survey back - work needed, but seller not prepared to negotiate

split_second

imo if its a renovation project thats one thing but if its not i would be preparing to walk away

timmyt

A survey is designed to reveal everything wrong so dont go running to Agent with it automatically or the seller could decide not to sell to you, but if you want a new build with everything in shape then buy one. The property has been priced in it's current condition after all.

The surveyors valuation is irrelevant as price is what the public will pay.

I agree with the seller and I'd withdraw from selling if I got you coming for a price reduction for those matters.

Good luck though.

tyllwyd

I can't help thinking you want things all your way - you've agreed a big reduction on the asking price, and now you want the vendor to pick up the bill for any work that needs doing. It's between the two of you to agree, of course, but you can't really be surprised if he says that it's been taken into account in the price agreed.

When you said that the offer was subject to a 'satisfactory survey' what were you expecting? It wasn't likely that a 100 year old house was going to come back with a completely clean bill of health, and issues like an old fashioned fusebox would probably have been obvious if you'd taken a look yourself, so you could argue that a survey suggesting only £2.5K of work is satisfactory in the circumstances - it could have been £10K+ for a completely new roof etc.

G_M

It's a 100 year old house. Taking on a character house that age involves maintenance. It will need bits and pieces doing regularly.

Either you have given shorthand of the survey, or the survey was very basic. What you've described is insufficient info. Could be significant, or insignificant:

Roof - needs work to damaged slates, batons, chimney stacks.
Damaged as in missing? or a few cracks? Slates overlap each other so a crack 3/4 way down a slate, where it lies on top of the slate below, will not let in water. OK, at some point pay a roofer £100 to go up and replace a few slates/batons.
If slates are broken off (not just cracked) 1/4 way down, or missing, then water might get in so the job needs doing. There again, how many? Over what part of the building?
Chimney stack? Needs what work? A bit of non-urgent re-pointing some time in the next 5 years? Or is the stack about to fall down? Two very different scenarios!

Dry rot/damp - nothing major but isolated areas need attention.
How many areas? Where? Bedrooms/living area or utility room?
Upstairs or down? Cause? If up, may just need £20 for an odd job man to re-align an overflowing gutter! If down, could be a blocked air vent. Dig it out! Or do you need a new damp proof course!!!
And how was this diagnosed? A so-called damp meter? Or was there visible damp? 'Damp meters' actually measure electrical current. If used on wood (which does not conduct electricity) they can indicate damp, since water in wood will conduct electricity. However, if used on other materials (plaster, stone, brick etc) electric current might be carried by the material itself even if bone dry! Yet surveyors still regularly use these 'damp meters' and then state the property is damp!

Electrics - work to upgrade fusebox/some sockets.
So it's an old house with an old style fuse box. Surprise! OK, current standards specify blah blah blah, but 10s of 000s of houses had electrics installed under previous standards and are just fine! If the surveyor is saying "electrics don't meet current standards' this is just standard phraseology - ignore. If he intimates/states it is dangerous and must be upgraded.... that's different.
My guess? At some point when you have some money and are doing some electrical work (new external lights? extra sockets for the DVD/LCR/flatscreen broadband/jetbox 3000...)you ask the electrician to swop over the fuse box for a modern RCD box.

Either tell us more about what the surveyor actually wrote, or ring the surveyor and ask!

Busyliz

I am in a similar position but the difference is that the surveyor has valued the house at less than our offer to take account the possible cost of repairs but the surveyor has said once the repairs are done the house would be worth at least his original valuation plus predictated repair cost. We are in process of renegotiating the original offer but at least we can use the surveyors valuation as a basis for renegotiation. Your surveyor has indicated the house is worth the price you are paying in its current condition so you have less room to manouver you could get estimates to check repair costs will be £2,500 so you dont get any nasty suprises later.

nomoneytoday

If I were the seller I would negotiate £1000 off maximum to show willing but no more as you already have a huge chunk discounted compared to the final result

Iris_Blue

I've just been in this position.

Our accepted offer was the same as the surveyors price but the house needs work doing to it which will / could hugely inconvenience us when we move in.

We have to move in before works are done as we wouldn't have anywhere else to go. The sellers knocked another £1000 off which was more than fair and for which I am grateful for.

This house didn't look like it had anything wrong which was quite a shock to see the report.

hcb42

If it is valued at that price with the work not done, then I would be a bit peeved at a seller trying to knock the price down again.

you can't expect a house where you dont have to spend a bit of money on it. £2.5K is a pittance.