Help: Do I pay more than than the surveyor's value?

fatboyslick

Hi

First time buyer here.

The house i'm trying to buy has been valued by the surveyor at £10k less than the agreed price. This has disrupted the sale as the seller needs the agreed price for their next house purchase.

We went back to the surveyor with evidence to boost the price back up to the agreed price but they wouldn't budge at all.

What's my next move?

I can't get the mortgage for anything higher than the surveyor's price now and even if I did have more money, I don't want to pay more than the valuation do I?

What is the norm here - do people generally negotiate and pay a little over the surveyor's price????
We've requetsed the seller to drop the price by £10k

Cheers

tyler80

I don't think you have a lot of option as a first time buyer with a 10% deposit. Either the seller drops the price or you can't afford it.

fatboyslick

We've actualy proivided a 20% deposit which we think is fantastic in this climate

poppysarah

Don't pay more than the value.

The fact they "can't afford to take less" is their problem not yours.
They have to work round that.

Look for another property.

kingstreet

Apply for another mortgage with another lender and hope they send a another surveyor who takes a different view to the first one?

If the second surveyor agrees with the first, I think you have your answer.

There's plenty of property out there. Why put yourself in the position of paying over the odds (in the surveyors' view) if you don't have to?

fatboyslick

We've considered using another lender but we've found that the rates are sporadic - one day we got a mortgage of around £650 a month, the next weekend it was £760 a month

So, we're reluctant to pay more and ultimately pay for another survey - weve already spent £800 for them to tell us that the Estate Agent over valued the property by 15%, so we don't want to spend anymore for it to come back at the same price

Thanks for the responses so far

shar46y

I wouldn't pay more than the valuation. Agree with the other comments that "need more for their next purchase" is not your problem. Ask the seller to drop the price and pass it up the chain (they could split it with their vendors?).

Mallotum_X

Work on the vendor, they need to get their new property down in price to allow the chain to continue.

Idiophreak

poppysarah wrote: »

Don't pay more than the value.

The fact they "can't afford to take less" is their problem not yours.
They have to work round that.

I quite agree - basically, someone's going to end up being 10k out of pocket - either you or them.

They "need" the 10k to get their new house - so they have two options - raise it themselves or get you to pay it. It just comes down to which of you is the most bothered about getting this deal through, I guess. Maybe meet half way?

That said, I paid above the valuation - as I was 100% sure that the house was being aggressively downvalued and, I saw it as a chance to get some more equity into the place. As it turns out, all the other flats on my development (which aren't as big, or as nice) have sold for around 10% more than mine, so I don't feel I've overpaid at all - and I have an extra chunk of deposit. (plus, I got the deal to go through quite quickly + easily and saved another God-knows-how-long of house-hunting - can't say there's not value in that!)

I guess you have to ask yourself
a) do you have the money?
b) do you think the property's worth the extra money?
c) will paying the extra make your life easier?
and so on...

harrup

Somewhat of a moot point since you can't get a mortgage higher than the valuation.

Still...I'm assuming that this property isn't your envisaged "forever home"?

If so....I'd be inclined to say "don't". Leave it unless the seller drops the price to align with the valuation. If they can't or won't - why should you help finance their house aspirations?

If, on the other hand, the place is absolutly perfect for you for whatever reason AND you forsee to live in it for the next decade ( or forever!) hmm... you may want to explore the "beg & borrow" route (parents? bridging loan? ) to secure the property. Or at least meet the vendor half way. But you'd REALLY have to love it.

Personally, I think it's foolish and shortsighted to forego a property just because it isn't a good deal. I'd rather live in a place I love and pay over the odds for it than to live in the deal-of-the-century place which I don't care for and warm to. But that's just me.

Whatever you decide - hope it works out the best for you.

sonastin

I'm with idiophreak and harrup. The 2 key questions are:
1) How important is this property to you? Does it trump all else or is it a "that'll do" property?
and
2) Can you afford it? The surveyor's valuation tells you what the lender can "afford" to chip in - can you afford the extra.

I would pay over the valuation price for the places I've offered on simply because they were worth more to me than they're worth to "the market". My OH and I have very different tastes and finding something that works for both of us is worth paying an extra £10k for if we have to. Its either that or we don't live together - and at the moment we're 250 miles apart so there's a lot of commuting going into that £10k!

Have you looked at 85% or 90% LTV mortgages. I know the rates suck in comparison to 80% but if the repayment amounts are manageable you can borrow a higher % of the surveyor's valuation if this is really the house for you and use the rest of your deposit to make up the difference...