Renegotiation with unprofessional vendor

sonastin

Lead pipes might also not be an issue if they are prevalent in the area. Where there is a lot of housing stock with a history of lead pipes in the area and soft water, the water company will probably be dosing orthophosphoric acid in the water to inhibit plumbosolvency - check the water company's website for details of their water quality performance in the area and that might give you a clue.

G_M

LauraFox wrote: »

Hi,

1 - Damp
Damp 'specialist' company quoted £1,230 for new DPC.
We then instructed an independent damp surveyor who suggested different remedies costing in total £2,400. He said we may still need to upgrade the DPC if his suggestions didnt resolve the problem.
I'm a huge sceptic when it comes to damp. I admit I'm not a professional, but I distrust DP companies (just want to sell their product) and even independnt surveyors, who a) use inaccurate 'meters' and b) make statements to cover their professional a*ses for later.
Damp is rarely a DPC issue: usually it is either a simple problem (leaking downpipe; raised external grounf level etc) OR it does not even exist.
Having said that, if the DPC needs replacing, then there's a real cost.
2 - Old fuse box, electrician quoted £400 How old? Many 'old' fuse boxes with cartridge fuses, or even wire fuses, perform perfectly - they are just not 'current' models or what have to be installed today.

3 - Garage roof containing asbestos in very bad condition. Roofer quoted £1,300 Does it need replacing? If no, the asbestos can be lft untouched and is fine. However if it needs replacing then you can't use any old roofer - you need someone licensed to work with/dispose of asbestos

4 - Lead pipe, we are quoted £1,200 for plumber's work only, plus it sounds like a daunting job, liaising with Water Board, neighbours, need to excavate, ... My house is 50 yards from the road. All lead pipe. Lived here 12 years quite happily. One day maybe I'll replace.....

(all above prices incl. VAT, quotes in writing)

5 - Some alarming things that still need to be confirmed by our solicitor: whether an internal wall was removed with building Reg approval, and surveyor could not locate any inspection chambers or access points for the sewage... Removed how long ago? If 5 years and a) the council have said nothing and b) the house shows no cracks/movement then what's the problem? If it was 6 months ago, then either a) or b) above might become a problem.

Finally vendor has given us very bad impression so far, ......

So some of that may not be as bad as you fear. Or might be.

More serious is the vendor's attitude. Sounds like
a) he won't negotiate on price whatever you say
b) you might be hanging around for ever as further delays arise
c) he might walk away any time whatever you do

Best advice
a) try negotiating price if you can
b) give a deadline for Exchange
c) don't invest any more on this purchase
d) keep actively looking elsewhere
f) if he drops the pice and offers to Exchange.... well you'l know what to do. Oh, and then post back here and amaze us all!

LauraFox

For the time being we will probably remain patient because we really like the house. £500 spent so far + solicitors fees, thats a lot of money invested to run out of patience already. Some have misunderstood, so I want to clarify that the vendor has found a property he is buying and we are now in a chain (but we were not when we made the offer and didnt expect to be). He has repeatedly said he is serious about selling to us and apologised numerous times for being inaccessible, what we sense is that, as Lincroft1710 said, vendor just waits around for things to go all his own way. He has been secretive about timescales so next week we will demand some solid answers via our solicitor.

LauraFox

GDB2222,

How old, and does it need replacing? we dont know but it's a 1930's build. survey says it has been wired in plastic covered cable and needs updating

is this a hard water or soft water area? Not joking! If it's a hard water area, the lead pipe may not matter. You can get a water sample tested for lead. we re in a very hard water area

Less alarming if there are no signs of movement, and ask the vendor where the access points are to the sewage before worrying no signs of movement, i hope you re right. Vendor is clueless, he learnt so much about his house through our investigations

I'd probably knock less than 5 grand off. The thing is of course that the vendors may be having trouble finding somewhere to move to, so they are not motivated to sell. Once they do (if they do!) the selling process will suddenly gain some urgency for them. That might be the time to mention the issues over teh survey. Spot on. As I said, he has found a property to buy now, so I was thinking to let him spend money on his own potential purchase, lay off the chasing for a few weeks, and then renegotiate with him when the situation has become urgent for him as well. Then he is more likely to accept any reduction iykwim. Are we thinking the same thing?

