Buyer wants to renegotiate after survey!!

yllim

I am new to this so please be patient with me!!

I would like some advice please as we accepted an offer on our house 3 weeks ago which was £5,000 below the asking price, the main reasons we accepted were that the buyer has no chain and we have found another property which also has no chain and would like to move quite quickly.

Last week the buyer had a Homebuyers Survey carried out on our property and this bought up a few very minor points and has stated that the buyer would have to spend around £1,000 to correct these. So today I have had a call from my EA to say that the buyer wishes to renegotiate his offer by £1,000 less!! I think this is a bit of a cheek considering that he has already got the property at a very good price. Also he is not prepared to share the survey with either us or the EA to prove the points?! I don't know what to do as we don't want to lose our buyer but I feel slightly robbed!

We actually ended up having an offer of £6,000 below the asking price accepted on the property we are buying and to be honest when our survey results are in (any day now!) if there are minor issues I would not dream of renegotiating.

hazyjo

Were they obvious things that he should've seen when he viewed?

Unfortunately, the buyer is usually pulling the strings and, for the sake of £1k, I'd probably drop the price - or at least try to negotiate half. Don't tread softly though, rant saying you are NOT happy and let the EA know that 50% is the max you'll go to.

Dunno what price you're selling at, but I'd have thought £5k under the asking price was pretty brilliant! Lots are being dropped tens of thousands (many people seem to be going in at around 10% under).

It is very common to renegotiate after the survey. I think I've nearly always had to drop the price again. I've done it myself a couple of times (once as a roof needed replacing - wasn't obvious).

You could always try renegotiating up the chain, or all agreeing to drop £300-400 or something to find the £1k. Again, that's common. I wouldn't be able to do it though, but each to their own.

Jx

shiny76

yllim wrote: »

Also he is not prepared to share the survey with either us or the EA to prove the points?! I don't know what to do as we don't want to lose our buyer but I feel slightly robbed!

Would sharing the report make you more likely to re-negotiate?

He may well be trying it on. Do you want to lose the transaction for £1K? On the otherhand he has shelled out for a survey (and valuation), does he want to waste money by pulling out because you won't renegotiate?

If it was me I'd be tempted to stand firm (considering he's already committed money to the process), however the missus would want to just cave in.

arbrighton

Our buyers asked for 3k off days before exchanging as buildings insurance was more than they currently paid (but as we were completely open about the fact the house had been underpinned and this was claimed by previous owner on insurance, why it was a surprise, we're not sure). We agreed to meet them half way as they already had a good price but as the sale had fallen through previously for the very same issue, wanted to get it done. However, we were not prepared to stretch to 10 years difference in the premiums, just 5, since we'd also got rid of the gas cooker to accommodate their whims

arbrighton

Sorry, the point I was trying to make was, while you feel he may be trying it on, 5k or 6k below asking is very good, and getting a buyer is not easy at the moment and perhaps agree to some negotiation IF he shows the report

yllim

Thank you all for your replies, the house was on the market for £129,500 and we accepted £124,500.

I know it's only £1,000 but if he's not prepared to show us the report then how can we be sure he's not trying it on?!

The things mentioned were not something that you would see on a viewing unless you knew what you were looking for - one was a rotten fascia board and the other was cracked brickwork in the front porch. My husband has gone through our new house with a fine tooth comb (so I'm hoping that when the survey report is in it won't be a nasty surprise!) but obviously some people aren't as thorough!

I think maybe I will speak to the agent about meeting halfway as you're right we don't want to lose the buyer.

JQ.

I don't think you can get upset with them if the work does genuinely need doing, after all that's exactly why they've paid to have a survery completed. Meeting half way would be a good idea.

However, there is absolutely no way I would offer them a penny without seeing a FULL copy of the survey - no survey no negotiation. Whilst the survey may highlight problems, it may also say that the property "in it's current condition" is worth £124,500, in which case there are no grounds for renegotiation. Of course it may not highlight any problems at all and they're trying it on.

There is no legal reason why they can't show you the report.

butler_helen

We were told it's quite normal to share the report and renegotiate after the surveys were done. We went the whole hog and got quotes for the work which needed to be done (at our expense - £90 for damp quote!). We have now reduced our offer in line with the (rather large) added expense we would have for purchasing the house.

However, we had previously agreed that if the works were <£1000 we would stomach the cost if the vendor wouldn't budge. As it is, they are much more, so we are waiting to see if she will reduce the price - my nails are gone from the anxious wait

anyusernamenottaken

dont ask to see the whole report...but its more than reasonable for you to ask them to copy and paste the relevant chunks from it.

otherwise...tell them to f-off. call their bluff.

yllim

I too though that it was normal to share the surveys if there was a problem, I don't know why he's being difficult and won't let us see it. I don't want a copy of the whole thing but just to have the points that have been raised confirmed.

I have just spoken to my EA again and he has said that I can give the surveyor a call and ask if they can clarify the issues so I'm going to do that next, I'm not sure if they will give me any information but it's worth a try!

This whole home buying / selling process is never straightforward!!

burnsguitarman

Why dont you offer to get the jobs done yourself? You could probably do them at less cost than their quotes, or if they are minor do them yourselves!