Should I pull out of house sale?

Busyliz

Hi,
I was in the same position the initial survey indicated problems wirh the roof and damp problems also indicated value of the houser was less than we offered we asked the EA if the seller would accept a lower offer and sent them parts of the survey report to show them what the issues were, we also commisioned a second inspection report from David Aldred for the damp & timber issues his report indicated that the problem was worse than we had first thought so we have pulled out totally from the deal due to the potential costs and explained this to the EA who seems fine about it

custardy

mamahuhu wrote: »

That's part of the reason that I feel so bad about (maybe) backing out. As I mentioned in my original post, I had to wait two weeks for the vendor to respond to my offer and during that time I called the EA a few times for news (such was my enthusiasm) and generally made it known how much I wanted it etc etc and now...It'll probably look like I was just mucking about! :-S

doesnt matter
you are talking about the chance of being saddled with costs in the tens of thousands of pounds
its too big a purchase to risk on niceties

paddy's_mum

Why would you be bothered what anyone thinks of you for pulling out of paying a good price for a house which in reality is turning out to be basically a building plot not a home with four good walls and a roof over your head?

NeverAgain_2

I can understand your concern about getting a reputation with local agents for messing about.

But I think you will get a reputation for quite the reverse.

You have carried out inquiries into this house in a professional manner.

Any agent - or vendor - should respect you for that.

The sums simply must add up to your satisfaction, nobody else's.

Lay these cards on the table, and make an offer which makes this house work for you.

Sounds to me as if you will still be accepting some risk.

I don't know the exact circumstances, but waiting two weeks for an answer is also unacceptable.

I would tell the agent you expect an answer within seven days, or your revised offer is withdrawn.

Sambucus_Nigra

mamahuhu wrote: »

That's part of the reason that I feel so bad about (maybe) backing out. As I mentioned in my original post, I had to wait two weeks for the vendor to respond to my offer and during that time I called the EA a few times for news (such was my enthusiasm) and generally made it known how much I wanted it etc etc and now...It'll probably look like I was just mucking about! :-S

But that's how it works; you get the result of the survey and then renegotiate otherwise why have the survey?

pararct

Clearly your survey was money well spent whatever happens from here on.

Don't be worried about upsetting any agents or the vendor this is simply a business negotiation, these people are not your friends and will not want to know you from Adam once the deal is done.

Your call, if you are happy to undertake/oversee the work then revise your offer but I would expect you to get some professional advice before hand. How you go about achieving that without them getting sight of the job will be a task in itself.

I would be minded to photocopy the pages of the survey which relate to the more expensive parts of the work that needs doing and pass these to the estate agent. At the same time inform them due to these factors your offer to purchase is withdrawn although you are interested in negotiating another figure taking into account builders quotes ect on the work needing doing. The ball is then in the vendors court, the agent will no doubt inform the vendor that the property cannot realistically achieve the price they are looking for and that although you remain very interested you need some sort of idea on what the work to put right is going to cost. This hopefully will attune the vendor to accept a lower realistic offer

Two things to remember here. Whomever eventually buys this is going to hit the same problems the vendor will have to reduce sooner or later. If you cannot come to an agreement and have to move on then do not look upon your survey costs as lost money. This survey alerted you to some serious issues which without could have cost you a very pretty penny.

missjy

Did you also get a valuation done and was it lower than your offer?

mamahuhu

Busyliz wrote: »

Hi,
I was in the same position the initial survey indicated problems wirh the roof and damp problems also indicated value of the houser was less than we offered we asked the EA if the seller would accept a lower offer and sent them parts of the survey report to show them what the issues were, we also commisioned a second inspection report from David Aldred for the damp & timber issues his report indicated that the problem was worse than we had first thought so we have pulled out totally from the deal due to the potential costs and explained this to the EA who seems fine about it

Thanks, Busyliz. Sounds like a similar situation and makes me feel a lot better about the whole thing (except the idea of losing the house of course!)

mamahuhu

missjy wrote: »

Did you also get a valuation done and was it lower than your offer?

Missjy,

No, I didn't get a valuation done; it wasn't included in the survey.

pararct wrote: »

Clearly your survey was money well spent whatever happens from here on.

Don't be worried about upsetting any agents or the vendor this is simply a business negotiation, these people are not your friends and will not want to know you from Adam once the deal is done.

Your call, if you are happy to undertake/oversee the work then revise your offer but I would expect you to get some professional advice before hand. How you go about achieving that without them getting sight of the job will be a task in itself.

I would be minded to photocopy the pages of the survey which relate to the more expensive parts of the work that needs doing and pass these to the estate agent. At the same time inform them due to these factors your offer to purchase is withdrawn although you are interested in negotiating another figure taking into account builders quotes ect on the work needing doing. The ball is then in the vendors court, the agent will no doubt inform the vendor that the property cannot realistically achieve the price they are looking for and that although you remain very interested you need some sort of idea on what the work to put right is going to cost. This hopefully will attune the vendor to accept a lower realistic offer

Two things to remember here. Whomever eventually buys this is going to hit the same problems the vendor will have to reduce sooner or later. If you cannot come to an agreement and have to move on then do not look upon your survey costs as lost money. This survey alerted you to some serious issues which without could have cost you a very pretty penny.

Indeed, pararct. I knew this would be a challenge and I was prepared for that, but now that all this has been thrown up it's looking more like a fool's errand!

NeverAgain wrote: »

I can understand your concern about getting a reputation with local agents for messing about.

But I think you will get a reputation for quite the reverse.

You have carried out inquiries into this house in a professional manner.

Any agent - or vendor - should respect you for that.

The sums simply must add up to your satisfaction, nobody else's.

Lay these cards on the table, and make an offer which makes this house work for you.

Sounds to me as if you will still be accepting some risk.

I don't know the exact circumstances, but waiting two weeks for an answer is also unacceptable.

I would tell the agent you expect an answer within seven days, or your revised offer is withdrawn.

Thank you! The bottom line is that the figures no longer stack up. Initially, I was - perhaps naively - under the impression that I could get the house up together within budget and add value to it, making it a move which would satisfy head and heart. However, I now know
different and can't afford to be blase about such a big decision.

I shall inform the EA tomorrow of the surveyor's findings and my intention to pull out unless the vendor is willing to renegotiate on the basis of builders' quotes. If she is willing to consider renegotiating, I'll be able to arrange with the EA to get access to the property with some tradesmen....

And if not, it'll be back to house hunting - older, and hopefully wiser, for the experience!!

Thanks again for all the advice.

missjy

mamahuhu wrote: »

No, I didn't get a valuation done; it wasn't included in the survey.

Did the bank not do a valuation for mortgage purposes?