Survey suggests new windows required

countingthepennies395

Hi all,

I posted recently about having our offer accepted on our first house. Since then the structural survey 'advises' that new windows be installed at the front of the house (the back is uPVC single glazed). The offer we put to the seller was only marginally below their asking price. My question is, if you were in the same position, would you try to get the work done prior to exchange/haggle the offer price or just change the windows at a later date yourself?

Thanks in advance!

nomoneytoday

If I were the seller, in the interest of negotiating I'd probably knock a bit off, but it wouldn't be a lot as :


a - you saw the windows when making the offer
b - you would get the benefit of the double glazed replacements

Surrey_EA

There's unlikely to be any harm in asking, but I'd consider yourself lucky to get anything off as:

nomoneytoday wrote: »

a - you saw the windows when making the offer

LEJC

I would be wary of asking the vendor to get the work done....purely because they will probably install the cheapest windows they can in order to move the sale forward.

Presumably you should have been aware that new windows may have been required when you viewed the house and would have potentially adjusted your offer to reflect some of that cost.

TBH...windows are easily replaced and most seem to pop out and in now with even minimum or no need to redecorate so it shouldnt really be seen by you as a dealbreaker.
If the survey suggests new windows then its just that....a suggestion....you can go on living in the property for many years with windows that are not heat efficient,the choice is yours....in theory you could live with plastic sheeting covering the holes where windows should be.....not really advisable or secure but if thats what you choose to do then so be it....a survey will pick that up but cannot enforce that you install new windows

Get a few quotes if you wish but dont let it put you off buying the property.
Good quality windows will save you money on heating and possibly add or at least retain value in the property.

G_M

adele_swinge wrote: »

Hi all,

I posted recently about having our offer accepted on our first house. Since then the structural survey 'advises' that new windows be installed at the front of the house (the back is uPVC single glazed). !

What does this mean? Why do/might they need replacing?

The wooden window frames are rotten?
The glass is broken/loose?
The windows are in some other way broken/faulty?
They are an old style?
They are single glazed rather than double glazed?
They are wooden framed rather than upvc?

The answer to the above would dictate whether a cost-reduction might be justified.

AdrianC

So you placed an offer on a property knowing the front windows were (let's charitably say) tired and the back single-glazed... and now you want to reduce the offer because the front windows are tired and the back single-glazed?

Ooookay.

And what has the surveyor said about his opinion of the value versus your offer?

Daerve

Our report came back stating the windows were all a bit tired and required replacing. I could see that from the viewing so didn't ask for any reduction. Had other hidden issues been revealed I may have approached it differently.

Had I been the vendor I'd consider the request but would be unlikely to shift much if at all.

Cakeguts

Is the house in a conservation area? If it is you may not be able to change the front windows.

Owain_Moneysaver

Windows don't need to be replaced when they get "a bit tired". They're not sheepdogs.

There are plenty of 100+ year old wood windows in good working order and if properly maintained will probably last another 100 years.

Plastic windows on the other hand ...

Mr.Generous

the asking price generally reflects the condition of the property, was it priced as though it had new suitable windows and you were unable to spot the hidden defect? Knocking down the price after a survey is for things not detectable / obvious at the time of viewings. Make a lower offer, you could be forfeiting your survey money.
On any future viewings take a check list and have a good look!!

Apodemus

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Windows don't need to be replaced when they get "a bit tired". They're not sheepdogs.

There are plenty of 100+ year old wood windows in good working order and if properly maintained will probably last another 100 years.

Plastic windows on the other hand ...

Absolutely! And the chances of recouping the cost of replacement windows through reduced heating costs within the life expectancy the new windows are surprisingly small.

I think my survey mentioned the windows...but that was 27 years ago, and I've still not done anything to them!