Homebuyer Report - Advice

Smodlet

What NickC said, "The buyer doesn't have a contractual arrangement with the vendor's EA, but he is definitely the customer. It is the buyer who will be providing the funds that the EA's commission will come from!" is exactly the way I think of it... and whoever the customer is, it sure as heck is not the EA! Last one we used seemed to think they could boss us around, tell us what to do. We put up with it because we were keen to sell but they failed to do so and I will not be treated that way again.

If you are, or potentially are paying for a service, directly or indirectly, I reckon that means you are the customer because no-one can proceed until you say yes. It is nice to be made to feel as if you're the customer.

I cannot see the sense in withholding information from your lender; if the report is so bad they withdraw their offer to lend to you, maybe they are saving you from a world of pain and financial drain.

Whilst many places may not have an electrical certificate they should provide the last service report for the boiler but with a BTL, as has been said, they are breaking the law if they do not have these certificates in place. It is illegal to let a property without providing these to the tenant. I'd think long and hard about this one, Reggie, before jumping. Sorry for the lengthy post.

davidmcn

Glover1862 wrote: »

Most homebuyers reports are upgrades from standard valuations from the lender, the solicitor and certainly the lender will know that a homebuyer report has been done. I did originally say that you could ask them to use the valuation but think the solicitor would question why it's being withheld.

Different if the homebuyers report is completely independent and not done via the lender, wouldn't think that many are as you'll pay for two surveys.

If the valuation report is based on a more indepth survey then it's going to contain all of the significant points discovered which a lender would be interested in - I think we're only really discussing the situation where there's been a cursory inspection by the lender's surveyor, and a more thorough report by a different surveyor acting solely for the purchaser.

Reggie256

Update: the vendor has made it clear she won't pay for any repairs - not overly happy but I guess it's not worth losing the house over, and I don't think the repairs will amount to a HUGE amount anyway.


However, gaining access to the property for our builder to have a look has been a pain. EA never available to grant access, times not convenient and all the while the vendor and EA applying pressure for completion by the end of this month.


It's been left with the EA having forwarded us the vendor's number and advising us to contact her to organise access. Have text her but received no reply as of yet so guess will have to phone her - and SHE is the one bleating about the importance (to her, anyway) of completing this month so she doesn't have to pay another month on the mortgage.
Bit of a farce really.

dc197

take out a mortgage of hundreds of thousands of pounds just to find that the house requires £XX more spent on repairs afterward.



This is true of all houses. Even the best ones still need a little TLC. Even new builds have niggles.
Make sure you set your expectations correctly.

Hoploz

You said you were taking your builder friend in on Saturday - did the seller cancel this appointment?

If the seller is being awkward but is still pressurising you to complete next week then you have to decide how important the builder seeing it before you buy really is. You can dig your heels in and state to the solicitors and EA that you will not proceed further until you have had access for your builder friend ... and risk peeing the seller off so they pull out .... Or you can go ahead on the basis of your professional surveyor's opinion.

dharm999

Walk away. The seller is being difficult to contact, stopping you from taking your builder friend to look at the property, and pushing for completion this month, I would be wondering what they have to hide. It wouldn't surprise me if your friend finds the issues are more serious than you may think, and the seller knows that. Tell the seller to take a running jump

Clutterfree

OP, you've still not stated what the "3's" are.
Perhaps if you did it would help people here advise you better.

Reggie256

Clutterfree wrote: »

OP, you've still not stated what the "3's" are.
Perhaps if you did it would help people here advise you better.

Sorry - off the top of my head the main ones were:


Double glazing of poor quality and no longer well sealed


Foundations of conservatory to be check as it is on a slightly raised level above the garden and it isn't clear how supportive the garden might be and how deep the foundation of the conservatory go.


Supporting beams in garage in a poor state of repair


Guttering at rear of house in a poor state of repair.


That's all I can recall - the gas and electric safety were raised as 3's too but I gather this is always the case.

Dan-Dan

Reggie256 wrote: »

Sorry - off the top of my head the main ones were:


Double glazing of poor quality and no longer well sealed


Foundations of conservatory to be check as it is on a slightly raised level above the garden and it isn't clear how supportive the garden might be and how deep the foundation of the conservatory go.


Supporting beams in garage in a poor state of repair


Guttering at rear of house in a poor state of repair.


That's all I can recall - the gas and electric safety were raised as 3's too but I gather this is always the case.

Considering you would have noticed the crap Double Glazing when you viewed, none of these 3 `s are anything to worry unduly about

Smodlet

The '3's don't sound like nothing to me and why should the gas and electricity always be marked so when anyone can tell just by looking at the consumer unit if the wiring has been updated or is ancient. The in-between part of the spectrum can be less easy to determine. Likewise, if someone has had a new boiler installed in the last five years or so, they will make a point of letting you know.

I'm with Dharm999, the seller is definitely hiding something if she doesn't want your builder to see it and, if she's in such a hurry, you would think she would go out of her way to give you access.