Negotiating house price after making an offer

umaram

We have just made an offer on a house and the paper work started but the sale is not finalised yet. I went back today to get some measurements for the curtains but realised that the windows were not double glazed. When I looked back at the Advert it did mention that the one room down stairs have a doule glazing ,may be that is why i assumed all of them.Is it possible to still negotiate that off the price before the sale is final. If yes would that be through the lawyers or the agency???/// Advice please iam a first time buyer.

pararct

umaram wrote: »

We have just made an offer on a house and the paper work started but the sale is not finalised yet. I went back today to get some measurements for the curtains but realised that the windows were not double glazed. When I looked back at the Advert it did mention that the one room down stairs have a doule glazing ,may be that is why i assumed all of them.Is it possible to still negotiate that off the price before the sale is final. If yes would that be through the lawyers or the agency???/// Advice please iam a first time buyer.

Did you not inspect the windows when you first viewed the property?

Wait till your surveyor report comes back there may be other issues you will want to renegotiate on.

G_M

Until Exchange of Contracts nothing is binding.

However if I were the seller I'd be pretty p*ssed off if you made an offer and after acceptance tried to negotiate down because of a mistake YOU made. If something new comes up (ie from the survey or conveyancing) which you could not have anticipated, that is different, but you should have known about the double glazing
a) it's in the marketing literature AND
b) you've viewed the property and could/should have seen!

So I know what I'd tell you to do!

umaram

I know I feel really bad about that but replacing 8 windows is alot of money....i tried to get a house in this area for a while but coulsn't.. So i just wanted to be the first to put an offer.

Yorkie1

I agree with G_M. It's your oversight and you should have spotted it before making an offer. But, as noted, your survey may come back with other issues to negotiate on.

G_M

umaram wrote: »

I know I feel really bad about that but replacing 8 windows is alot of money....i tried to get a house in this area for a while but coulsn't.. So i just wanted to be the first to put an offer.

Well, drop your price then.

Just don't be surprised if the seller not only rejects your new offer, but decides you are going to be too much trouble as a buyer and refuses to sell to you at the original price too!

umaram

Thanks everyone...But I am not a trouble maker .I know I made a mistake and sensibly, came to the forum asking for advice , so not to hurt any part of this agreement. It seems like I just have to wait for the survey , but any extra money I spend on the house will not pay off in the future because I already over rated the house assming it is perfect.

zappahey

umaram wrote: »

I know I feel really bad about that but replacing 8 windows is alot of money....i tried to get a house in this area for a while but coulsn't.. So i just wanted to be the first to put an offer.

Do they need to be replaced? If not, then you have little to bargain with.

Catbells

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I agree with G_M. It's your oversight and you should have spotted it before making an offer. But, as noted, your survey may come back with other issues to negotiate on.

Any other items thrown up by the survey will also need to be paid for so I don't see how this will help to pay for the windows too.

I would be straight with them and admit you hadn't noticed the lack of double glazing when you made the offer. 8 windows could cost £3 - £6k depending on size and type so better to bring your offer price down by this amount NOW rather than letting the process go any further. Good luck.

umaram

The windows definately needs to be replaced that is why I am really worried . I need to carry some work in the house anyway which I have estimated a 5K buget max for it . I had to pay 25% deposit to be able to get a motgage offer . Hounestly I can not afford to pay any more money right now. Should I talk to my lawyer or just contact the agency direct???

hazyjo

How do you know the windows definitely need replacing if you've not had a survey yet? You must have paid them some attention then, surely?

Personally, I don't think you can drop the price due to something you consider a necessity. Not every house has double glazing. IMO, you should have read the details thoroughly. So many people don't, then go and view a property and offer on it. You must look at things like the boiler, central heating, windows, ceilings, flooring, etc. All pretty much standard stuff, I'm afraid.

If you used that as a bargaining tool with me, I'd tell you to go whistle (sorry!). I do have double glazing, central heating, etc... but if I didn't, and the details hadn't said I did, then someone tried to drop me for not having say double glazing, I'd definitely not reduce my price.

You might find other things to reduce the price by following a survey... up to you if you pay for it and have it done. Bit of a gamble. If you're aware of things that need replacing, etc before having a survey, you can't really drop them for things they've been honest about from the start (IMO anyway!). Surely your offer took all those things into account anyway.

Jx