Seller refuses to renegotiate after bad survey, help!

yllim

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Have prices risen in your area in the last 4 years? they certainly haven't either here or where I purchased 4 years ago.

The price they paid is irrelevant. The house we are in now the purchasers bought it 18 months earlier for £270k. We paid £247.5k even after they had marketed it for £285k. They made a £22k loss in just over 18 months. Did I care? No. What something was worth years ago in a market like the housing one should have some impact on the price but not be the only factor to consider.

No prices definately haven't risen in this area in the last four years. I see your point. Thankyou.

yllim

ess0two wrote: »

Put yourself in the sellers shoes,its valued at what you offered in its current state,why should they reduce.

re: the roof has it been condemned or does it need a bit of tlc.

In the surveyors words the roof needs repairs urgently and re-covering in the very near future. After having quotes the scaffolding required alone costs £2,250, therefore it would be much more economical to do the re-covering asap. It is the original roof on a 87 year old property so to be expected I suppose.

Thankyou.

Koicarp

You haven't said what state the render is in, but if it's only to be removed because it bridges the damp proof course, it's an easy DIY job to do so.

Gimp0r

I am with the seller, The survey basically says 'Even though the house needs urgent repairs it is still worth £164k'

The surveyor spotted the problems and would have wanted to cover himself on the valuation (allowing more for the cost of repairs, Just incase) but he still valued it at £164k, If your uncle will do you a good rate to get the repairs done then in theory you will get them done for less than the surveyor would have allowed in his valuation.

so I would conclude that even at £164k you are getting a good deal and I would not expect to get a further reduction.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

StuC75

Catch 22 it is then..

Surveyor valued as is but that the work needs doing.. Is the surveyor a roofing expert - most usually advise to get it checked by someone else anyway (merely highlighting what to get checked). Hard to say whether a better roof would actually add to the value though; its more something 'to be expected with a house...'.

Which works are dealbreakers and which are those that are standard homeowners work -- i.e. what would be done in time anyway (and surely not expected to be indemnified by the current owner).

Sounds like your at an impasse; as the seller wont budge lower; coupled with you not wanting to subsidise his 'over paying' 4 years ago...

Maybe give the intention to walk away; ask the estate agents if any other similar properties ,, and 'negotiate with you feet'.. see where the seller is then prepared to move to.. if they paid more then financially they may not be able to move - even with the best intentions...

ess0two

yllim wrote: »

In the surveyors words the roof needs repairs urgently and re-covering in the very near future. After having quotes the scaffolding required alone costs £2,250, therefore it would be much more economical to do the re-covering asap. It is the original roof on a 87 year old property so to be expected I suppose.

Thankyou.

My property is over 100yrs old,slate roof,just needs a bit more upkeep,slipped tiles etc.

somethingcorporate

ess0two wrote: »

My property is over 100yrs old,slate roof,just needs a bit more upkeep,slipped tiles etc.

^^ this exactly.

The surveyor said it needed replacing, it didn't it just needed a tidy-up.

yllim

An update on the situation! I have this afternoon spoken to the surveyor regarding the cost of work and the value once these are completed. In his opinion if we purchase at £164,000 and then pay to have all the work done he thinks that we will have spent more than the property is worth at market value. He said that things such as a new roof and re-rendering are maintenance and that they don't really increase the value although they may increase the saleablility of the property slightly. In his opinion he feels we should stand our ground with the seller and renegotiate or walk away.

I guess it makes sense but my heart says different!

yllim

Koicarp wrote: »

You haven't said what state the render is in, but if it's only to be removed because it bridges the damp proof course, it's an easy DIY job to do so.

The render from the whole of the building needs to be removed and replaced. Which means scaffolding is required and this bumps the price up quite a bit!

Thanks for your reply!

somethingcorporate

If the surveyor put a valuation of £164k in its current condition then I guess you can see why the sellers would not want to budge.

Just because work needs doing and money needs spending on it does not and should not mean that you can expect to get this reduction on the house or add this value to the house when the work is done, unfortunately buying and doing up houses does not work that way.

It's either going to be a heart over head decision or a head over heart. Are you buying as an investment looking to make a return or looking to buy a home that you would want to be nice for the sake of being nice and being comfortable in, not getting a return on any money you spend on the property.

I have just spent the best part of £5k on some new french doors and a patio but know they add nothing like this onto the value of the house given we are so close to the stamp duty threshold but I'd have spent twice that just for the look on my wife's face when it was finished and when the new garden furniture arrived