Renegotiation after homebuyer survey?

Zither

Hello,

I have a question about the Homebuyer survey and subsequent renegotiation with the vendor.

I am a buyer and I'm awaiting the written report from the survey but having had a quick chat with the surveyor over the telephone, he's suggested that that there is 'potentially £3K's worth of negotiation on the property' This mostly relates to some minor structural issues (emphasis on minor) that he recognised as needing addressing in the short-medium term (window glass replaced, roof-refelt, window lintel replacement, potential asbestos removal etc).

I've done a little reading and it looks like a lot of post-survey renegotiation takes place on properties where £5K+ worth of repairs are required.

Does anyone have any experience of negotiating over points like the above?

I'm not interested in taking the vendor for a ride, but obviously I'd prefer not to foot the bill for types of issues that I couldn't observe at the point of viewing.

Also, I expect that the EA will want to see a copy of the survey - I'm inclined not to provide a copy, but happy to take the EA through it in person. Agree?

Thanks!

Zither

AdrianC

It's very simple. You can ask. The vendor may or may not agree. If they don't, will you walk away?

There's no magic wording. You are an individual human, with all your personal foibles and beliefs and preferences, looking to buy a house. The vendor is an individual human, with all their personal foibles and beliefs and preferences, trying to sell the same house. You've got to come to an agreement... Put yourself in their shoes. What would YOU think to any given approach?

Yes, if you're saying "But they survey says...", then you need to back that up by showing them the survey. There's nothing magic about it. It says there's a problem with the lintel, then you need to show the vendor that you're not making this up to chisel some money off.

Equally, if the reason some window glass needs replacing is because some units are misted, did you not SEE this yourself? Did you not SEE that the felt roof didn't exactly look spankin' new? And is the "potential asbestos removal" anything more than "well, it's got some older artex" backside-covering?

Are you actually going to be DOING all of this work? Are you ready for the disruption of "potential asbestos removal"? Will you be doing that before you move in? If it is things like ceilings, you certainly won't want to be doing it afterwards... and if you are, then are you going to use the opportunity to do other work like rewiring or heating upgrades at the same time?

martinsurrey

Zither wrote: »

Hello,

I have a question about the Homebuyer survey and subsequent renegotiation with the vendor.

I am a buyer and I'm awaiting the written report from the survey but having had a quick chat with the surveyor over the telephone, he's suggested that that there is 'potentially £3K's worth of negotiation on the property' This mostly relates to some minor structural issues (emphasis on minor) that he recognised as needing addressing in the short-medium term (window glass replaced, roof-refelt, window lintel replacement, potential asbestos removal etc).

Also, I expect that the EA will want to see a copy of the survey - I'm inclined not to provide a copy, but happy to take the EA through it in person. Agree?

Thanks!

Zither

the million dollar question is, has the surveyor valued the property at the price you offered?

if yes - vendor is unlikely to move, the house is worth what you offered taking the work needing doing into account, if you want a house that requires no maintenance, buy a new build

if no - its an easy negotiation, the survey valuation will effect your mortgage, the details of the work are pretty irrelevant, the valuation is below offer, revise your offer to the valuation.

cloo

Yes, we have done this - usual outcome is you meet somewhere in the middle. The agent will tell you that the vendor is 'furious' and considering pulling out, but they always say that, so stand your ground (or meet in the middle) and remind them any other buyer will identify the same issue, and you've done your research on the figures so you are just asking for a reduction commensurate with the costs of repairs.

Zither

Morning, thanks all for your replies. I have now got a copy of the survey and the surveyor has valued the property at £3K less than the offered price.

From the content of the valuation, only a couple of points have come back as an immediate priority but I'm conscious that these issues will need resolving at some point and will also be picked up by a subsequent survey if/when I look to sell the property so I'm keen not to bear the cost. Is this a reasonable perspective? I appreciate that the vendor may feel different about some of the points raised so would be prepared to renegotiate at £2000 off but not necessarily any further. Reasonable?

juniordoc

Yep perfectly reasonable. If that's your limit then you've got to go in asking for 3k off to give yourself room for negotiation. Your position is strong given that it's backed up by an independent professional. With prices stagnating at the moment, you can't afford to overpay for this house.