Renegotiating the price after survey

atprice

Taking on board the recommendations in my HomeBuyers Report I commissioned a damp, timber and wall ties survey from an independent surveyor. He has come back with a list of defects, actual and potential, totalling £16.5k.

The property needs modernising inside (new kitchen, new bathroom, redecorating), although it does have gch (not tested) and double glazing. The full asking price of £79,950 was offered - my research shows similar properties in the area going for £84k so I thought this was reasonable.

Can anyone tell me how I can now renegotiate the offer price to take into account the structural work that the surveyor says needs doing? I'm kind of on the back foot as it has taken 2 months to get to this point and I think the vendor is getting impatient. The estate agent says someone else also wants to make an offer for the full asking price (possible but can't be proven). I really like the house but obviously want vfm. Please can someone tell me how to stand firm against the estate agent when they try to talk me down and how to be delicate enough to stop the vendor from withdrawing from negotiations?

moneyistooshorttomention

Was this a genuine "independent surveyor" or does he by any chance belong to a firm that would like some work they can charge someone for?

I know my own estate agent describes many of these so-called "independent surveyors" as "the bane of his life" with their determination to get some work for themselves - regardless of whether it actually needs doing or no.

So, what category does this "independent surveyor" come into? Does his firm actually do this sort of work too or no?

Unless he really IS an independent surveyor then you're on a probable hiding to nothing trying to ask for any money off on the basis of what a "vested interest" person just said.

I've had to put up with one of these ********* (oh whoops sorry "independent surveyors" - NOT) coming round my house and suffice it to say that he walked out of my house looking "very sorry for himself"..

mail2z

If I were you I would run when cost of fixing issues is around 20% of agreed price, plus you already know the requirement of redecorating through out :mad:.

atprice

Thanks guys. He was an absolutely, genuine, 100% bona fide independent surveyor with no ties to any companies. I deliberately chose someone who wasn't a contractor because I thought it would lessen the chances of them telling me I needed work to line their own pockets. I have no reason to doubt what he's put in the report. He's also found some asbestos under the floor which my original survey didn't pick up on.

The property has been in the same hands for quite a few years, so there are issues which ordinarily would have been picked up with previous surveys as it was sold on, that just haven't arisen because people weren't looking for them.

Should I chance my arm do you think?

atprice

Well, that was an interesting conversation today. I rang the estate agent and told the girl I'd been dealing with that there were £16k of recommended works and that I was reducing my offer by £10k (trying to make the sale more palatable by only asking for enough to do the work that needs doing). Her boss called me back saying he was "dumbfounded" and "flabbergasted" and being overly dramatic. He was patronising and generally really rude. I almost put the phone down on him. Glad I didn't though as it turns out he'd been told that there was only £1600 of works. Why would I have reduced the offer by £10k for £1600?:think: Still no need for the attitude though - he could have just said the vendor wasn't interested and they're putting the house back on the market, rather than acting like I'd suggested eating his first born to seal the deal.

There's been no word since. I've let them have sight of the report so they can see I'm not trying to pull a fast one and the ball's in their court now...

phoebe1989seb

What was the property valued at on the original survey?

Dan-Dan

atprice wrote: »

Should I chance my arm do you think?

This expression confuses me , if what you say is 100% correct , it`s not a case of chancing your arm , it`s a case of peotecting youre interests isnt it ?

FBaby

£16k worth of work on a property only worth £74K is very suspicious...Have you actually provided a copy of the survey to the sellers so they have a chance to believe it or not?

Also, have you asked why the original lower price compared to similar property was due to the fact they accept some work will need doing? You can't add the 'potential' costs in it and be taken seriously.

I had a buyer doing exactly the same than you (except in their case, the supposed expert survey was indeed nothing more than quotes from builders friends with the buyer) and came back with a supposed £20K worth of work. I had already lowered the asking price to similar property by £15K, I certainly wasn't going to lower it even more because of ludicrous over quoted additional work. I told them to get lost. They relented, then tried again just before signing. By then, we had reconsidered selling the house in the first place (when a copy of their survey showed the potential for renting) and told them to get lost once and for all. They lost out on a very good property that was well priced and whose increase in value has gone up well.

In the end, it is your game. It might work or not. All depends how much you really want the house and how desperate they are to sell.

atprice

Just to clarify,

atprice wrote: »

I've let them have sight of the report so they can see I'm not trying to pull a fast one and the ball's in their court now...

The original lower price that they were asking for took into account the fact that it needed a new kitchen, bathroom and decorating throughout, but didn't cover the problems that have now been discovered through the survey, e.g. a bridged dpc, rubble in the cavities, corroded wall ties, asbestos under the floor, etc. That's where the additional £16k has come from. Some of that £16k related to work that wasn't essential and that's why I only dropped my offer by £10k (there are no "potential costs" involved). I'm sure you'll agree that all of the above are fairly major considerations when buying a property - after all, if it leaks I can't take it back to the shop. Therefore, like Dan-Dan says, I am protecting my interests.

It's all going to come down to negotiation. Also, if they think they can get the work done cheaper then that's fine by me, as long as the work has a transferrable guarantee.