To tell or not to tell.....

lianne1978

To cut a long story short .... Our buyers pulled out on Friday because of problems on the survey, the main problem was damp, however, when they got an electrical report it suggested that some wiring in the house was around 30 year old as was the fuse box. We had agreed to help with the cost of the damp, but had not forseen the electrical problems (although it didn't matter in the end as they pulled out before we could stop them!).

So my question is what happens next time, obviously if somebody has another homebuyers report these problems will come to the fore? Do we tell people when they view, when they've put an offer in or never tell them?

cattie

Any homebuyer's survey will recommend buyers get specialist reports on both damp & electrics as standard.

A house with electrics of around 30yrs old is nothing to really worry about & certainly I wouldn't view it as a big issue as a buyer.

What you could do is when people view tell them you think there might be a bit of a damp problem & also that some of the electrics are getting on for 30yrs old so may need updating at some future point.

This way not only are you being honest & I always think it's good to treat buyers in the same way that you'd like to be treated, it makes the world a nicer place. But also because you've been upfront from the start it doesn't give them such a negotiating tool to lower the price if their survey comes back mentioning the very problems that you'd already told them about before they made the offer.

lianne1978

We had a couple view our house this evening and they seemed very keen. Myself and my partner have both agreed that we would prefer to be honest with people. However, the dilemma is say they rang tomorrow and put in an offer say 2k under asking price how would we go about accepting that and explaining the problems?! Or they offered asking price should we accept and explain problems or not mention it? So confused!

I don't want to lose the sale but I also want to be honest with people.

brazilianwax

lianne1978 wrote: »

We had a couple view our house this evening and they seemed very keen. Myself and my partner have both agreed that we would prefer to be honest with people. However, the dilemma is say they rang tomorrow and put in an offer say 2k under asking price how would we go about accepting that and explaining the problems?! Or they offered asking price should we accept and explain problems or not mention it? So confused!

I don't want to lose the sale but I also want to be honest with people.

Just say that you accept the offer and won't negotiate further regardless of any surveys etc.

I didn't hide the fact that my old house had damp, and the girl that bought it was happy to pay market price (which was realistic given the damp).

lianne1978

brazilianwax wrote: »

I didn't hide the fact that my old house had damp, and the girl that bought it was happy to pay market price (which was realistic given the damp).

How did you actually approach the fact it had damp did you just say it?

brazilianwax

lianne1978 wrote: »

How did you actually approach the fact it had damp did you just say it?

You could see it! Wallpaper was peeling.

She saw it, asked the agent and they replied, 'yes, that's why it's such a good price'.

The offer came in about 20 mins later for the asking price!

courtjester

On what basis has the asking price been set? - does this allow for the condition of the property? How does your price compare with other properties of the same age that are on the market - the wiring of course will be the same age for all these properties and if the pricing reflects that (i.e. a brand new house would be marketed at a higher price) then you are already pricing appropriately.

People expect that second hand houses require maintenance and nobody should be surprised that there are some issues to be addressed - the wiring I agree is almost certainly not an issue anyway - 30 years ago is 1970's and wiring done then (unless bodged or DIY altered) should still be fine as it uses 'modern' materials with very long life.

Damp is often a problem with older houses, although in a 70's house this is a bit surprising - is it worth getting a quote from a damp proofing contractor - the cost to resolve may be minor and you can offer the quote to your buyers as evidence of the insignificance of the issue.

One thing to check - have the outside ground levels been built up above the damp proof course? Flower beds or paving raising ground too high around the house is often an easily eliminated cause of damp.

You don't legally have to point up problems, it is up to buyers to find them at law, but as you say, it's likely to come out in any survey and so you can best deal with it by pre-empting and providing solutions for your buyer.