Buyer pulled out after survey - should I be worried?

robertwood0015

I am in the process of selling my house and a prospective buyer has just pulled out following the survey. I have received a copy of the survey myself and to me there seems to me no major issues highlighted. The purchaser only had a basic valuation done, the surveyor said that he was happy with the valuation of the property and that the mortgage company should lend on it.

He highlighted
· Proximity to an electrical substation which may affect value and resalability. It is 2 streets away, I would say approximately 300m.
· Some houses in the area have been affected by above acceptable levels of radon gas – when we purchased our searches revelled 4% properties in Leeds had a 1-3% risk but he did not mention this detail and we have offered to have any tests done and pay for any work.
· A couple of potential repairs – a window does not fully shut and the boiler overflow pipe would not meet modern building regs as it sticks straight out from the house rather than loop back to the wall.
· Potential asbestos in the house though he doesn’t say definite or indeed where so it seems like a sweeping statement to cover them based on the age of the property. This was not mentioned when we bought

My first questions is am I right in that these do not seem like major issues and that I just seem to have had a particularly nervous first time buyer? who has been particularly spooked, we understand for personal reason, relating to the radon gas reference being made without adequate explanation of the likelihood of issues. (I don’t believe they have changed there mind and are making excuses as from myself and our agents speaking to them they seemed genuinely delighted with the house).

Secondly Is it right that a surveyor mentions these things on what is only a basic valuation, certainly none of these factors were raised by our survey when we purchased the property 6 years ago and they are not issues that have arisen since.

Obviously I know at the end of the day we cant force them to go ahead with the sale but faced with the prospect of now loosing our purchase we just wanted any advice on what we could do or if these issues were likely to continue being brought up and be issues for future buyers

Hopejack

Hmmm tbh some of the issues you mention are a bit 'iffy'.

The substation can be an issue although in your case, it's not right next door, so don't think it's a real issue - think they say 50m or so away is more than sufficient. My Mum recently reneged her offer on a house when I pointed out it adjoined a substation - if you search on here, there are threads about them. The house was gorgeous and low priced (the EA said it was because they were emmigrating but tbh I think it was more to do with ss), as it happens, the house, where it is and the price/inside etc should have sold easily - it's still up for sale some weeks later! However, some people couldn't care less, some could but as it's 2 streets away, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

The one that stood out to me is asbestos - not great these days but can be dealt with. And the radon gas - again not great.

But, if you are serious about selling why not arrange for the asbestos to be dealt with anyway? And get the tests done for the gas too.

The thing is, I think surveyors have a duty of care to mention anything major that may affect the value of a property in the future and that is why they've mentioned those things. I would have thought these sort of points would have to be mentioned in a valuation report for the reason I've just mentioned.

It seems that there is a trend these days to steer away from any potential issues when buying - years ago people didn't blink at substations/pylons etc etc but these days, people seem much more aware??

robertwood0015

from speaking to our agents it seems the radon was the main worry but we offered to pay for a test and in the unlikely event it was an issue to pay for remedial works. From my research it seems this is a solvable problem and that they would get exactly the same sentence in any survey/environmental search they had done on any house in the Leeds/Wakefield areaaccording to the maps on the Health Protection Agency website. I just think by mentioning it there in such a sweeping statement without reference to the actual statiistics that I discovered is to a degree scaremongering

Similarly with the asbestos reference - really have no idea where it might be and if it is there why our survey never picked it up hence why i thought it may be a cover there backs statement as it is 100 year old terrace house that may have had it at some piont

delmar39

My comments below:

· Proximity to an electrical substation which may affect value and resalability. It is 2 streets away, I would say approximately 300m - not a lot you can do about this and is it visible when a person views? If so they will be able to make their own mind up as to whether it will have an impact on value.
· Some houses in the area have been affected by above acceptable levels of radon gas – when we purchased our searches revelled 4% properties in Leeds had a 1-3% risk but he did not mention this detail and we have offered to have any tests done and pay for any work - again, not a lot you can do, but can you get your own tests done?
· A couple of potential repairs – a window does not fully shut and the boiler overflow pipe would not meet modern building regs as it sticks straight out from the house rather than loop back to the wall - not major issues either knock money off the price of the house for this or get the work done yourself so that they don't appear again.
· Potential asbestos in the house though he doesn’t say definite or indeed where so it seems like a sweeping statement to cover them based on the age of the property. This was not mentioned when we bought - I bought a house once and a major problem that wasn't picked as part of my survey came up in my buyers survey when I came to sell it. Asbestos rings alarm bells so you either need to get the surveyor to confirm his findings one way or the other, or get this sorted yourself. The three things above might not be major issues to someone, but this last one will be as it's difficult to put an estimate on potential costs.

robertwood0015

thanks for the advice. As I say I realise they are all potential issues that may scare people particularly the mention of radon gas or asbestos which are harmful substances, just suprised they were never mentioned when we bought the property, we have offered and would be more than willing to pay for any tests/work to be done to satisy this buyer and now probably will do incase they are raised again.

