Help from house buying/selling experts

lianne1978

I think I am going to crack up! People told me that moving house was stressful but its only a few weeks in and I am going crazy!

Yesterday morning our buyers told EA the sale was off as the survey had brought loads of problems to light. To cut a long story short (some of you may have seen my previous threads), the buyer rang EA back late yesterday and said he had spoken with surveyor and things didn't seem bad now and would have another look at survey and get back tomorrow.

So today my EA has rung me and said he wants to get quotes on the work needed doing and needed access to the property BUT he won't let any of my side see the survey. By this point I had just about had enough and said NO WAY, I'm not prepared to let people in MY house in MY time to look at 'supposed' problems without him letting me know what the problems are. I feel that is very unreasonable. My EA told him this and he rang back and said he understand my point of view and would let the EA see a copy of the report tomorrow (thursday) afternoon.

I think I just need to know what the hell is going on. I live in 112 year old property and the problems he's reluctantly mentioned are damp, pointing, external timber and the gas and electrics need checking and that the property is only worth 98k in its present state (accepted offer for 99,995).

Am I wrong in thinking that a) the problems mentioned are common with a house of this age and b) for what could be a couple of grands work the house will be worth much more then? They are going up constantly and being sold within a very short area from me for 10k more than what we have accepted an offer on ours for and now wondering if we are being short changed. I guess he is going to try and get the price down but its pie in the sky at mo as he is being very vague. Right ramble over think I just needed to release some tension! Help put my mind at ease is this normal? Any ideas?

sleepymans

Yes all this is very normal -its a battle of wills, a negotiation,bit like "Deal or no deal" really!! but there is a win-win here....
If it were me I would offer a full and final compromise at £99k take it or leave it. If you are keen to move and they like the house then quibbling about £2k either way seems nit-picky and pointless.
Its not personal and if you compromise you are the clever one thats sleeping at night and more to the point - you'll be on the move!

Go for it

Good luck

lianne1978

sleepymans wrote:

but there is a win-win here....
If it were me I would offer a full and final compromise at £99k take it or leave it. If you are keen to move and they like the house then quibbling about £2k either way seems nit-picky and pointless.

I forgot to say when my EA tried to get him to stay with the sale yesterday morning she had said that maybe we could look at price reduction and he said NO because the work still needed doing and he thought he was buying a house 'that didn't need anything doing!' So if I do offer 99k which I would consider I think he may still want quotes and things, he is either a very cautious FTB or he wants my house on the cheap.

benood

I think your buyer sounds pretty sharp, you want to see the summary page of his survey, the one that says pretty sound for a property of its age! I doubt very much that a surveyor would differentiate between 98 and 100k - valuation is not a precise science.

I would be inclined to play hardball -put the place back on the market - surely you know if there are any real problems? A bit of damp is to be expected on a 112yr old house - if he wants a Barrett rabbit hutch he should look at one and stop wasting everyone's time etc

So what might I do - wait until he makes a revised offer - certainly don't reduce it unless he revises his offer - and bollock your agent for suggesting you might reduce!

Doozergirl

I'm worried about your buyer because the issues mentioned aren't particularly big ones. For him to downvalue by £2000, the surveyor doesn't think so either. A full rewire by itself, for example would cost £2000 at least, so it can't be that bad!

I personally don't think your buyer is sharp, I think they are easily spooked after reading the antics of the last couple of days. You were right to say no without even knowing what the problems were. I think you should stick this out, see what the quotes are and make sure you speak to each tradesman coming in, to firmly establish for yourself what the issues are. To be honest, I think you should continue viewings for the meantime as this sale very much hangs in the balance.

I'm saying this because I'm worried you're going to hit another sticking point with your buyer and I want you to be fully armed with the knowledge to get any solid problems rectified . Virtually every old property is going to have damp readings, some things that are slightly outdated or a couple of maintenance issues. Your buyers are unrealistic, but this you should expect from FTBs, if indeed they are.

rach29

I agree with Doozergirl, stick to your guns!! It sounds as if your purchaser has had the pretty standard survey response that one would expect for a house of that age. The plumbing/electrics thing seems to come up every time if they have not been re-done in the last 10-15 years, It's fair for the surveyor to point it out but it's equally fair that if it's checked out an electrician etc would say it's in perfectly good working order.

