Should we renegotiate asking price?

sweetpeagreen

Hi. I'd love some sensible advice about whether we have a reasonable reason to renegotiate the offer we made on a property, which was accepted. We have the mortgage offer - a week a go now. So we're currently at the stage of solicitors doing their stuff.

The property is an art deco flat, which has a shared boiler. So included in the monthly service/maintenance charge is hot water, and winter months heating. The property has the original radiators which are lovely and a definite selling point for us, as I wanted somewhere with period character.

The property was on the market for £245, and we had £230k accepted, which was what the estate agent and the buyer was expecting, and what we also thought was fair as it's spot on its current market value.

When we were shown around by the estate agent, he mentioned that there has been talk of the communal boiler being scrapped, and individual flat having to get their own boilers installed, thus reducing the monthly service charge. He didn't have definite details, and made out this was something that has been discussed and in the pipeline for years, but hasn't been acted upon really, and there were not definite plans that it would be anytime soon.

We visited the property a couple of days a go, and the vendors who live abroad were visiting and at the property, and offered to show us around. They mentioned that the works are pretty much organised to take place this summer, and would involve the pipes under the floors being replaces (to some extent), and the old rubbish shoot and coal bin located outside the back door of the flat ripped out, to make way for the new boilers to be fitted. They said they were told that the old radiators would be replaced with modern ones, and there wasn't an option to keep the old radiators for some reason. They couldn't remember the exact price the works would cost each flat, but said that they had sent all the paperwork about it to the estate agent to send on to us, yet we haven't received it.

We are now thinking, perhaps we have a reason to negotiate a slightly lower price to accommodate these extra costs? I have asked the estate agent to forward the info on to us, yet he claims not to have it and will chase the vendors for it...hmmmm

The documents should show the estimated costs, but I imagine it could be about 2k. Would it be fair to ask for this amount (or whatever it may be - if we ever get these documents) to be taken off the asking price? I'm also sad to loses some of the original features that sold the property to us.

I don't want to upset the vendors, or risk the sale. They are a lovely elderly couple, and seemed very open and honest. But money is very tight for us, and it will be difficult for us to find an extra 2k come the summer, apart from money we had saved and budgeted to decorate, as the flat is in desperate need of modernisation.

thank you for your help! :A

go_cat

You have absolutely nothing to lose by asking them.

Fire_Fox

Don't guess anything, it could be way more than £2K. Check if it is going to be gas or electric heating, gas serviced by each flat is dangerous so electric is more common and far more expensive to run. This may be why the radiators are being scrapped, you may be getting panel or storage heaters not central heating. These are cheap as chips to install but generally unattractive and you can't put anything on them like damp towels. If it is electric they will be likely installing an immersion heater for your hot water.

Is the flat well insulated? Double glazing, cavity wall if relevant? My guess would be no, which could make electric heating and hot water even more expensive.

Also check the long lease to see if these works are actually chargeable, you *may* find it counts as improvements NOT repairs/ maintenance/ like for like replacements and these are often not permitted in the long lease. It might be worth checking with the LEASE telephone advice line if you did not choose a solicitor who specialises in leasehold disputes. http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

gayleanne

I would think that the price will be more than 2,000, I have just paid 3,000 for a combi-boiler alone, there was nothing wrong with the radiators, so I don't know how much it would have been with those, and this is a bungalow.

Biggles

sweetpeagreen wrote: »

The documents should show the estimated costs, but I imagine it could be about 2k. Would it be fair to ask for this amount (or whatever it may be - if we ever get these documents) to be taken off the asking price? I'm also sad to loses some of the original features that sold the property to us.

That could well be a deal-breaker for me, in those circumstances.

Until you have firm costs, and know exactly what you are supposed to be paying for, I would pull out.

sweetpeagreen

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Don't guess anything, it could be way more than £2K. Check if it is going to be gas or electric heating, gas serviced by each flat is dangerous so electric is more common and far more expensive to run. This may be why the radiators are being scrapped, you may be getting panel or storage heaters not central heating. These are cheap as chips to install but generally unattractive and you can't put anything on them like damp towels. If it is electric they will be likely installing an immersion heater for your hot water.

Is the flat well insulated? Double glazing, cavity wall if relevant? My guess would be no, which could make electric heating and hot water even more expensive.

Also check the long lease to see if these works are actually chargeable, you *may* find it counts as improvements NOT repairs/ maintenance/ like for like replacements and these are often not permitted in the long lease. It might be worth checking with the LEASE telephone advice line if you did not choose a solicitor who specialises in leasehold disputes. http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/

The flat has secondary glazing. The vendors said it's going to be gas. They said they had even had someone around to ask them where they wanted the radiators installed, and suggested this is something we check as we may not want what they have decided in terms of their placement. So this is something that is definitely going to go ahead by the sounds of it.

sweetpeagreen

After doing a bit of research, yes I'd estimate it would be something like 3k minimum...although I don't know if the current maintenance charge goes towards some of the costs - I remember the vendor saying that he thinks there is a pot of £500 for each flat to 'make good'. The vendors have never lived permanently in the flat (they live abroad and it was their base when visiting London) so they didn't really have all the facts and figures to mind. They had sent all these details to the estate agent to pass on to us, and seemed surprised that we hadn't received the info! They seem like nice honest people, so hopefully they would understand us wanting to drop the offer by the amount required for the works. It would only seem fair, considering we weren't living in the flat at the time the consultation was going on and therefore had no say, so these works - and their cost - are effectively being forced upon us.

We're awaiting the estate agent to get back to us with the details.

Is this something we should consult our solicitor about?

And any ideas of how we should go about phrasing our reduced offer?

Thanks - we're first time buyers so a little unsure of the process!

Fire_Fox

IMO you are focussing too much on the financial side and not enough on the works themselves. I don't think you can decide what your next move is until you have read the proposals and the long lease to see if these works are actually chargeable, and if you still want to go ahead or ask more questions.

I would be wanting to know the arrangements for maintaining all the gas services, what if one flat does not service their boiler and blows the block up? What is the expected impact on the buildings insurance if any? Have you established for certain whether you can or cannot make any changes to the plans at this stage? Assume nothing, if it is going to be central heating you may be able to retain your old radiators if you make a fuss.

Your solicitor would normally ask the freeholder a raft of questions, including about major works. If you show him the documents he may amend his questions to take account of this. There is no point renegotiating the price then getting more information from the freeholder and wanting to negotiate again.

ess0two

gayleanne wrote: »

I would think that the price will be more than 2,000, I have just paid 3,000 for a combi-boiler alone, there was nothing wrong with the radiators, so I don't know how much it would have been with those, and this is a bungalow.

British Gas??

Ivana_Tinkle

sweetpeagreen wrote: »

They couldn't remember the exact price the works would cost each flat

Oh, how convenient for them!

We can all make guesses at how much it might cost, but there's no way this is £2-3k of work and there's no point renegotiating before you find out exactly what's going on and how much it's going to cost.

Addiscomber

You should certainly renegotiate as you offered on something that is substantially different to what is actually being sold.