Presenting a list of repairs to a seller

dragilex

Hoping for some advice.

We've had a building survey completed on a house we're hoping to buy. It has highlighted some issues and needed repairs so we've enlisted some specialists to do some further checks and provide some quotes.

Once this has been done what is the best way to present this to the sellers? Is there a standard way it should be done?

Thanks

tizzle6560

I provided all the written quotes and the outline of work required to the vendor (through his solicitor) and calculated the average cost of works (+ a 10% buffer).

Luckily the vendor agreed to this and so we subtracted that from the final offer.

I would advise giving as much info as possible and at leat 2 quotes for all intended works. Failing to prepare is preparing for failure etc..

ellie27

Decide how much you think the costs would be for the repairs.

Decide on a figure that takes account of these costs, and make an offer of that price.

I wouldnt be telling the seller they have to get x, y and z fixed - they are most likely to tell you where to go!

LEJC

I think it needs to be approached tactfully and fairly....the vendor may feel that the price you are paying reflects the work that needs to be carried out on the house...

When you describe the word "repairs"...what does that mean,what extent are you expecting the house to be repaired/improved beyond your original offer.

We recently bought a flat which highlighted the need for new windows but we did not negotiate the sale price or inform the vendor as we felt the price we were paying reflected the need for the upgrade on the windows at our expense.

Sedge123

To be honest I would be really cross if our sellers presented us with a list of repairs. As far as I am concerned the house is 'sold as seen' and minor repairs are part and parcel of owning a house. I wouldn't dream of trying to barter the price down. Obviously if it's a major issue then that's different.

dragilex

We put our offer on the house on the assumption it looked in good condition. It is only as a result of the survey that issues have come to light.

The roof has several problems. It has been noted that a prudent buyer would re-clad the roof in the short term. The wooden window frame are decaying and may need replacement. Wall-ties need checking out. Surveyor has estimated costs of issues needing immediate repair at £4000.

Would anyone agree that quite urgent problems should be asked to fix and the other stuff just price reduced so I can fix it myself. Or offer the 2 options and the seller can just decide?

ellie27

I would expect the price the house is marketed at to have taken account the condition of the house, so the vendor might not be willing to negotiate as much as you are expecting.

Have you looked at sold prices of similar houses in better condition?

dragilex

Sedge123 wrote: »

To be honest I would be really cross if our sellers presented us with a list of repairs. As far as I am concerned the house is 'sold as seen' and minor repairs are part and parcel of owning a house. I wouldn't dream of trying to barter the price down. Obviously if it's a major issue then that's different.

Surely the house is SOLD subject to survey.

pinkteapot

Without knowing what issues the survey found, none of us can say whether it's fair to try and renegotiate the price or not.

If the roof looked fine (to the average buyer's eye) and the survey found it had a serious leak, I doubt anyone would dispute the buyer wanting to reduce the price. On the other hand, our surveyor pointed out that a shower-head needed descaling but we didn't bother haggling for a sachet of Oust.

EDIT: Just seen the issues. Window frames - did you notice that they were old wooden frames and not in great condition? That's normally fairly obvious and a lot of buyers these days would be mentally budgeting for replacing wooden frames anyway. Roof and wall ties - were probably less obvious. As others have said it will depend on whether the house was priced as a fixer-upper or as a move-in-condition property. It's also a negotiation - they may or may not be willing to haggle further on price, in which case it will ultimately come down to how much the house is worth to you.

Hoploz

How did the valuation come out?

If the surveyor said it is worth the amount agreed then this is taking any improvements you may or may not choose to do into account already.

If the valuation came in at less than the agreed price then you may have some room for manoeuvre.

LEJC

dragilex wrote: »

Would anyone agree that quite urgent problems should be asked to fix and the other stuff just price reduced so I can fix it myself. Or offer the 2 options and the seller can just decide?

Not always...in asking the vendor to fix it could drag the whole purchase out far longer than you all want or indeed even make the vendor feel that selling the house is not the right move for them....

Certainly things like the condition of the windows should have been spotted by you when viewing...especially if they are wooden and rotting however there probably is still wear left in them and as such as a buyer its unlikely that the vendor would get those replaced before you exchanged or indeed offer you a discount.

Basically you do have to finely balance your list of repairs against what the vendor is likely to want to offer as a solution...its not a given right that just because you made an offer assuming all to be in order that they will put right or allow a discount on any subsequent survey you get.