I just find it frustrating that such sweeping general statements can cause things to go wrong without the buyer letting us investigate and solve them.

delmar39

robertwood0015 wrote: »

thanks for the advice. As I say I realise they are all potential issues that may scare people particularly the mention of radon gas or asbestos which are harmful substances, just suprised they were never mentioned when we bought the property, we have offered and would be more than willing to pay for any tests/work to be done to satisy this buyer and now probably will do incase they are raised again.

I just find it frustrating that such sweeping general statements can cause things to go wrong without the buyer letting us investigate and solve them.

I know it's frustrating. Like I said above, things were not identified on my survey, but then when I came to sell the buyers survey picked up things that would have been there when I bought the place, but I was unaware. At the time it's horrible, but at least you now have an opportunity to put things right, it's just a shame it's at the expense of a potential buyer for you house. Things should pick up in the New Year so good luck.

mac2009

Meh, I wouldn't be worried about any of those things. In fact, if they are the only issues on the survey I'd be delighted.

Substation two streets and 300m away??! What reasonable person would be put off by this?

A window doesn't close properly - so what, minor defect, no house is perfect.

Boiler pipe not meeting current building regs - again, so what. I guess the majority of houses don't meet current building regs for something or other. Doesn't mean they are unsafe or that anything needs doing about it. Plus it's a £5, 5 minute fix to stick a bit of bent pipe on it.

Asbestos - again, unless a specific source of asbestos that is likely to pose a danger (e.g. bad condition) or expensive to remove if needed, so what. Probably asbestos cement soffit boards or similar. No big issue.

Radon - again, unlikely to be at problem levels and if it is, relatively cheap fix for you or them.

Sounds like they were looking for an excuse. As I said, I'd be delighted if that's all that came back.

littlesnuggy

Suggest you get a couple of 10-day radon tests put in the property which will give an indication as to what the likely levels of the gas are long term (a 3 month test tells you more reliably, but as radon levels are highest during the winter months, the result you got from testing now would be a 'worst case scenario' and wouldn't be this high all year). You're probably looking at around £50 for two (one for downstairs, one for upstairs), inc all the lab analysis and report. At least then you know the radon level and can tell future potential buyers (and their surveyors!) that you've had it tested and you know what the level is, and that you're doing XYZ about it if the test reveals it's high.

I've currently got a couple in a flat I've just had an offer accepted on (in a 10-30% risk area); getting it done through ProTen Services who are a national firm, and have an office in Leeds.

Milliewilly

mac2009 wrote: »

Meh, I wouldn't be worried about any of those things. In fact, if they are the only issues on the survey I'd be delighted.

Substation two streets and 300m away??! What reasonable person would be put off by this?



A window doesn't close properly - so what, minor defect, no house is perfect.

Boiler pipe not meeting current building regs - again, so what. I guess the majority of houses don't meet current building regs for something or other. Doesn't mean they are unsafe or that anything needs doing about it. Plus it's a £5, 5 minute fix to stick a bit of bent pipe on it.

Asbestos - again, unless a specific source of asbestos that is likely to pose a danger (e.g. bad condition) or expensive to remove if needed, so what. Probably asbestos cement soffit boards or similar. No big issue.

Radon - again, unlikely to be at problem levels and if it is, relatively cheap fix for you or them.

Sounds like they were looking for an excuse. As I said, I'd be delighted if that's all that came back.

Surveyors are becoming somewhat hysterical since the drop imo, shame they werent so thorough for me 5 years ago......

Things like the substation are really rediculous - 300m away!

I apreciate buyers being cautious but if you want a 'perfect house' that meets all the current regulations the only way to get it is to build one yourself.

Homersimpson

Depending upon what type of substation there talking about it may or may not be an issue, a large proportion of houses anywhere would be within 300m of the local substation but not a major distribution substation.

anotherginger

i don't know what u mean by 4% of the properties have a 1-3% risk - this doesn't make sense if you know a bit about the figures!

what the figure does mean....the 1-3% relates to the fact that there may be a chance that 1-3 in 100 properties in your area exceed the radon 'action level'. however this may not be true of your property, as they have obviously only taken a sample and have not tested every property in the UK. the maps are only indicative, and therefore can only be used as a guideline.

lastly, 1-3% is extremely low. for a 1-3% radon area i wouldn't even bother in getting the test done unless it was to satisfy your curiosity. if you were testing i'd use the Health Protection Agency's service (43.70 for testing kits, results and postage) - http://www.ukradon.org/