Getting estimates for work on property before you buy

Tango5

I am in the process of purchasing a Victorian mid terrace. I have just received the survey which suggests I obtain some quotes for some work needed to the roof.

The roofing companies I have contacted so far have both said that they would charge for a quote (even though their websites advertise free quotes). Is this usual?

Ciderarmy1987

No it is not usual, we have taken a builder with us to 2 different houses that we were interested in buying and they didnt charge us anything to do this. We very helpful. maybe try and get a recommendation for work men rather than looking on the internet. easier said than done I know

ValHaller

There is a difference with quotes on a house you are buying rather than a house you live in. With a house you live in, it is a fair guess that the customer wants the work done. With a house you are buying, it is 50-50 as to whether the customer will actually buy it and 50-50 as to whether they will get the work done or whether they will be content just to negotiate something off the price.

So a roofer might expect 1 quote in 3 to return a job normally, but for houses being bought, it might be less than 1 in 10.

googler

ValHaller wrote: »

There is a difference with quotes on a house you are buying rather than a house you live in. With a house you live in, it is a fair guess that the customer wants the work done. With a house you are buying, it is 50-50 as to whether the customer will actually buy it and 50-50 as to whether they will get the work done or whether they will be content just to negotiate something off the price.

So a roofer might expect 1 quote in 3 to return a job normally, but for houses being bought, it might be less than 1 in 10.

Exactly. There's no guarantee that you'll ever own the house....

Tango5

I've rung 8 now and they are all saying the same thing. Will cost me between £60-£150 for someone to come and quote. I guess I can understand why. Do you think that this a a cost I will have to swallow or would it be reasonable to ask vendor to foot the bill for this?

jackieblack

If the vendor were to obtain the quotes, as the homeowner, they probably wouldn't be charged

DRP

Tango5 wrote: »

I've rung 8 now and they are all saying the same thing. Will cost me between £60-£150 for someone to come and quote. I guess I can understand why. Do you think that this a a cost I will have to swallow or would it be reasonable to ask vendor to foot the bill for this?

No chance.

The vendor pays for your quotes in order for you to knock a couple of grand off the price of his house... :rotfl:

Icecold_2

We had a builder who we knew to be reliable check the property we recently purchased. He charged about £80 for the call out and quote but if we use him for the work he would refund that charge (we do plan to use him because we know his work is of a high standard).

Perhaps if you have a preferred builder they would do the same thing?

We figured it was money well spent if we had needed to pull out of the sale because a mistake would have cost us a lot more than £80

Good luck

dryhat

If you are going to have to pay upfront for the estimate, you want to pay someone who is going to give an expensive quote.

Ideally, you want one of those rip-off merchants that you see on watchdog etc.
Look in the yellow pages or cheap looking websites for dodgy sounding companies.

That way, you can negotiate more off the house price, then find someone cheaper to actually do the work.