that it's going to cost around £4k to replace/fit the windows and doors.

We offered on the house very soon after it went on the market and our final offer was only 1 percent under the asking price, as there were other couples interested. Eventually we put in a slightly higher offer and also the vendors chose us because they need to move quickly (this was already about five weeks ago).

So:

(a) Is renegotiating a silly idea?
(b) If we go back to the EA to renegotiate, how much is reasonable to ask for off, and how should I do this?
(c) Would costings I've got together using research on the internet be sufficient or should I ask if I can send someone round to the house (Who? Where do I find them? Will the vendor allow them in?)

Thoughts/help appreciated!

natman

bluemrchimp wrote: »

Hi all. We've put an offer in on a house, got the mortgage in place etc. Now the survey's come back with the news that the French doors and three quite large casement windows are rotten and need to be replaced urgently. We didn't expect this as we noticed nothing wrong with the place when we went to view it. There were also various other smaller things wrong with the house in the survey, but nothing you wouldn't expect in a house of that age so we are ignoring those ones.

It was advertised as a character cottage and we fell in love with it because it had original features – like wooden windows – which we would not want to replace with UPVC. I reckon from research on the internet that it's going to cost around £4k to replace/fit the windows and doors.

We offered on the house very soon after it went on the market and our final offer was only 1 percent under the asking price, as there were other couples interested. Eventually we put in a slightly higher offer and also the vendors chose us because they need to move quickly (this was already about five weeks ago).

So:

(a) Is renegotiating a silly idea?
(b) If we go back to the EA to renegotiate, how much is reasonable to ask for off, and how should I do this?
(c) Would costings I've got together using research on the internet be sufficient or should I ask if I can send someone round to the house (Who? Where do I find them? Will the vendor allow them in?)

Thoughts/help appreciated!

Hi,

The surveys that are carried out are for you and your mortgage provider to make good decisions.
If your mortgage company is happy to lend what you want then fine, However if the survey higlights something you have to use this piece of information.

My initial thoughts are - it may not be that easy to replace the windows( some older houses are listed buildings or have special conditions on them so yo may need planning etc...........I obviously dont know if this is the case)

I would at least open up converstaion with your solicitor and the estate agent, highlight what the survey has found and 1, ask your solicitor for advice and 2 higlight to estate agent that a considerable amount of work is needed.

Is the mortgage company holding back any money??? if this is the case, you may not be able to get the funds.
I suppose I would ask if any windows have been replaced before, who did it and get a quote of them, just for a figure.

Remember to ignore this information is a bit silly, as you have paid someone to tell you if theres anything wrong, and they have.
Open up discussions to get a ball rolling,

If someoneone else was buying the house the report would / should highlight the same problem, thefore it does need sorting one way or another. The sellers would come up against this problem again down the line.

From your discusions theres plenty of potential options -
they reduce price to full amount
they reduce amount to half and you pay half
they dont reduce at all - you get work done when you move in.

If i was selling my house and someone had some concrete evidence of some defects i would expect them to at least speak to me about it. It sounds as though they want to move so hopefully. some positive discussions can take place with a win win for everyone!

guppy

I think this depends on the state of the housing market in your area for this type of property.

If its been on the market a long time then maybe you can knock down the price some more...however if there are other buyers about and you really want this house, maybe its not worth qubbling.

Ultimately...this is more about supply and demand generally, than a bit of repair work

Grovester_2

It's unlikely they need replacing if you didn't notice anything wrong with them Use a company like ventrolla to get them repaired.

ognum

guppy wrote: »

I think this depends on the state of the housing market in your area for this type of property.

If its been on the market a long time then maybe you can knock down the price some more...however if there are other buyers about and you really want this house, maybe its not worth qubbling.

Ultimately...this is more about supply and demand generally, than a bit of repair work

I completely agree with this, so many people claim its a buyers market but where I live it can be the opposite. I am selling a house that had 4 offers over the asking price in 10 days, if my buyer wants any money off anything I will say no and walk away (I also dont need to sell the house). Other people offering have said they will be happy to step in if this buyer falls out.
A family member is also buying in the same area (cheaper house) there were over 80 viewers and 10 people offering on the house they are buying, they knew the house had issues and the survey pointed some out but did say it was worth the price they are paying, they would not ask for a reduction because the house would have gone to another person.