Should I trust the EA on this?

waribai

In the process of buying a house and EA is keen for us to exchange within the next 2 weeks. However, had an inspection of the roof the other day and the roofer said that broken slates needed replacing, nailes holding slates have rusted etc and the roof needs to be recovered. He estimated it to cost £3k. Also the timber specialist said there was no damp proof course and we woudl need to do that for about £1200.
Told the EA about this and said we would like this amount knocked off the price. He has come back and said "The vendor says absolutely no way, btw the roofer seemed very dishonest. I know an honest roofer who can give you a quote. I'll send him round to have a look"
My question is do I trust the EA on this as I can see his roofer giving us a ridiculously low quote but then either adding on lots of extra costs or reigning on the deal. Thanks for any thoughts!

Seanymph

I'd want my own tradesperson not someone else's.

And the vendor is quite within their rights to say 'we aren't interested in knocking money off' - but it's up to you if you want the additional costs involved, and bear in mind that generally you end up spending more than you are quoted.

david29dpo

It seems the agent is only interested in there commission. So to answer your question, no

samroo

why not get another quote for both problems - and get in writing. will show you are genuine and not just trying to get the price down. agree don't trust anything the EA says. they want exchange so that they get paid

dorset_nurse

Never trust an EA, go with your own experts and get another quote to make yourself feel better. Then go back to the EA with the evidence and decide if you are going to walk away if they don't either reduce the price or fix the roof for you.

Gwhiz

The words "trust" and "EA" are mutually exclusive in a sentence.

taxsaver

I would certainly be more concerned about the roof than the DPC and agree that you should get at least one more opinion/quote for that.

Be very wary of the DPC situation though as in many cases a DPC does NOT need to be injected and does little to alleviate any damp problems that might be seen. There is a very good thread within this section which has fantastic information about this subject and a very good knowledgeable contributor - do a search for damp proofing or rising damp and you should find it.

waribai

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, my main reasoning for going through the EA's roofer was that I thought that he couldn't say "No work needs doing" as he would then be talking himself out of a potential job. If he gives us a cheap written quote, we can hold him to that. If he gives us an expensive quote, well then that's the EA's recommended tradesperson and so we can use that quote to support our case.
I have emailed the EA saying it is fine for him to do a quote as long at it's a written one and I'd like to be there when he's doing it. No reply yet which is unusual for this EA.

poppysarah

waribai wrote: »

My question is do I trust the EA on this as I can see his roofer giving us a ridiculously low quote but then either adding on lots of extra costs or reigning on the deal. Thanks for any thoughts!

the sensible thing is to get several quotes... and include the EA's bodge the builder in there too.

You are right to assume the EA works for the seller not for you.

Marvel1

Always get at least 3 quotes for building work/repairs.

G_M

waribai wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, my main reasoning for going through the EA's roofer was that I thought that he couldn't say "No work needs doing" as he would then be talking himself out of a potential job. If he's receiving a backhander for saying that he won't care about the future work....If he gives us a cheap written quote, we can hold him to that. How? You can't force him to do the job just because he's given you a quote!If he gives us an expensive quote, well then that's the EA's recommended tradesperson and so we can use that quote to support our case.
I have emailed the EA saying it is fine for him to do a quote as long at it's a written one and I'd like to be there when he's doing it. No reply yet which is unusual for this EA.

Forget the EA. His duty is a) to the seller and b) to himself and his commission. NOT to you.