[Buyer] Should we re-negotiate offer?

Therandomhero

Hi there, first time posting here

I'll try and keep this short; My girlfriend and I had an offer accepted on a property for £105k, asking price was £107.5k.

Had a survey done and he found the side wall of the house had external damp (rising damp). He also said the roof was in a poor, albeit watertight, state for now. He advises in the homebuyers report to get these fixed sooner rather than later.

Had a builder round to assess the severity. Damp had begun creeping in ever so slightly due to a little rubble/debris that had accumulated in the cavity wall over the years (house is 90yrs old) and this was primarily due to the driveway being so close to the damp-proof course (2.5in instead of recommended 6in+) and a few of the bricks were very weathered and spalling. He also found that roof ridge tiles were out of place and worn, the valley pointing was worn and cracked and the tiles themselves were in need of renewing due to poor maintenance.

Now this is a reputable builder from our area who has work booked for weeks, sometimes months, in advance. Luckily he is a friend of the family and he came to inspect this for a cheeky £20. I trust his judgement and it matches the homebuyers report. His verdict was the work for both would fall between £2.5k-3k.

Now here's the toughie. Should we renegotiate? Here's my ideas:

1. They agree and take it off the asking price. This would not benefit us hugely as the problems needs addressing sooner rather than later and we don't have that kind of money lying around and probably wont for at least another 12-18 months.

2. They agree to have the work done before contract exchange. Highly unlikely as they're hoping to move by mid-Sept as they are moving over 300 miles away for their children's university choices.

3. They agree to have the work done using the money from the sale. I'm not sure this is possible but if we presented an official printed builders quote could the bank/conveyors 'hold' that amount until completion of sale, then pass that amount onto the building firm, who will carry out the work while under our occupancy?

4. They refuse. Unlikely as they are after a quick sale and this has already been going on for 5 weeks now and they most likely don't have time to waste on new potential buyers now they have found a house they want all the way up there.

Sorry for the essay, any advice, past experiences, opinions as a buy OR seller would be most appreciated. Thankyou for the time you took reading this!

Thrugelmir

Revise your offer. Why overpay?

Explain your reasoning via the Estate Agent.

Therandomhero

Thankyou. I wasn't sure where to start with it. If I explain all this to the estate agent they would pass on a new offer?

I'm concerned they will pull out and just sell to a more naive couple...

phill99

You friendly builder may be charging too much. The vendors may get quotes for £1500 or £1800. If you want the work done, then you can't stipulate who does the work, except when you own the property.

If I was the vendor I may make a small allowance of say £500, but certainly not £2500, bearing in mind you have already knocked that amount of the asking price.

If they decide to pull put of the sale and put it back on the market, then you have spent money on surveys, solicitors etc which you'll never get back. So don't push them or you may come to regret it.

And as for your option 3: dream on.

lattridge1984

phill99 wrote: »

You friendly builder may be charging too much. The vendors may get quotes for £1500 or £1800. If you want the work done, then you can't stipulate who does the work, except when you own the property.

If I was the vendor I may make a small allowance of say £500, but certainly not £2500, bearing in mind you have already knocked that amount of the asking price.

If they decide to pull put of the sale and put it back on the market, then you have spent money on surveys, solicitors etc which you'll never get back. So don't push them or you may come to regret it.

And as for your option 3: dream on.

Actually option 3 is the best option...

They could do this in the way of an allowance from the sellers equity. The asking price stays the same.

As for the seller pulling out, the vendor's EA would have to state the damp to any future buyers so the seller would just experience the same problem over and over.

the seller has just as much to lose putting it back on the market, they might as well take the hit and sell.

You would be in a lot better position to negotiate with the seller if you got a proper damp survey and the quote written on paper though.

anselld

Looks like they have already "taken it off the asking price".
What was the valuation in its current state?

Person_one

If I was selling there's no way in hell I'd accept your 'family friend' providing the only quote!

What valuation came back with the survey? None of that works sounds 'urgent' as such.m

Therandomhero

I personally thought as a seller option 3 would be the best option too. You'd have to suck it up and take the hit but at least you get a guaranteed sale. Especially seeing as they have found a property already and want to get on asap. It's basically the same as option 1 because either way they receive 2-3k less except they do us a solid and get the work done using that 2-3k rather than nobody seeing it.

Also, they would be more than welcome to get any reputable builder in to do the work, I know of a few cowboys in the area so as long as it wasn't one of them.

The 2.5-3k he quoted was a guide more than an actual figure.

Yes they've accepted lower than the asking price but that doesn't mean we should think ourselves grateful. A lot of things, not just housing, get put on the market for a touch higher value because the vendor EXPECTS a little haggling.

And so far we've spent £495 on the survey, so still a long way to go until I'm concerned about my losses in the event of a fall through.

The exact word of the survey was 'I believe the property will be able to achieve £105k in the resale market provided you are willing to undertake the works that currently need doing.' That to me says it's worth 105k PROVIDED the points aforementioned are rectified.

bouicca21

What did the surveyor value the house at?

The original roof on any house of that age is going to be at the end of its life. Driveways that are too close or even bridge the DPC are also commonplace (when I was buying, it was the first thing I looked at).

Try for a reduction. But don't count on it, and personally I'd not want the seller doing the works as I'd have no control on how well or more likely badly, they'd do it.

Therandomhero

The exact word of the survey was 'I believe the property will be able to achieve £105k in the resale market provided you are willing to undertake the works that currently need doing.' That to me says it's worth 105k PROVIDED the points aforementioned are rectified.

richy999

Therandomhero wrote: »

The exact word of the survey was 'I believe the property will be able to achieve £105k in the resale market provided you are willing to undertake the works that currently need doing.' That to me says it's worth 105k PROVIDED the points aforementioned are rectified.

I would agree with your interpretation.

If you are buying with a mortgage, the wording of the survey may have an effect on how much mortgage you are able to secure, or their offer may be conditional on the work being done before sale.

Before you go any further, I would suggest that you discuss this with your mortgage company and go from there.