Help needed FAST: should we walk away?

sianlovestea

After a nearly a year of searching we found a flat we liked on the market for 180k and offered 182k. Maybe not wise but it's in a popular area and we'd seen much worse flats for more.

All going well until after the survey we decided to view again to check out a crack in the bath. Whilst there the vendor mentioned she's had to call out an engineer to fix the boiler at a cost of £500 - "but don't worry it's all perfect now!" - so we decided to have someone inspect the boiler at our expense.

He found that the boiler is on its last legs and recommended the system be replaced (old hot water tank and boiler swapped for a combi) at an expense of £3,500. Taking this into account along with the need to replace the bath we made a new offer of 177k - perhaps a little ambitious but we were willing to negotiate.

Only we've shot ourselves in the foot as the vendor is not willing to negotiate at all, except for £400 to replace the bath (which according to the estimates I received would cover labour and leave us with about £80 to purchase a bath, side panel, waste water pipes and a row of tiles).

So now we're faced with paying 181.6k for a flat with a boiler that's about to pack in and a bath that's unusable.

The estate agent has tried (apparently) to explain to her that even if she got offered her full asking price she'd still have the same problems again once these issues were discovered.

I've said I'd offer 180k and forget about the bath but she won't entertain this. And to make matters worse she gave us a deadline of 13.00 today to decide if we want to continue (that's 2hrs warning during a working day when I can't contact my partner).

The estate agent has got her to extend this deadline to 10am tomorrow.

Any advice/opinions grately received. I really like the flat and don't want to walk but equally I don't want to have to find £3500 to replace the boiler when it breaks down at the start of next winter.

StartAfresh

Depends on how much you want the flat and if you think it is worth the extra money it will now cost - only you can decide that.
Alternatively you could call their bluff, as long as you are prepared to lose the flat.
Bet they are kicking themselves for having told you about getting the boiler fixed now (or maybe it is something they have to declare?)

Out,_Vile_Jelly

"We've seen much worse flats for more" doesn't sound like you absolutely love the place.

I wouldn't argue about the bath, but a new boiler is a significant expense and isn't unreasonable to take into account.

Ridiculous deadline; why be panicked into the biggest purchase of your life?

lrb_2

You should ask yourself how much you want the property and if it's worth it.

If it is a good price for the area, you might want to consider it. There might be schemes to replace the old boiler as well, which might help with the expense, when it comes.

Good luck,

Lx

duchy

Simple decision
You stand by your offer and tell them it's a final offer and will be on the table for a week only - you also make sure the estate agent tells them you are viewing other properties

or you agree to the terms.

Depends how much you want it

DRP

No one here can tell you what the vendor will do, so unless you are absolutely at the limit of your budget then 3 grand is neither here nor there.

You pay it if you really want the flat or you don't.

HouseBuyer77

I guess from the seller's point of view you can see it's an old boiler and boilers don't last forever so the house was priced as such.

It all comes down to how much you want the property and what the market is like. If supply is limited and buyers plentiful a seller can get away with this kind of thing.

Do you know exactly what is wrong with it? Boilers do eventually die but if the most recently problem its had has been competantly fixed it may keep on going for 2 or 3 years yet, perhaps with the occasional repair. Bear in mind a plumber would prefer to get more money from fitting a new system than occasionally doing small repairs so they would tend toward telling you that's the best option.

Note that people might set deadlines but assuming they've got a place to move to if you come back a day later than specified and agree to the their terms are they really going to say no? A delay looking for another buyer could also cause them problems for their purchase.

sianlovestea

I don't know what exactly is wrong with it that caused it to break down recently as she hasn't got any paperwork. The gas engineer we sent round says it's very aged, there's been a leak on the pump and there is corrosion. It's also kettling so it's very noisey - the seller let slip that she switched it off if she wants a lie in as the noise wakes her up.

A short term fix could be to use a boiler de-scaler but apparently this also has the potential to make it worse.

For the seller time is no problem as she's planning to move to rented accommodation, which in itself I also find kind of weird.

She's now rejected our offer of 180k - her full asking price!

DRP

sianlovestea wrote: »

I don't know what exactly is wrong with it that caused it to break down recently as she hasn't got any paperwork.

Then who repaired it!?!>!

sianlovestea wrote: »

The gas engineer we sent round says it's very aged, there's been a leak on the pump and there is corrosion. It's also kettling so it's very noisey - the seller let slip that she switched it off if she wants a lie in as the noise wakes her up.

A short term fix could be to use a boiler de-scaler but apparently this also has the potential to make it worse.

For the seller time is no problem as she's planning to move to rented accommodation, which in itself I also find kind of weird.

She's now rejected our offer of 180k - her full asking price!

Leave your offer on the table and tell the EA you are continuing your property search.

She sounds a little unstable...

sianlovestea

Then who repaired it!?!>!

Exactly!

She sounds a little unstable...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I can't face starting from scratch again, I'm inclined to agree with those who say it's a seller's market and just cut my loses, with fingers crossed that the boiler can limp on for another year.

I don't think she's bluffing when she says she's going to put it back on the market tomorrow. Personally I think this would be a dumb move on her part when we're already offering the asking price and willing to ignore the bath issue but you can't argue with ignorance!

PurplePow

OP... can I ask the make/model of the boiler? Just curious as it sounds similar to the boilers that were placed in our flats!