Buying a new house - needs a new roof!

uhhuhyeah

Hi all...

First time buyer here.... Need some desperate help from all you knowledgeable people!

Basically, I'm buying a lovely 1930s 3 bed semi(no chain). This property has been lived in by an old couple since the 50s. It needs a lot of updating.

On walking around the property we felt we understood that we needed to re-do the electrics and gas at a minimum as well as all the usual cosmetic work etc.

List price was 235k. We offered 225k - and this was accepted.

We made it fairly clear at the start that we would be doing our own private survey. And provided that this didn't show up any major structural problems (such as it needing a new roof or subsidence) we would be happy to proceed.

We have just had the survey done - still awaiting a formal report, but the surveyor has told us that he feels the house needs a new roof cover and insulation - apparently the torching is crumbling away. His estimate was that it would cost 10k.

Unfortunately, because of how things turned out, we ended up having the survey done right at the end of this process - so, my mortgage has gone through and all the searches have been done.

My question is.....
1) Is it reasonable to ask for a price reduction?
2) How is it best to proceed in negotiating? It feels as if I'm dropping a curveball at the last minute, I don;t want to annoy the vendors and risk losing this house!
3) IF they did accept a price reduction would it be possible to keep the same mortgage and ask my lender to give me the cash to pay for the new roof??

thanks!

davidmcn

Reasonableness depends largely on what your surveyor thinks the value is!

If you reduce the price then bear in mind that your lender will take that as the value (assuming it's lower than their valuation), so you'll need to work out what that does to your LTV percentage.

tacpot12

It is reasonable to ask for a price reduction on the basis of the findings of the survey. If these are worse than expected, a further reduction might be negotiable. If you don't ask you don't get.

Bossypants

For what it's worth, I had the exact same thing from my surveyor (down to the amount), had a good roofer round who pointed out that eventually everything needs a new roof, but if the handful of slipped slates were fixed, that one would last another 10 years at least.

Surveyors should be listened to, but with the understanding that they do tend to over-egg the pudding to cover themselves. I would get one or two reputable roofers out first to get a more realistic picture. If they agree with your surveyor, then I think you have every right to drop your offer according (the vendor has every right to refuse of course).

Good luck!

G_M

uhhuhyeah wrote: »

We have just had the survey done - still awaiting a formal report, but the surveyor has told us that he feels the house needs a new roof cover and insulation - apparently the torching is crumbling away. His estimate was that it would cost 10k.

My question is.....
1) Is it reasonable to ask for a price reduction?
Wat was the Valuation figure?
What exactly does the report say? New roof urgently needed immediately? New roof likley to be needed within the next few years?
Is the roof currently water-tight?
Note : insulation is irrelevant - there are free grants, and even if you pay it costs peanuts.
2) How is it best to proceed in negotiating? It feels as if I'm dropping a curveball at the last minute, I don;t want to annoy the vendors and risk losing this house!
* wait for the report
* either suck up the (future?) cost, or
* request £10K off the price and negotiate, then refix your mortgage, or
* walk away
3) IF they did accept a price reduction would it be possible to keep the same mortgage and ask my lender to give me the cash to pay for the new roof??
Your mortgage will be based on the price you pay. As suggested, a reduced price will increase your LTV which may or may not be an issue. Or you could reduce your loan and maintain the same LTV

thanks!

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moneyistooshorttomention

Depends on how "straight down the line" the surveyors report was I guess.....

The (basically pretty useless) surveyor on my last house said "The roof will need replacing within 3-5 years" (ie on Victorian house). I had a quick/very cheap few slates replaced. The roof lasted about 15 years I think it was in the event? When roofs start deciding they've Had It - they go mad and fall apart at a rate of knots in a matter of just a few weeks in my experience (ie from "Whoops - IS there a slight leak?" to "Ohmygawd :eek: - agh - the house is going to get ruined!" in a matter of weeks). Further backstory on that particular surveyor being the **** didn't tell me the house needed rewiring (and I found it did about 5 minutes after I moved into it:mad:).

Thrugelmir

Bought my 1930's property nine years ago. Advised that the roof would need replacing then. No issues in the intervening years with the original roof. There's often no way of telling how long things will last.

LindaMary

Bought ours 26 year ago. 1938 semi! Survey said needs a new roof! Still going strong

Cakeguts

The asking price might be low to take into account that repairs including a roof might be needed in which case they won't accept a reduction. How does the price you have offered compare to other similar houses in the same area that are in good condition?

TrickyTree83

Get a pro quote for a fix and for a new roof and work from that.

sheff6107

Any vendor should expect their buyer to carry out a survey and expect at least one thing to come up. When selling a house you should factor in £10k off the offer price as a matter of course.

Get a proper quote and then you'll have the facts. Everything's negotiable though - if they come back at £10k and you don't want to lose the house there's nothing to stop you suggesting you both take a £5k hit.