Bought flat "as is", but further issues came up in survey. Renegotiate?

euromike

I bought a flat (different one to the one I wrote about in June, in case anyone asks the question) "as is" from a bank - basically a repo property. It was sold at a bit of a discount, and "as is" as the agent explained to me. I could see that it needed work, and was planning on a more or less complete refurb anyway - bathrooms, kitchen appliances, new floors, etc. But new issues came up in the survey - specifically, the two-way air-con system (i.e. with warm and cold air) which is what's used for heating, doesn't seem to work. It'd be thousands, if not >£10k, worth of work to fix/replace it.

Should I attempt to re-negotiate, or does "as is" mean strictly no renegotiation will be entered into? The agent, obviously, claims just that; while the builders and the solicitor think otherwise.

Otherwise I'm good to exchange in less than 2 weeks..

mrginge

So you haven't bought it.

Feel free to request whatever reduction you want.
The vendor is free to accept or decline your request.

libf

Try your luck. If they won't negotiate you can walk away.

danslenoir

euromike wrote: »

I bought a flat (different one to the one I wrote about in June, in case anyone asks the question) "as is" from a bank - basically a repo property. It was sold at a bit of a discount, and "as is" as the agent explained to me. I could see that it needed work, and was planning on a more or less complete refurb anyway - bathrooms, kitchen appliances, new floors, etc. But new issues came up in the survey - specifically, the two-way air-con system (i.e. with warm and cold air) which is what's used for heating, doesn't seem to work. It'd be thousands, if not >£10k, worth of work to fix/replace it.

Should I attempt to re-negotiate, or does "as is" mean strictly no renegotiation will be entered into? The agent, obviously, claims just that; while the builders and the solicitor think otherwise.

Otherwise I'm good to exchange in less than 2 weeks..

Sold 'as is' implies to me that no further reductions will be made on the basis of anything wrong with the property in its 'as is' condition.

That said, I guess if you don't ask, you don't get, so no harm in trying!

euromike

mrginge wrote: »

So you haven't bought it.

Feel free to request whatever reduction you want.
The vendor is free to accept or decline your request.

yes I understand, legally I can ask for a 90% reduction in price just like the vendor can ask for 2x the agreed price the last minute before exchange.

My question really is, does my point seem valid, or does "as is" mean I should be prepared to plough thousands of £ into the property based on two 10-minute visits before I offered. I want to behave rationally and understand what is considered reasonable

[Deleted User]

Does it matter?

If you haven't exchanged, you are free at any time to try and negotiate, or walk away. Just as the vendor can accept a higher offer until exchange.

Its up to you if the property is worth the extra cost. Or maybe its cheaper to you to put a more standard heating system in.

Somerset

euromike wrote: »

I bought a flat ...."as is" from a bank - basically a repo property. .

You'll get nowhere because of the type of sale/seller - it's a repo. Banks have to be able to prove they got the best price hence giving to agents who essentially say ''best price gets it'' or to auction. ''As is'' really does mean as is. They'd quite happily stick it back with the agent for another round of ''best price gets it''. As long as they have transparency they aren't bothered.

davidmcn

Did you not have an opportunity to test it before offering?

euromike

davidmcn wrote: »

Did you not have an opportunity to test it before offering?

did not. It was a very quick sale, it's in London and went within 48 hours of being put on the market. It was priced competitively, unlike 95% of properties in Zones 1&2...

euromike

Somerset wrote: »

You'll get nowhere because of the type of sale/seller - it's a repo. Banks have to be able to prove they got the best price hence giving to agents who essentially say ''best price gets it'' or to auction. ''As is'' really does mean as is. They'd quite happily stick it back with the agent for another round of ''best price gets it''. As long as they have transparency they aren't bothered.

I guess that's my answer really. thanks, although this is obviously not what I wanted to hear...

WannaBLoaded

well if it really does cost that much to repair it, seems excessive though, you could always have electric heaters put in, they heat up a room very well.

You would need to feed them from the consumer unit to a spur.

Look ok and they do some nice looking ones.