Did Agent misrepresent the property?

Vetyver

I believe the EA misrepresented the area of the property I am buying. I made an offer with a price that I felt was reasonable, based on the flat's internal area being over 51 sq m, or 558 sq ft, and this was accepted.

The Surveyor originally reflected this advertised area on my HB Report, as he just used the figures provided to him by the EA. However I later queried it as on further viewing, it didn't feel right. The surveyor went back and has now admitted the error; he recalculated the internal area as 40 sq m, or 430.6 sq ft. So under 4/5 of the advertised size, which is a sizeable difference for a one-bed flat.

I'm a bit cheesed off by this. And before you ask, yes, I did view the property before my offer, but my untrained eye was unable to tell the difference... obviously even someone as experienced as a professional surveyor couldn't tell until I questioned it! Can I do anything at all about this, are there any grounds to complain?

ILW

You can complain all you like, but what are you hoping to achieve?

bebewoo

If you have not exchanged yet lower your offer.

Vetyver

ILW wrote: »

You can complain all you like, but what are you hoping to achieve?

Not sure. Worst case, nothing, I suppose; but was wondering whether it was worth complaining, whether anyone believed anything might potentially be achieved?

bebewoo wrote: »

If you have not exchanged yet lower your offer.

Do you think it's not too late? The offer was accepted a month ago. (Though I've only viewed it once since, and as with all purchases everything progresses so slowly...)

Would I go through the EA with a renegotiation offer, or through the solicitor?

kingstreet

- Continue with purchase at current agreed price.

- Continue with purchase at lower price.

- Withdraw from purchase.

Make complaint to agent, but this will not result in any difference to the options open to you, set out above.

Tyler119

Most of the EA's will have terms and conditions that will get them out of this sort of error.

As far as the surveyor goes, in my mind the error is his. We recently had a survey done on a property of ours (for selling purposes) and he got out his measuring tape and calculated the size of the property. I would check on the terms and conditions of your survey state that they will measure up the property and make their own calculation. If it does then they are in breach of the contract between you the customer and the service that you paid for.

However the question is where to go if they are in the wrong. You could see your solicitor to see about compensation as they may have failed in their duty to you as the customer. However that is a question for the solicitor and how cheesed of you are.

Good luck with it though.

Vetyver

kingstreet wrote: »

- Continue with purchase at current agreed price.

- Continue with purchase at lower price.

- Withdraw from purchase.

Make complaint to agent, but this will not result in any difference to the options open to you, set out above.

Thanks kingstreet. Just canvassing for opinions on whether it's worth renegotiating. I still want the property, I am just loath to overpay; just wondered whether you guys might say "10 sq m isn't worth negotiating over" or "this is definitely grounds to renegotiate" or "no grounds to negotiate as you'd already seen the place" ...

Plus I'm pretty far into the whole process already; exchange could be within the month. Didn't know if anyone has faced a similar problem before, and what they decided to do?

Tyler119 wrote: »

Most of the EA's will have terms and conditions that will get them out of this sort of error.

As far as the surveyor goes, in my mind the error is his. We recently had a survey done on a property of ours (for selling purposes) and he got out his measuring tape and calculated the size of the property. I would check on the terms and conditions of your survey state that they will measure up the property and make their own calculation. If it does then they are in breach of the contract between you the customer and the service that you paid for.

However the question is where to go if they are in the wrong. You could see your solicitor to see about compensation as they may have failed in their duty to you as the customer. However that is a question for the solicitor and how cheesed of you are.

Good luck with it though.

Thanks Tyler, that's really helpful. The surveyor is being very elusive. I had to chase a lot for any responses to my queries at all... he's still due to get back to me on another point...

Edited to add: Urgh, I just checked the Surveyor T&Cs and it made no reference to the measurement of the property at all...

bob2

558 vs 430 sq ft means they claimed it was 30% larger than it actually is.

That's a big discrepancy. Definitely grounds to renegotiate.

kingstreet

Vetyver wrote: »

Thanks kingstreet. Just canvassing for opinions on whether it's worth renegotiating. I still want the property, I am just loath to overpay; just wondered whether you guys might say "10 sq m isn't worth negotiating over" or "this is definitely grounds to renegotiate" or "no grounds to negotiate as you'd already seen the place" ...

It's a judgment call on your part, I'm afraid.

Square footage/metrage to me means little, but I live in a four bed detached out in the sticks. If I was buying a flat in a city centre, I'd probably feel differently.

All you can do is put your feelings to the vendor, via their agent and make a revised offer. Unless you are exchanging tomorrow, you should have time to renegotiate and get a new mortgage offer to reflect the new purchase price and mortgage amount.

moneyistooshorttomention

I can sympathise with finding the place is smaller than was stated. However, I don't rate your chances of getting any sort of "compensation" for this (be it in the form of a lower price or in any other way).

I just don't think estate agents take measuring up a place properly seriously somehow and it can work in the other direction too. As a seller of a property, I found I needed to be "on the ball" - as they had stated my house to be a noticeably smaller size than it actually is. The fact that my (2 bed terrace) house is noticeably bigger than yer average 2 bed terrace is obviously an advantage and I just had to thank my lucky stars that I realised their error and how they had made it and could get back to them in time to point it out and have it rectified before the details were finalised (ie so that buyers can tell they will get about one-eighth as much space again than the average Victorian terrace).

phill99

How can you renegotiate? The vendors are actually selling the property, not the EA. the zEA is just an agent.

If I was the vendor and you wanted me to drop the price because of an EAs error, I would be telling you where to get off.

Additionally, the value isn't based on a square footage. It's based on a one bedroom flat of a certain standard in a certain location with certain amenities.