Gazundered?!

KevG1980

Evening all,
I am looking for some urgent advice... I have had my house on the market since September last year. In April we accepted an offer £15000 less than original asking price. The people who are buying it are intending on keeping it as a holiday home. It was all going smoothly, and we had an exchange date set for next weekend. However, three weeks ago they called and said they were having a survey ( after weeks or indecision). So the surveyor came on wednesday and has carried out a homebuyers survey. He was here for about an hour and his findings are that the property has subsidence, a bad roof and is worth £10,000 less than our agreed price £150000.
This has come as a terrible shock to us. We have only been here for 2 years and the house had a survey when we moved. Our survey showed that there was "historic" movement and "non progressive." It is a cottage and 160 years old so obviously is not perfect, but I totally disagree with the buyers survey. They also have a rotten solicitor who has been sending all kinds of awkward questions and being a pain at every opportunity.
The question is this; do we try and raise more cash in the hope they will purchase, as we are packed and do not want to lose our next purchase, or shall I try and be strong. A big part of me thinks they are trying it on, they do not live in the area but held out for weeks waiting for that particular surveyor, who coincidentally came recommended by their solicitor (who, I am convinced is a family friend).
Any advice would be welcomed, this has been the most stressful weekend, and we are not able to afford to take off £10,000!
Thanks!

G_M

I'm afraid there are limited options - none attractive

* You accept the lower price offered, move out & move on.... if you can afford it

* you stick to your original price, telling them you don't accept the surveyor's findings. Tough, given he's a 'professional'. Likely you'll lose the buyers

* you start as above, but negotiate and try to meet somewhere in the middle- you need to sound non-desperate!

* you pay for your own survey, hope it shows what you want, show it to the buyers and negotiate from there. Will they accept it? Who knows.

hcb42

are they willing to share the survey findings with you? (i.e. copy)

botchjob

Counter by quoting your original survey (although don't give them the whole thing) and bat it straight back to them. Be brief. Hold firm and steady until the point comes when they actually say 'we want a reduction of x or we won't proceed'. If that happens (it may not) then it depends on how much you want/need the sale to go through. It sounds like they're trying it on. Good luck.

ValHaller

KevG1980 wrote: »

The question is this; do we try and raise more cash in the hope they will purchase, as we are packed and do not want to lose our next purchase, or shall I try and be strong. A big part of me thinks they are trying it on, they do not live in the area but held out for weeks waiting for that particular surveyor, who coincidentally came recommended by their solicitor (who, I am convinced is a family friend).

Dunno what it is, but I get this 'desperate to move' vibe from you.

Perhaps it is just 2 years in a cottage, somehow, I think of people living in cottages for longer. Whatever it is, if I am right, most of your viewers may have run away because they sense that 2 years in a cottage is a short time - and your current buyer has seen your position as an opportunity.

You have identified the question correctly, as I see it. But I don't think it is for you to answer directly. What you need to do is make the decision to unpack everything and lose the house you have an offer on. Don't actually unpack, just decide. And decide exactly how much money you want before you decide to repack and when you need the deal done by. Get your agent to communicate to your buyer and base your actions on whether your buyer meets your requirements.

If he does not, then unpack and decide what to do from there

KevG1980

hcb42 wrote: »

are they willing to share the survey findings with you? (i.e. copy)

They are faxing the 'relevant' bits tomorrow. To be honest, I have had a feeling that this was coming for weeks, ever since they said they wanted the survey. I don't know what it was, but I just had this vibe that they were going to do this. I have no problem with the survey, just that it has been done so late that we feel backed into a corner. And also that it at odds with ours, we would never have got a mortgage with subsidance! I love my house, I think it is worth the £150,000 but we have a toddler (plus all her toys, etc!) and desperately need a third bedroom and more space. Thanks everyone for all advice!

Dimey

Limited options as the other posters say. I'll say what I would do if it were me.

I'd ask for a copy of the purchaser's surveyor's report and then I'd refute the surveyor's findings by supplying a copy of the survey I got when I moved in. If the purchaser wants to continue at the price agreed (asking price less £15k) fine I'd move.

If they ask for a further £10k off I'd take the cottage off the market and not regret it for a moment. I wouldn't be held to ransom. I'd get back in control. I'd settle back in for 6 months to a year and do the cottage up so it looks even better.

If I had to move to a completely different area, I'd rent the cottage out for 6 months to a year. And use the income to rent in my new area.

During that time I'd check out the subsidence issue at my leisure and get a definitive report. Put the cottage back on the market at a price circa £5k above the original asking price (and increase to market value at the time) to cover my surveyor & solicitor expenses and start the selling process again.

Second time around I'd not accept such a big discount at the outset and hold some buffer in reserve in case something similar happens again; then I could give a discount if it arose and I wanted to, just before exchange.

Whatever you do I wish you good luck.

Dimey

KevG1980 wrote: »

They are faxing the 'relevant' bits tomorrow. To be honest, I have had a feeling that this was coming for weeks, ever since they said they wanted the survey. I don't know what it was, but I just had this vibe that they were going to do this. I have no problem with the survey, just that it has been done so late that we feel backed into a corner. And also that it at odds with ours, we would never have got a mortgage with subsidance! I love my house, I think it is worth the £150,000 but we have a toddler (plus all her toys, etc!) and desperately need a third bedroom and more space. Thanks everyone for all advice!

That's why they left it so late, so you'd feel backed into a corner. Shameful tactic but some people don't think twice about doing it so they can laugh all the way to the bank.

carslet

Dimey wrote: »

That's why they left it so late, so you'd feel backed into a corner. Shameful tactic but some people don't think twice about doing it so they can laugh all the way to the bank.

Not really a shameful tactic really, estate agents or people are thinking their houses are worth more than the survey or banks think they are, I pulled out of a purchase recently because the survey came back as no-where near the value I initially offered thought it was worth. If you were buying what would you do? pull out or buy when it maybe not clearly worth it.

think we know the answer...

terry2

Dimey wrote: »

That's why they left it so late, so you'd feel backed into a corner. Shameful tactic but some people don't think twice about doing it so they can laugh all the way to the bank.

Yes, that is their game plan.

Of course what you don't know is if their implied threat to back out is real or just a bluff.

When this happened to me (many years back) I told my solicitor to inquire if they were going to proceed at the agreed price, as if not we would be putting it back on the market at the original asking price. In my case the sale continued.

good luck.

Dimey

carslet wrote: »

Not really a shameful tactic really, estate agents or people are thinking their houses are worth more than the survey or banks think they are, I pulled out of a purchase recently because the survey came back as no-where near the value I initially offered thought it was worth. If you were buying what would you do? pull out or buy when it maybe not clearly worth it.

think we know the answer...

The shameful tactic I meant was not doing the survey when you'd normally do it, before either party have invested solicitor fees - but leaving it till just before exchange so the vendor has by then committed to buying elsewhere and is too far along the process to comfortably pull out.