Old/faulty boiler in flat -renegotiate?

bonniex123

I am a first time buyer and have had an offer accepted on a small flat a few weeks ago. I am 25 and buying on my own . I ended up offering five thousand above the asking price for the flat in the end as I was competing with another buyer. I have had my mortgage approved and am have instructed a solicitor. The last I heard when I rang the estate agents (who hardly ever communicate with me) is that the vendor is still looking for a house for himself.

I have since found out that the boiler in the flat is thirteen years old (been there since the flat was built) and has had lots of problems over the last few years. A friend has advised me that I should renegotiate on price maybe one or two thousand in light of this.

I am inexperienced and don't know if this is appropriate. I wanted to move somewhere low maintenance, and as the price of the flat is a bit of a stretch for me anyway the last thing I want is to be spending several thousand as soon as I move in. I don't however want to annoy the vendor and lose the property. What do you think? I was hoping someone more knowledgeable than me might advise.

BrassicWoman

how have you "found out"?

libf

Do you want to risk that the vendor will just go back to the other buyer and sell to them instead? If they haven't found somewhere to buy yet then they're probably not in a rush, so might not mind starting again if it gets them more cash...

bonniex123

I found out because I asked the agent to ask the vendor several questions about maintenance and utilities, including the age of the boiler and the history.

Yes libf I think it is likely he might do that as he is clearly not in a rush.

Guest101

I'd leave it until the vendor is committed to a purchase

foxy-stoat

Is an old boiler going to be a deal breaker for you on a property purchase?

If the boiler in my place needed replaced it would represent less than 1% of the purchase price, its like staying I wouldnt be buying your £2000 car because the £20 headlight is old and may be faulty.

thesaint

It's surprising that a vendor would say they've had lots of problems with their boiler.

caprikid1

"Do you want to risk that the vendor will just go back to the other buyer"


Other buyer ??? You went £5K over asking ????


I guess the estate agent pushed you up 5K with a mythical buyer.

fashionvictim

why don't you just ask for the boiler to be serviced before you move in (at the sellers expense) And If he's not in a rush you can start saving for a new boiler.

G_M

fashionvictim wrote: »

why don't you just ask for the boiler to be serviced before you move in (at the sellers expense) And If he's not in a rush you can start saving for a new boiler.

Why should the seller service the boiler if it does not (now) need a service?

As for the age, boiler in my house was 25+ years old when I bought, and lasted 6 years before spares became a problem to find.

bonniex123

caprikid1 wrote: »

"Do you want to risk that the vendor will just go back to the other buyer"


Other buyer ??? You went £5K over asking ????


I guess the estate agent pushed you up 5K with a mythical buyer.

Yes I was worried about this too..it's still under the value that the flat was originally on the market for. I'ts interesting you've said this as this has been a worry of mine - that the estate agents invented a fictional competitor. He dropped the price and that's when me and the 'other buyer' made our offers. I ended up settling on that price because it was still quite a bit lower than the original price it was first advertised at but 5k over the new asking price.

I 'm worried it was all a ploy to drive the price up as they told me when I went to look around he wanted a quick sale and that was why he suddenly dropped the price...yet he hasn't even found a house yet and does not seem to be in a hurry.

The mortgage is subject to survey so I hope that will reveal if I have offered too much. Like I said I am a first time buyer doing this alone so very anxious about it all, and quite naive.

I guess if I was buying something smaller I would not be so worried about the boiler, but I went for something a little bit more expensive than I had originally intended and now I'm worried about extra costs.