Again, pointing & external timber work are perfectly normal in a property of 112yrs and whilst I would expect the surveyor to point it out I don't think they would consider it a huge problem.

Are your buyers borrowing 95%plus on their mortgage? It seems that survyors are being extra cautious at the moment where the LTV is high and that may have prompted the slight downvalue here also.

Try and stand firm here but if you do feel you are willing to drop to 99K dont offer this until all other avenues have been tried & then stick to it no matter what.

GOOD LUCK

lianne1978

An update

Buyer went into my EAs today with a list of the problems from the survey but wouldn't let my EA see a copy of the survey the list was as follows:

- Replacement roof timber (my question all the roof, some of the roof?)
- Damp proof needed on external walls (which external walls, front/back/all?)
- Ventilation to chimney needs improving
- Repairs to chimney stack
- Repairs to roof coverings (all the roof, some of the roof?)
- Replace gutters
- Pointing (all the house, front/back?)
- Repair rear boundary wall (admittedly that's like a donkey's back leg!)
- Gas and electricity check
- Need to gain entry to loft (surveyor couldn't do that when he was here, ladders too small)
- Gas fire and boiler service (already said I'd have this done)
- Surveyor couldn't find the stopcock (if he'd asked I was in the house at the time, I would have told him it was under the kitchen sink!)

House value in its present condition 98k, offer accepted 99995k

He told EA he wants to get quotes on all the work! I said there's no point as he is getting a bargain and the house is in good condition just general wear and tear. I work with a surveyor who had said get your EA to get a copy of the summary (buyer wouldn't show any of it). Surveyor reckons this is because it probably said house was in general good condition and that I should stand my ground. Perhaps at a push drop 1k as I'm leaving all the fixtures and fittings. At the end of the day he is pretty much paying the value of the house and if the buyer had any sense he would offer its value.

To make things worse the EA of the house we'd offered 155k on (on at 159500k) has rung on two consecutive nights and today and said the vendor he would probably take 157500k including all the new white goods etc!

Any ideas guys?

vodkagirl001

lianne1978 wrote:

An update

Buyer went into my EAs today with a list of the problems from the survey but wouldn't let my EA see a copy of the survey the list was as follows:

Sounds strange to me, personally if its all above board what he is saying then why wouldnt he just show it on the survey. Think he is trying to pull a fast one in order to get a knock down price. guess it comes down to how desperate you are to sell to this guy or if you can stick to your guns and tell him to ''do one'' if he wants a reduction!

Doozergirl

How does the maths work? Do you need the white goods on the house you were offering on?

You could try £156,000k, see what the answer is and then try a compromise with your buyer. Maybe if you can get something off the house you are offering on, it won't seem so bad. By the sound of it I think your house will be needing a new roof soon and that is a good £2000

Doozergirl

You know all of this is a bit general. It's a homebuyer's report, they almost always suggest getting these extra reports done.

You need to establish if you have a damp problem in the house at all before putting in a DPC. If the chimney isn't ventilated (costs pennies to sort that!) then there might be extra condensation in the rooms which will cause a high reading.

Repointing should cost about £25 per square metre, that is likely what needs doing to your chimney too. Go outisde and have a look at where the mortar is crumbling between the bricks.

Boundary wall; your buyer has seen this already and offered accordingly. They should whistle if they want it fixed by you.

Gas and electric checks are standard, If he really thought there was something wrong, he'd say but you might find you need some work doing.

It does sound like there are roof issues though and even if it doesn't need doing this minute, it does sound like it's going to need doing soon. Does your guttering leak at all?

Entry to loft? Well, if he was that desperate, he'd have found a way! How much money does he want to spend while he's up there :rolleyes:

Homebuyers reports are a nightmare and people who expect an old house to need nothing doing aren't all that clever either!

bazzzz

lianne1978 wrote:

An update


- Need to gain entry to loft (surveyor couldn't do that when he was here, ladders too small)
-

Your buyers would be certifiably insane if they bought the house without having the roof checked.