LauraFox

G_M, great input, no surprise there.

About the damp - my thoughts exactly. I dont know if I should charge the vendor for replacing the DPC or for the Ind Surv's remedies or both... And we may need to do both. I feel quite let down by the independent surveyor TBH. He used 'that' meter and in his report he was not at all conclusive, he just added more doubts in our already doubtful minds.

About the fuse box - HB surveyor identified it as 'Risk to people' and gave it grade 3. Hence, we assumed it needs to be rectified asap.

About garage roof - Again, 'risk to people, grade 3'. 'Dilapidated and beyond repair. The asbestos cement roof sheets are old and defective and should be replaced asap'.

About lead pipe - I have read other threads on this and I feel I want to replace because I have a very young child. We will have to do it sooner or later, I cant imagine selling on the house with the lead pipe still there.

internal wall - removed more than 7yrs ago, thanks for putting my mind at ease.

do you think he will negotiate if I get the timing right? ie. when his own purchase gets more fruitful and suddenly remembers he has a buyer?

do you think I should take into account that I m losing money into rental when I suggest a new price?

should I exchange before Xmas?

c) don't invest any more on this purchase
d) keep actively looking elsewhere
f) if he drops the pice and offers to Exchange.... well you'l know what to do. Oh, and then post back here and amaze us all!
WILL DO, best advice indeed!

GDB2222

LauraFox wrote: »

GDB2222,

How old, and does it need replacing? we dont know but it's a 1930's build. survey says it has been wired in plastic covered cable and needs updatingPlastic? What sort of plastic? All modern cables are plastic covered. I'd suggest getting a friendly electrician to test it. Pay him for it, so he's not having to drum up business to make it worth his while. There's a huge difference between 'not to current standards' and unsafe.

is this a hard water or soft water area? Not joking! If it's a hard water area, the lead pipe may not matter. You can get a water sample tested for lead. we re in a very hard water area You should be okay then without replacing the lead pipe. Take a look at this link. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=lead%20pipes%20in%20hard%20water&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdwi.defra.gov.uk%2Fconsumers%2Fadvice-leaflets%2Flead.pdf

Less alarming if there are no signs of movement, and ask the vendor where the access points are to the sewage before worrying no signs of movement, i hope you re right. Vendor is clueless, he learnt so much about his house through our investigations The chances are very high that the inspection chambers are there, but they've been paved over, or planted over. I suspect that a good builder could help you do a bit of detective work to find them quite easily.

I'd probably knock less than 5 grand off. The thing is of course that the vendors may be having trouble finding somewhere to move to, so they are not motivated to sell. Once they do (if they do!) the selling process will suddenly gain some urgency for them. That might be the time to mention the issues over teh survey. Spot on. As I said, he has found a property to buy now, so I was thinking to let him spend money on his own potential purchase, lay off the chasing for a few weeks, and then renegotiate with him when the situation has become urgent for him as well. Then he is more likely to accept any reduction iykwim. Are we thinking the same thing?

Yes, I'd let your vendor get well into his purchase before investing any more time or money checking out his property.

LauraFox

GDB2222 wrote: »

Yes, I'd let your vendor get well into his purchase before investing any more time or money checking out his property.

We did pay the electrician £40 and he quoted £400 for the work.

Thanks you for the valuable advice.

GDB2222

LauraFox wrote: »

We did pay the electrician £40 and he quoted £400 for the work.

Thanks you for the valuable advice.

That's just to replace the consumer unit then? Nothing to do with plastic covered wiring?

LauraFox

GDB2222 wrote: »

That's just to replace the consumer unit then? Nothing to do with plastic covered wiring?

It's to replace both with whatever meets the current standards.