Survey on our house is 'not good at all'

sundin13

Hi all,

Bit of advice please. Our buyer's surveyor came round last week, and the buyer finally got his report yesterday. We haven't heard exactly what the problem is, but the Estate Agent rang to say the buyer wanted to come round and discuss the report with us, as it wasn't good.

We know that the house has some damp in a chimney breast that needs resolving, and we did have to have a cracked drain replaced last year as it had caused a little bit of cracking next to the window in the side wall of the house. So I'm guessing that it's going to be these things that they want to 'discuss'.

What do I do? Say I'll have the damp resolved? Offer the price of the repair off the asking price? And as for the drain/cracking issue - it's fixed, I can't do anything more about it - so what can I say about that?

Any thoughts as to how I should play this? I really don't want to lose the buyer.

Much appreciated, as always

S13

Doozergirl

If you don't want to lose the buyer then you need to ask them what they want.

You need to see what the problems are before you even try to make decisions!

Hopejack

Doozergirl has given good advice, you can't really think too hard until you know the issues.

To be honest surveys always flag up the usual things - wall ties, damp, sometimes woodworm (even if inactive), electrical and gas checks etc. Some buyers get cold feet when they see a survey as a result as they feel it's too much work - when in fact a lot of the time it's the surveyor covering their backside! Is it a FTB buying your place?

sundin13

Hopejack wrote: »

Is it a FTB buying your place?

A cash buyer. Think he's an FTB though.

shane42

sundin13 wrote: »

A cash buyer. Think he's an FTB though.

ftb panic about cobwebs , might be nothing , surveys are not there to point out good stuff, sometimes they report on pathetic stuff like overgrown bushes

lilac_lady

If you need to sell your house, offer to take a bit less money for it but beware about being conned into reducing it too far compared to what's wrong with it.

Eric1

shane42 wrote: »

ftb panic about cobwebs , might be nothing , surveys are not there to point out good stuff, sometimes they report on pathetic stuff like overgrown bushes

or their another favourite, asbestos

azkaban420

Hi Sundin,

Try not to panic! See what they want to discuss, and don't worry about having to give an answer on the spot. If they come in aggressive and suggest a significant knock off their initial price, be firm and say you need to look into it and think it over. Obviously be prepared for some negotiations if you don't want to lose your buyer. Hopefully whatever it is they raise, you can come to some agreement amicably, but I'd say if they want to discuss something with you as a result of the survey, then they either want repairs done or a price knock down....most likely the latter

Good luck!

Az

G_M

And remember - they've already commited money to the deal: survey fee, solicitor instructed (?), mortgage application (sorry, no. Cash buyer you say).

Still, if you stand firm on price they will lose money by walking away.

Running_Horse

sundin13 wrote: »

Bit of advice please. Our buyer's surveyor came round last week, and the buyer finally got his report yesterday. We haven't heard exactly what the problem is, but the Estate Agent rang to say the buyer wanted to come round and discuss the report with us, as it wasn't good.

I would expect money off for these as they are not minor. When you get them round, try to weedle out any other problems it threw up, just in case it falls through. We did this and fixed them for a fraction of the reduction they were demanding, and sold for full asking price to someone else.

YoJoJo

We are in the middle of moving house. FTB buying ours and we are buying from a lady who has already moved in with her partner so the place is vacant for us.

The survey we had done on the place we are buying came back and it made us seriously panic for a bit. There is damp in the wall, some chimney breast damp, infestation in the wooden stairs (but no mention if old or still live), damp course needs attention, chimney needs a bit of repointing, and a few other minot things.

Once we calmed down a bit ater, we arranged to have a quote done for the repair works and it came to just £1,600. Our seller toyed with paying to get the works before exchange or knocking £2,000 off the price. She ended up reducing the price. She's happy, we're happy and the mortgage company are satisfied. We can get the works done after we have moved and in our own time, without fear of losing our FTB on our place.

So, what I am trying to say is. take a deep breath, keep calm, talk to your buyer and mortgage advisor; don't agree to anything there and then and get some quotes for any works that may need doing. Your surveyor has probably noted every possible 'problem' but that doesn't automatically mean it will be costly to put right.