Seller refuses to pay for unsupported chimney breast - what should I do?

Christyt

Hi all,

Looking for some sage advice here.

Have had a shoddy waste-of-time Homebuyer survey which has failed to pick up the fact that the chimneys have been removed in a botch job and are illegally supported by a couple of concrete slabs.

Builder mate will testify but Estate Agent is insisting on a surveyor report to confirm this.

So far so normal - I think I can get a structural surveyor just to look at that for £100 or so?

First issue - builder said it will cost £3000 to insert RSJ (he will take care of building regs application and everything else - including VAT).
Is this a reasonable quote?
Estate Agent tried to say it should cost more like £500 but I'm fairly certain that's him trying to steamroller me.

Second issue - I really can't afford this repair and would like the seller to foot the bill. IT's a £250k house (they failed to sell it all summer at £265K so dropped) in a chain of 4.

The market here in this part of Brighton seems to have dried up - nothing for sale but what is for sale is dropping in price.

I would like to buy this place but do I have the leverage to force them to pay?

Would be so grateful for advice on any of these points...

molerat

You cannot force the seller to do anything. All you can do is put in a revised offer based on the structural report and builders quote, maybe get another couple for clarity. At the end of the day it is up to both the vendor and purchaser to decide how desperate they are to sell or buy the property. If you want to buy it more than they want to sell then you will have to take it on the chin bearing in mind that if the lender knows about it they may insist on immediate repair.

Christyt

Thanks - unfortunate use of the word 'force' there. The mortgage valuation survey didn't pick it up, or the homebuyer survey, and there is more than enough equity in the property to cover them so I don't think they'll be bothered. The issue for me is that I haven't got a spare £3k!

xyellowx

3k to insert a rsj? has he been on rogue traders yet?

TrickyDicky

If you havent exchanged contracts - lower your offer and or walk away. That will get them listening if they want to sell. If you're desparate to buy, and the vendor knows this, then you're stuffed.

If you have already exchanged contracts - you are a bit stuck!

Christyt

Haven't exchanged contracts...I'll get some more quotes. Does seem a bit steep but I won't know till I compare I guess.

Think the leverage is finely balanced here. They are clearly keen to sell as they managed to get chain to drop price from 265 to 250 and the market is clearly cautious what with the cuts on the way and economic uncertainty.

However, if I walk there's er, one possible option for me to buy in the area I'm interested in, at the moment. Seems like everyone's might be waiting for the spending review in October?

xyellowx

christyt -your the buyer and after reading your other post in a very good financial posistion, you should be calling ALL the shots if you cant get the correct deal walk away there will be plenty of sellers willing to sell a lot less than what they hoped they would get for their property(me including)

they had house on market for 265k but couldnt sell ,now have house up for 250k so thats what they now hope to get?
if it was me i would of offered 238500 to start willing to go up to 240k its a buyers market so make sure your getting a bargain

southantrim3

xyellowx wrote: »

christyt -your the buyer and after reading your other post in a very good financial posistion, you should be calling ALL the shots if you cant get the correct deal walk away there will be plenty of sellers willing to sell a lot less than what they hoped they would get for their property(me including)

they had house on market for 265k but couldnt sell ,now have house up for 250k so thats what they now hope to get?
if it was me i would of offered 238500 to start willing to go up to 240k its a buyers market so make sure your getting a bargain

I agree - you call the shots. Don't buy into something you can't afford, that's silly. Don't worry about the rest of the chain, only cope with what you can deal with. Walk away if necessary and don't feel bad about it.

Don't let heart rule over head, sit tight until they agree to a lower offer. If they say the won't then walk. You never know, after a month they might come back begging. You don't owe anyone else on the chain a favour.

Something else will come up if this doesn't work out. Don't go on the "it has to be done now" assumption. That's just trying to get you to feel guilty about the whole thing - ignore it and do what's best for you financially as things are only going to get worse in that respect for the next few years.

Hope this helps - good luck :cool:

Christyt

Thanks very much for the advice. I'll front the estate agent's bull and let you know how it ends up!

DVardysShadow

xyellowx wrote: »

3k to insert a rsj? has he been on rogue traders yet?

Inserting an RSJ under an unsupported chimney is easy. The question is how do you support the ends of that RSJ. If the chimney breast ahs come out, there is only a long expanse of flat wall.

Christyt

Hi again - managed to get surveyor to re-do chimney bit and it now records the chimney stack is illegally and unsafely (un supported). As I said, my builder (who has seen the job) said he'd charge £3k to do the structural calculations, send off the building regs form, pay fees, do job, and organise final regs sign off. Does this seem outlandishly expensive?

Estate Agent bound to contest and want to get more quotes. Can I insist that only FMB builders do a quote cos they could get any old guy with a van to give a cheaper quote but what guarantee would I have that he'd do a good job, and that the price wouldn't go up?

I have a photo of the area of the loft in question if anyone would like to see it. Can exchange this via private message.