buyers asking for money off

macaroon9

OK, we have recently accepted an offer on our house at £2k under the asking price. A few weeks ago we had the buyers surveyor come round to do a valuation and also survey. My husband was present and walked round with the surveyor whilst he carried out the survey, he was very open with my husband and noted that there was a small patch of damp in the kitchen and also some vents needed attending in the chimney, he also mentioned repointing etc as a maintainence issue but not a concern. Our buyers were very slow to get in touch but eventually last week they asked if a contractor could come round to price up some work. The contractor arrived measured up the damp affected wall in the kitchen, and then said he needed to go outside to look at the roof??? Now as far as we are aware the roof was not mentioned by the surveyor, the contractor walked round the house and left.

Our estate agent has been in touch today to say that our buyer wants us to reduce the price by £4.5k. £2k for assorted jobs including the damp in the kictchen, repointing, a new fascia at the back of the house and £2.5k to cover half the cost of a new roof!!!!!

Our estate agent has asked for a copy of the survey but our buyer said she has been legally advised by her solicitor that she does not have to show this to us, the estate agent then quoted from the contractors report that "in a couple of years the roof would probably need replacing due to its age, and that our roof was susceptible to slippage and crumbling". I have instructed our estate agent that I am not legally obliged to pay for cosmetic work that might need doing when I no longer intend to be living in the house. What do we do? I have no intention of paying money for something not highlighted as a concern by the surveyor but if we can't see the report what do we do ??

phill99

Just tell the buyer that as you have already reduced the price by £2k, there is no further negotiations to be done and that if they don't exchange within 28 days, the property will be remarketed.

That will give them food for thought and ad they have already now incurred costs, they may come back with a revised figure.

But in the short term, hold your ground and don't loose your nerve.

DRP

macaroon9 wrote: »

Our estate agent has asked for a copy of the survey but our buyer said she has been legally advised by her solicitor that she does not have to show this to us,

of course she doesn't *have to* show you anything 'legally'. but if she wants to negotiate, you should insist!

kinger101

The first question is, do you intend to reduce the price if there are genuine concerns highlighted in the survey? If the answer is no, then don't even ask to see their survey. If the answer is yes, say you are not going to consider any reductions unless they show you the survey in full, together with any quotations.

I there are genuine issues, I think some form of compromise is probably your best option, but it does sound like they might be trying it on to some extent. If I were in a similar position as I buyer, I'd show the survey to the vendor.

G_M

macaroon9 wrote: »

....
Our estate agent has asked for a copy of the survey but our buyer said she has been legally advised by her solicitor that she does not have to show this to us,.....

and your reply is that you have been legally advised you don't have to reduce the selling price.

If the buyer wishes to persuade you to negotiate price, he needs to show you some persuasive evidence to justify it.

If he refuses, chances are he's just trying it on.

phil99 suggested above giving them a 28 day deadline to Exchange. I'd be inclined to say that unless they 'proceed' with the purchase you will re-market by the end of the week. Then wait for evidence that they are proceeding.

Mossfarr

You could ask for the details as you are considering getting the work done yourself. If for example you have a builder in the family you could get it done much cheaper!
With regards to replacing the roof the contractor isn't exactly unbiased is he? If the surveyor didn't mention it I would totally disregard it.
Alternatively, there's nothing stopping you getting a roofing contractor out to check it over. If he gives it a clean bill of health you can tell them to get lost!
Hold your nerve - your buyers have more to lose than you do.
good luck
mossfarr

kinger101

Mossfarr wrote: »

You could ask for the details as you are considering getting the work done yourself.

Actually, that's one I'd avoid. Saying you might get the work done yourself on a house your selling kind of implies the work does need doing. Until a survey is provided to the OP, there are no grounds to assume this is the case. The vendor needs to put up or shut up.

Though getting a independent quote from another rooting contractor is worthwhile is the survey does say the roof requires immediate attention.

JencParker

It seems to be the norm now for buyers to try it on to get a reduction after survey. There is no reason why you should give them a reduction - you have already agreed a price with them. Whether you want to offer a further reduction is up to you and will probably also depend on your circumstances. But you are under no obligation to agree to any more reduction to the price and I agree with those who say to give them a time limit to exchange otherwise the property will go back on the market.

KRB2725

Do you know if the valuation is for the agreed sale price?

kinger101

I object to the last two points. A buyer agrees to pay a certain amount for a house on the assumption that it is reasonably maintained for it's age. If I get told a 1930s house might need some roof repairs in five years, fair enough. If I'm told the electrics aren't new, that's not news. However, if immediate work is highlighted, it shows the current owners have neglected their house, and it's worth less than my original offer.

On the flip side, it's not unusual for banks and building societies to come up with valuations £5-10K below the amount offered by the vendor on a fairly minimal assessment of the property. More often than not, the buyer is expected to make up the shortfall in these circumstances.

In summary, the final agreed price should be agreed by the vendor and purchaser, not the bank and surveyor.

Chanes

If it has been valued at the sale price then surely that takes any works into account? We used our survey to get a reduction after the valuation because it was more work than we thought (it was only 1k) we provided the survey to the previous owner to support our request and they were fine with it (it was to their advantage too, we were in a very good position to move forward quickly and I would have walked away if they refused and they did know that)