Simple question about negotiating

jonny_power

We've got a few issues from the survey about the house we wish to buy, it needs some damp treating... probably looking at about £3k to sort. If we were to ask the vendor to knock this off the price (or split the cost), does this just come off our deposit, or do we have to change the mortgage too? How does this work with respect to the mortgage provider?

jonny_power

*cheeky bump*

timmyt

you may find the seller pulls the deal from you.

damp is your problem moving in, not the seller walking away...but it is a negotiation.

it comes off the price, some lawyers call it an allowance and do not report it to the lender others do and a new mortgage offer is issued...so ask your conveyancer (Please say you have an actual 'solicitor' acting for you and your fee you are paying them?)

First_Time_Buyer_Guru

Hi Jonny

Simply let your mortgage provider know the situation and they can decide. All lenders are different. Certainly let them know. Either way, its a great idea to get the 3k knocked off.

jonny_power

Because we're hard up FTB's we'd probably need the allowance rather than changing the offer, because slightly lower repayments and £500 off the deposit don't really help if we need to pay out for significant works.

The complexity (and why it's in the owners court) is because they said they had damp treated and it's under guarantee. Since we had our offer accepted in light of this they haven't got the guarantee and neither has the damp proof company, and there appears to be a damp issue where it was supposedly treated.

Henry_P_Chester

jonny_power wrote: »

Because we're hard up FTB's we'd probably need the allowance rather than changing the offer, because slightly lower repayments and £500 off the deposit don't really help if we need to pay out for significant works.

The complexity (and why it's in the owners court) is because they said they had damp treated and it's under guarantee. Since we had our offer accepted in light of this they haven't got the guarantee and neither has the damp proof company, and there appears to be a damp issue where it was supposedly treated.

It's entirely the vendors responsibility to get this sorted or to make an allowance off the price on light of it. All offers are subject to survey and now you no the property is not quite up to the standard it first appeared you are well within your rights to reduce the offer accordingly.

Obviously the vendor might not be too forthcoming but if you pull out then they will still have the same problem with the next buyer.

jonny_power

explained the situation to the EA today who is going back to the vendor. The EA is going to arrange a free damp and timber report by someone. no idea if independent or anything but it's free and will be useful I guess. Any works we decide to do we'll get some more quotes from people with a decent reputation.