Changing purchase price after offer accepted?

Purple56

I am currently in the process of buying a house and have just found out that it is made of concrete after having the survey done. I asked 3 times if it was made of brick or concrete (to the current owner and two of the estate agents) before making the offer, and each time I was told it was made of brick. I would have not offered so much money if i had known it was made of concrete, is there anything I can do now? Can I ask to lower the price as they have lied to me? I think this is a pretty important detail to lie about.

martinthebandit

You can do what you want up until the contracts have been exchanged.



.....and so can the seller.

davidmcn

I would be careful about throwing around accusations of lying - do you know that the seller or agent knew the property was concrete?

teneighty

You probably need to read the survey a bit more carefully to establish exactly what the surveyor said about the construction, or phone the surveyor and ask them.

Concrete can cover a very wide spectrum of construction. Some are unmortgageable and are only really suitable for demolition and redevelopment some are less problematic and are only marginally cheaper than traditional built houses.

Certainly it looks like a potential reduction in your offer due to the property being non traditional construction, the next question is how much to reduce it by?

Cakeguts

Do you need a mortgage to buy this house? If so it is probably going to be more to your advantage to withdraw your offer and look for a different house? The survey did its job. It showed up a potential problem and this is what you pay for.

You can lower your offer based on what you know about the house now and the seller may or may not accept it but ultimately you have to decide if you still want to buy the house.

teddysmum

Some houses, in our city, were once Coal Board owned then bought out by a housing association. The latter had the originally grey concrete houses clad in red 'brick',to make them look better, but who knows what lurked under the cover up ?


The whole estate was eventually demolished and the site is now a Barratt development.

Davesnave

Depends how much you love the house and how it fits with your budget, but a reinforced concrete house will typically command a lower price than traditionally-built equivalents. It will be less fuel efficient to heat, and depending on type, a lender may not give you a mortgage on it .


Your survey has done its job and it's irrelevant whether people have lied, or not.

You need much more specific information about the exact house type, especially if you need a mortgage. Only then can you decide whether to walk away or offer a lower price.

Now the vendors and EA have been told, they can no longer plead ignorance, real or feigned.