Selling my first property

gnikassin

Hi

I am selling my first property and had an offer which I have accepted. It's still early stages but the purchaser has come back with a list of "repairs" they would like sorting.

I don't personally feel like the items listed are repairs. For example, they claim a window is broken and wont shut properly. I'm not aware of any broken window but I know one of them is a little just stiff.

I went to great lengths to ensure anything broken was repaired and I repainted the whole property before I put it on the market.
I have also now moved out of the property and so it isn't easy for me to get to for dealing with "repairs".

I guess my questions are;
- Is this normal? I've never sold before so I'm not sure what to expect!
- Are the purchasers just "trying it on" to get a discount on the offer price - should I say no and risk them dropping out?

I guess I'm just frustrated. I actually sold before Christmas and it all fell through with days to go. I've been nearly a year on the market now in total and as a first time seller with a mortgage AND rent on a property to pay, I'm a little stressed to say the least!!!!

Alter_ego

Tell them it's sold as seen.

AnotherJoe

Tell them that the price includes allowance for the very minor defects such as a stiff window, and that you wont be altering it or fixing any perceived defects, unless you might feel that a few hundred to drop taking this into account is worth getting shot of it for sure, it depends who blinks first.

(yes, you are right they are trying it on hoping you'll say "oh all right I'll knock £xxx off).

macman

So if you do these repairs (what would the total cost be?), and the buyer then withdraws, how much money will you have wasted?
Sounds like they are first time buyers who expect a property to be 100% perfect-and at someone else's expense.
How much effort does it take to oil or ease a sticking window? If that's the sort of thing that they're expecting to have done for them, then you need to put your foot down at the start, or the requests will be endless.

G_M

Tell the buyer (or instruct your EA to tell the buyer) that you priced the sale based on the condition of the property.

All 2nd hand properties will have minor issues which are part of ongoing maintenance which the buyer can fix, or live with (as you have done).

If the buyer wants an immaculate property, he should look at New Builds (though these have other drawbacks).