Negotiating price after mortgage offer

jcgalliard

I am a FTB and have received an offer of mortgage from the lender for the property I am looking to buy. Property was on market for £107k and I negotiated it down to £100k. Valuation carried out by the lender came back with local dampness in one of the rooms which would require further investigation - however the surveyor still valued the property for the price I am paying £100k.

My question is: If I negotiate a little more on the price to sort out the damp will the lender need to generate a new mortgage offer? And how long would it take? It took me almost 6 weeks to get to this point after going through all the "strict" checks and I really don't want to go through that process again.

Can someone advise on how easy it is to change the property price with the lender?

Lender is LBS.

mrginge

You: hello mr vendor, your house has been valued at the price we agreed, but i want you to drop the price again.
Vendor: no.

Problem solved.

chambta

Changing the price with the lender is the easy bit - getting the current owner to drop the price will be more tricky but you have little to lose.

jcgalliard

mrginge wrote: »

You: hello mr vendor, your house has been valued at the price we agreed, but i want you to drop the price again.
Vendor: no.

Problem solved.

Yeah hello mr vendor can you knock a grand off the price as there is damp in the house...and guess what? Mr vendor has agreed to drop the price.

So will I need to wait for the lender to send out another mortgage offer or can I just amend the existing one before signing it and sending it back to them?

kingstreet

You mean the surveyour stuck a moisture meter against the wall and decided that means damp?

Have you had an independent timber and damp surveyor inspect the property and report on the issue?

Often, a high moisture meter reading is due to leaky rainwater goods, a chimney needing repointing/cowling, or soil level bridging the damp course and nothing to do with "rising damp."

Chartered surveyors are not experts in this field and you are normally advised to have the issue investigated by someone who is. Contractors who install damp courses offer free reports and no surprise, most of them suggest a new damp course is needed!

If the surveyor has requested a report, have you obtained one and provided it? Has the lender made it a condition in the offer? Is there a retention?

In answer to your direct question, if you agree a lower price for the property, yes, a new offer will be required.

Oxid8uk

kingstreet wrote: »

You mean the surveyour stuck a moisture meter against the wall and decided that means damp?

Have you had an independent timber and damp surveyor inspect the property and report on the issue?

Often, a high moisture meter reading is due to leaky rainwater goods, a chimney needing repointing/cowling, or soil level bridging the damp course and nothing to do with "rising damp."

Chartered surveyors are not experts in this field and you are normally advised to have the issue investigated by someone who is. Contractors who install damp courses offer free reports and no surprise, most of them suggest a new damp course is needed!

Kingstreet, I get what you are saying but at this stage it isn't really relevant what type of damp report he gets. All the OP is trying to do is reduce the price. What does it matter if he gets a Contractor in that offers free reports and says it is going to cost £2k to sort out? That will help the buyer but not the vendor so really this is more a concern for the vendor.

OP I did exactly that when I bought my house. Got a free report which said £2k for the works, vendor and I managed to meet half way and I got £1k knocked off. Did it cost £2k to do? No, £100 and it was sorted (although I was going to be replastering the walls completely anyway so the cost was just for a bit of tanking only).

We had to get a new mortgage offer but only took a couple of days.

kingstreet

It's relevant if he thinks work is needed, which isn't.

I understand the OP is going to try for a price reduction, the justification for which may, or may not, have any basis in fact.

TBH if I was advising the vendor, first thing I'd request is a copy of the valuation report to evidence what is required and the valuation now and after any essential repairs.

At the moment it looks like a "try on" and only an independent timber & damp survey would convince me, as a vendor or vendor's agent.

A contractor's report and estimate would make me simply see the support for the stated "try-on."

OP I did exactly that when I bought my house. Got a free report which said £2k for the works, vendor and I managed to meet half way and I got £1k knocked off. Did it cost £2k to do? No, £100 and it was sorted (although I was going to be replastering the walls completely anyway so the cost was just for a bit of tanking only).

Which kind of proves my point?

I did also answer the OP's substantive question about a revised offer.

Oxid8uk

kingstreet wrote: »

.

TBH if I was advising the vendor, first thing I'd request is a copy of the valuation report to evidence what is required and the valuation now and after any essential repairs.

At the moment it looks like a "try on" and only an independent timber & damp survey would convince me, as a vendor or vendor's agent.

A contractor's report and estimate would make me simply see the support for the stated "try-on."

I agree, but not all vendors are that intelligent. And neither was my vendors advisor - their EA was the one who recommended the Contractor to give an estimate.

Once_bitten

chambta wrote: »

Changing the price with the lender is the easy bit - getting the current owner to drop the price will be more tricky but you have little to lose.

Apart from the house maybe