Surveyor has valued property at less than our offer

Milliewilly

laxeylady wrote: »

Going to fax the valuation report to estate agents in the morning and tell him we want a reduction. If he wont move then it looks like we wont be either!! The other dodgy thing was that after paying for a decent survey, the surveyor did not go into the loft because there was a wardrobe under the hatch. So our prospective roof timbers could be half eaten by worms or rotting away. I call that a job half done. Can I complain about it?

If you paid for a decent survey why are you just faxing the valuation report? The vendor will have known loft access was required so I would be smelling a rat here.

Pitlanepiglet

laxeylady wrote: »

Going to fax the valuation report to estate agents in the morning and tell him we want a reduction. If he wont move then it looks like we wont be either!! The other dodgy thing was that after paying for a decent survey, the surveyor did not go into the loft because there was a wardrobe under the hatch. So our prospective roof timbers could be half eaten by worms or rotting away. I call that a job half done. Can I complain about it?

What??? :eek: Do you hear that noise? That's the warning bell....

Your vendor almost certainly knows about the damp, they have probably decorated over the top of it and are trying to pull a fast one.

Now, why do you think they haven't allowed the surveyor access to the roof?

What age is the house/what does the surveyor say about the lack of roof access?

laxeylady

You've got me seriously worried. But they seemed so NICE!! Can I demand that the surveyor go back? My alarm bells are deafening me now.:eek:

Milliewilly

laxeylady wrote: »

You've got me seriously worried. But they seemed so NICE!! Can I demand that the surveyor go back? My alarm bells are deafening me now.:eek:

I would not buy without getting the loft space checked out and as you've paid for a Survey above the valuation then I would ask the surveyor to go back. They normally stipulate they don't move furniture or lift carpets so this is a tricky one as it is a crucial part of a home survey to look in the loft.

Speak to the Estate agent about telling the vendor they must allow access to the loft space.

Welsh_Totster

Put it this way if our surveyor hadn't looked in the loft space he wouldn't have known that the chimney breast party wall between the properties needed rebuilding up as a proper firewall and he wouldn't have seen the awful condition of the roof trusses and seen that the roof tiles had no felt underneath them and they were held together with expanding foam.

Alarm bells indeed!

Pitlanepiglet

I think on reflection, the surveyor can't be criticised for not going up there, as Millywilly says they won't move furniture etc.

I'd go back to the Estate Agent and tell them that you want to know why the hatch was blocked when the vendor knew that you were having a survey done and asking for at the very least a contribution to the cost of sending the surveyor back.

DVardysShadow

laxeylady wrote: »

You've got me seriously worried. But they seemed so NICE!! Can I demand that the surveyor go back? My alarm bells are deafening me now.:eek:

Well, it is not such a strain being NICE for a viewing. But you are not buying the vendors, you are buying the house.

daveyjp

Would you buy a car you couldn't get into?

Welsh_Totster

Oooh dont be suckered in by the vendors being nice, they will be as nice as pie as long as they get a sale, they want the cash after all! A house is probably the biggest purchase of your life, take no chances and trust no one!

aah

We had a full survey valuation that downvalued the property by 7%. However the last page said that they would lend in total the agreed price. I couldn't submit this to the agent as it would not give us any leeway to negotiate.

So I left out that page. We offered to pay the downvalued price. They refused. We walked away and started - seriously - to view other properties, including those held by the same agent.. Vendor came back and took our offer.

Nobody wants to lose a sale - especially today. You are on steady ground.