Reasonable request to move Oil Tank

djassay

Hi
We are buying a house (first time) and in the survey it came up that the Oil tank siting was not compliant with regulations. We had an OFTEC approved company come and inspect and they gave us a quote for the required changes (mainly making the supports fire proof).

We have asked the seller to pay for this (by reducing house price) but he has flat refused.

I just wanted some opinions on whether we are making a reasonable request, what are peoples experiences of getting seller's to make other changes like this that may not be 'essential' but important and of a significant cost.

Thanks!
djassay

WestonDave

At the end of the day issues like this are just a negotiating topic - if you can't won't buy the house without the cost of the alterations being taken into account, then you may have to walk away, because the vendor might not want to sell for less than they have already agreed. You can't force them to reduce the price or cover the costs, so it becomes a matter of who has most to lose - he may be banking on the fact that you've paid out for a survey etc and don't want to lose that money, so will probably not walk away. If he's right then from his perspective the right negotiating tactic is to stand firm and keep the cash. On the other hand you need to decide whether its worth saving the cost of the survey to keep this house if it means spending thousands on making it compliant. (I'm not sure whether the oil tank issue is a bit like electrics - not the way it would be done now, but not particularly a problem either)

kingstreet

Did the surveyor downvalue the property because of this?

If he valued it at the agreed price and this was simply an "advisory" I don't think you have much chance...

If you've asked the vendor and he's refused, it's your call. Continue with the purchase or pull out.

If he downvalued, I'd stick the report under the vendor's nose and say you can't proceed without a reduction.

chris_m

Regulations change all the time, it may well be that it met the regulations at the time of installation but that the regulations for new installations have changed.
Just like electrics in houses, a '70s house may well be perfectly OK but doesn't meet the "current" (sorry, LOL) regulations.

ognum

How much money are you talking about? Its the sellers choice if he says no then you decide to carry on or not.
What I have found over my house buying years is that more and more buyers are wanting survey issues taken into consideration and the house price reduced. While I can understand this some homes are already reduced in price because of the issues they have.
In the end it depends on how much you want the house!

googler

chris_m wrote: »

Regulations change all the time, it may well be that it met the regulations at the time of installation but that the regulations for new installations have changed.
Just like electrics in houses, a '70s house may well be perfectly OK but doesn't meet the "current" (sorry, LOL) regulations.

Echo this, exactly what I was going to say.

Don't see why the owner has to pay for it, just because the authorities moved the goalposts.

ReadingTim

djassay wrote: »

what are peoples experiences of getting seller's to make other changes like this that may not be 'essential' but important and of a significant cost.

Thanks!
djassay

It sounds like you already know you're chancing it (and therefore it's not really a "reasonable request"), so now it's just down to negotiation.

What you can do it point out that other surveys will probably identify the same point as yours has, so it's likely to be an issue whoever the buyer is, and other buyers will probably be as concerned as you are. Also, get a number of quotes, so you can back up the cost of the work (or resulting price reduction) as reasonable. Stress your position as serious FTB-ers, chain free, mortgage AIP, survey done, solicitors instructed etc. Finally, suggest that rather than him get the work done, if he reduces the price by the amount of the work, you'll get it done after you've bought the house (rather than insist he gets it done prior to sale, which he might think you want)

However, as it doesn't appear to be necesary work, the vendor could well refuse to drop the price. If you really want the house, you could offer to go halves on it - that rather flies in the face of the points I made above, but could be a useful compromise, if you really want the place.

In the meantime, I suggest making some appointments to look at other places with the same agent as he's selling with, indicating you're prepared to walk away....that might add some additional pressure from the EA to get the vendor to agree to your request...

Best of luck...!

djassay

Thanks for all the replies!:)

Our main concern is insurance. The main thing currently not compliant is that it is not fire proof, and the tank is close to a wooden outbuilding next door and lots of hedges etc. If the worst happened and there was a fire would our insurance be valid?

I guess I see the point of view of the seller better now.

G_M

djassay wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies!:)

Our main concern is insurance. The main thing currently not compliant is that it is not fire proof, and the tank is close to a wooden outbuilding next door and lots of hedges etc. If the worst happened and there was a fire would our insurance be valid?

I guess I see the point of view of the seller better now.

Provided the tank was compliant with the Regulations in force at the time it was installed, then it meets the legal requirements.

And the insurance will be valid.

My house was built 150 years ago. Almost NOTHING complies with current Building Regs. Not even the electrics and I had the house re-wired completely 10 years ago.... but the Regs have changed again since then.

Stop worrying. If you ike the house, buy it.