Vendor Refusing Invasive Survey (Steel frame house) - Please help!

ClareTeaches

Hello all!


I'm in need of some advice/help with a vendor who won't allow an invasive survey on the purchase of our first home, so I'm hoping some experienced Moneysavers can help!


The short version is that as it's a steel frame, the mortgage company is requesting an invasive survey that can view and access the steel stanchions, etc. Because it's non-standard, we'd always planned to have a full building survey done, but using our own structural engineer, not the mortgage company's one, so that's fine ... Well, it's fine with us, but the vendor won't allow it to go ahead. We did have agreement, but that's now been withdrawn and the vendor is saying they're not happy for us to proceed with the survey.


We've employed a reputable renderer to remove the render and replace it after the engineer has viewed the steel frame and the area will be painted after the render is dry. The property is vacant, so it won't be disrupting anyone. I don't think the vendor is knowingly trying to hide an issue with the property (it's an inherited property, so vendor hasn't been living there), but they have been through some quite horrible circumstances, by the sounds of it, so I think emotions are coming into the decision.


Can anyone offer any suggestions or advice? Has anyone ever experienced a vendor refusing to allow a survey? Could our solicitor give assurances that things will be put right/repaired, which might allay the vendor's fears (and in the vendor's eyes would be more binding than just our word that the work will be done)?


Estate agent is trying to contact vendor again today, but I'm not feeling too hopeful ... Frankly I'm feeling quite depressed about the whole thing - this is the only property that we've found that we really love and it looks like we might miss out, while the house will end up being sold to someone else who will most likely have to have exactly the same survey done to it anyway, only the vendor won't realise that until it gets to this stage with new people ...


Thanks for any help or suggestions or, well, anything!


Clare

Thrugelmir

If the vendor wishes to sell the property then one would expect permission to be granted. As its not then one wonders if the vendor is already aware of issues. Leave it to the EA to do the communication. Dont set your heart on a property before you know all the facts.

princeofpounds

Nothing you can do. Suspect that waiting will work because no-one else is going to be buying it with a mortgage, most likely. I'm sure their EA will be pressuring them as they won't have a sale without it.

TBagpuss

You cant foce them to allow the survey. I would sugges tthat ou make clear to the agents, and (subject to the solicitors advice) get you solicitor to put in writing to them that the invasive survey is required as a condition of the mortgage and that if they are not willing to allow it you will be withdrawing.

I would think they would be likely to have the same issue with any other buyer, but unfortunately they may not et realise that.

anselld

Ask the surveyor if there is a less invasive way to survey, e.g. endoscope. Patch repair and repaint of render is never going to be an invisible repair, I don't really blame the vendor for not allowing it.

cattie

If a vendor refused me having a thorough survey then I'd wave them goodbye.

This vendor will soon learn that all mortgage lenders will want the same kind of survey on a non standard construction property. If they want to sell the house they need to agree & if they don't listen to the ea, then more fool them.

I'd be inclined to tell the ea that you withdraw your offer if they won't allow the survey, but to contact you if they change their minds. At least this way you'll still get a chance to buy the house if they do finally see sense.

Ivana_Tinkle

Is it definitely true that no mortgage company will lend on this house without this survey? If so, then you need to get evidence of this and present it to the vendor. Nobody's going to let you knock chunks off their house unless you can convince them they don't have a choice!

AdrianC

cattie wrote: »

If a vendor refused me having a thorough survey then I'd wave them goodbye.

There's thorough surveys, and there's thorough surveys. The vast, vast majority of surveys are non-invasive. The surveyor won't even move furniture or lift carpets. Removing chunks of wall, then re-rendering and painting is VERY different. I'm not surprised the vendor's wary.

OTOH, if it's true that the lender won't lend without this, then there's really only three ways this is going to go...
- A different lender may be more flexible and understanding.
- The vendor may be persuadable, but if t'were me, I'd be wanting my solicitor to be telling me this, not the buyer.
- The sale ain't going to happen...

ClareTeaches

Thanks everyone for your input! It's good to hear different views.

As the house has an asbestos cement tiled roof, that really narrows down the number of lenders who would even consider the property (at least that's my understanding), so I don't think trying a lender who is less strict on the survey criteria is really an option. Realistically, if they say no, we'll have to withdraw our offer, because the mortgage company won't lend without a valuation figure and the valuation surveyor won't give one until they have evidence of the steel being sound.

Also, unfortunately an endoscopic examination isn't possible in this situation as the walls don't have a cavity. The removal of render is what has been done on these types of properties before and is what the BRE report recommends surveyors do on this type of build. The only other option would be going from the inside and replastering, but this could involve damaging the cinder blocks, as I understand it, whereas the steel is a bit closer to the outside than the interior.

I've tried something that I'm hoping will work and I'll update later when I know!

Thanks again, all!

D00gie72

I'm in the process of buying a concrete construction house and our lender did not insist on any intrusive survey. With every type of building each lenders criteria will be different. We just had to have a specialist engineers report - who basically just looked at the outside of the house and took some meter readings (not sure how TBH) He could not have seen the actual concrete panels as the buling has cladding around the outside.
From what you've said the number of lenders on this property may be limited - so the vendors need to be aware of this. It may be worth ringing round a few mortgage lendors and ask a few queries what survey they would insist on - or phone a specialist broker who looks at non standard construction properties.

nomoneytoday

(IMHO) if the vendor is selling the house, why would they be fussed at the repair?