Negotiating Price

yellowkylie

Hey people, had our survey back today and the following has been noted as needing further investigation. The Electrical installations appear to be the original wiring etc and there is inadequate number of powerpoints for modern day living - it also seems likely that the circuitary earthing (don't really know what i'm talking about!!) won't comply with current regulations and it is possible that the house will need fully rewiring!!!!!! Obviously we will get a qualified electrical bod to check out the full extent of the upgrading needed etc etc.

Secondly the central heating is dated as are all radiators and there are no thermostatic controlled values and it has been recommended that the whole system plus gas multi-point water heater are checked and replaced. Again we would get a CORGI registered gas engineer to quote us on this fully.

However we have been given a guideline for all this work to cost around £5500 quid, which as a first time buyer and young family, I simply cannot afford to cough up for.

Is it reasonable to ask the vendor to knock this off the asking price???!!! I appreciate that surveys are not supposed to be a tool to negotiate on the asking price, but this seems like a hell of a lot of money and I don't feel the original asking price reflected the work needed to be done as the house next is up for sale at £6k less and a house 4 doors down is also £4k less.

We offered the full asking price because there were 5 other offers on the table and we really wanted the house.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, whats the best way to sort this kinda thing out. If the vendor said he would't pay anything or drop the price we would probably consider pulling out. Although as the vendor had 5 other offers, he might just tell us to stick it.

Thanks For Reading
Beth

CLAPTON

There is no answer to your question I'm afraid... the price of a house it that which someone is willing to sell and some else is willing to buy.

What are comparable houses selling for..

Surveyors always say the electics need looking at and the CH is old and you need to check the drains and you need to have someone look for woodworm etc.... what was your view of these matters?

yellowkylie

I agree that surveys will probably always pick these things up but when it comes to safety of electrics, i think vebdor should be willing to negotiate atleast. No problems with woodworm or drains though lol

The house is 2 bed end terrace 1970s asking price 124950,
House next door is up for 118,950
House few doors down up for 121,950

Doozergirl

Why on earth are you paying more then?!

You should negotiate if you didn't know the problems existed, but why that house is ever worth £6k more than next door (even if it is end-of-terrace) with major issues like that, I don't know. You will have to redecorate every single room in the house. I'd move in next door!

PasturesNew

The fact there are other houses cheaper in the area, but you want this one is an indication that it had something about it that made it worth that much to you when you viewed.

And who is to say if you surveyed these other cheaper houses if they wouldn't have problems to be resolved too.

Try for a lower price, they might go for it. But don't be miffed if they say "no".

Doozergirl

I'm not saying that the OP's house didn't have something special, it just doesn't any more. The upheaval from a full plumb and rewire does resonate. I would not live in a house when it was being done

If those cheaper houses had similar problems that needed resolving, they would still be cheaper than this house, with perhaps the option to renegotiate on them as well

yellowkylie

The house next doesn't have as bigger garden, and the house we like has big bay windows and brand new kitchen and bathroom.

Considering this would it be cheeky to say put a new offer of 119k in?

Nicki

If the surveyor isn't saying these are urgent works but just that they need to be investigated, then I think you are on dodgy ground. As others have said, with older houses, surveyors say as standard that the electrics and CH need to be checked. The requirements change regularly and the fact that they don;t comply with current standards doesn't make them unsafe. In fact the whole house could have been thorougly rewired 18 months ago to then current standards, but still fall foul of the most recent ones. Not all rads have thermostatic valves either and this isn't a big job to retro-fit AFAIK.

I may be slightly biased but I've just had a sale fall through because the buyer came back at the eleventh hour to renegotiate on price. We said no as they had no good reason to ask for the lower price and they ended up losing their survey fees, search fees and legal fees which they are very unhappy about.

Unless you are told both that work needs to be done, and that it is urgent, if you want this house, I would take it on the chin. If the work does need to be done at a later date, then you can schedule this at a time and cost that suits you. All houses need maintenance over time, and it may be that the house needs rewiring some time in the next 10-15 years rather than the minute you move in, and if that is the case it puts a very different complexion on things.

Whilst surveys are there to stop buyers making expensive mistakes (eg buying a house with bad subsidence which will cost tens of thousands to put right), they sometimes cause more problems than they are worth, especially with FTBs by flagging up remote problems which might arise in the future, which cause the purchaser to panic and withdraw. I would have to say that I've never had a survey of a house I've bought that has been completely problem free, but similarly have never, having gone ahead and bought the property, ended up with a big bill for anything out of the ordinary.

Doozergirl

Well it makes sense, considering the cost the work!

yellowkylie

I get ya point Nicki, but I think its unreasonable to pay the full asking price on a house when major works and lets face it central heating and electrics are major!!

If it was 1000quid but it not its 5500k or maybe more and as a first time buyer or not thats a lotta money to think about even further down the line.

Appreciate your thoughts though, good to get a diferent slant on things

Beth

PasturesNew

Nicki wrote: »

If the surveyor isn't saying these are urgent works .... with older houses, surveyors say as standard ... requirements change regularly ...don't comply ... doesn't make them unsafe.

plus everything else typed

She's right. Takes a lot of typing that does!
I'd have said that if I weren't feeling so slack.