renovation costings/ reducing offer

Clutterfree

pollyannaL wrote: »

yes, i agree. It comes with experience, like anything.
The majority of posts on this forum, and the timeframes of a house purchase, account for reductions after the surveys, so it is the norm. Not like i am doing this at a late stage either.

:T good on you for all your research. I have also done a lot too, but obviously not passed the test yet!

Reductions are the norm if anything major comes up.
If I was the vendor I'd not be happy that were trying to reduce when nothing major was shown.

In your first post you stated that you believed you were paying £5-10k over what it was worth.
It seems to me that you are using the survey as an excuse to reduce your offer and that may well be what the vendor thinks as well.

I'm not saying you shouldn't reduce your offer if you feel you've offered too much, but be prepared to lose the confidence of the vendor and perhaps the house too if they feel you are messing them around.

Good luck.

trailingspouse

A few thoughts, from my own experience -

- whatever you think it will cost, it will always cost more
- you don't have to do it all at once (apart from the rewire - do that first, as it can be very disruptive)
- you've rattled off a list of things that you know you want to change. Once you've lived there a while, there will be more.
- why did you offer £x? and why do you now think it should be less? If this isn't the right house for you (because of the amount of work needed) then maybe you should look for a different house.

And a final thought - be wary of relying on recommendations from friends. Unless they have exactly the same high standards as you have, and they had exactly the same sort of work done, such recommendations can end in tears. Do your own research, take your time, get trades to come and visit to discuss what needs doing and how much it will cost, don't be afraid to ask detailed questions, and decide if this is a person you can do business with (remember, they are going to be spending time in your home and you may or may not be there at the same time - do you trust them?).

Davesnave

Clutterfree wrote: »

Reductions are the norm if anything major comes up.
If I was the vendor I'd not be happy that were trying to reduce when nothing major was shown.

I agree. Nothing major there.

Lack of trickle vents? Pft! Some of us hate them.

Suspended sub-floors need vents? You don't say!

Single skin bay window. Like a million of others, then.

Hair-line cracks. Polyfilla. Increase insulation. Saturday job. etc etc.

If I were the seller, I'd think, "This shows the house is in pretty fair nick."

Of course, cosmetically it may need a lot, but anyone can see cosmetics on a viewing.

amateur_house

goodwithsaving wrote: »

Not overly, although it would depend on the upheaval of getting them done and cost. Playing with walls is more intrusive than doing the roof (IMO).
If there was damage externally and cracks visible, I would think twice and I would seek investigation into other things that wear and tear with age.
Case by case basis with that one I'm afraid. If I liked the house enough and it was individual or the local market didn't have much coming up (like where I am buying), I may consider it. If I could get another house in the same approx location which was similar (e.g. a newish build as they're all similar), then I'd hesitate and perhaps look at another.

Thanks. There isn't anything visible externally, I even had a builder look at the house before getting the survey and he picked up everything else, but not the wall distortion. It will cost around £700-800 to fix, but the vendor said no reduction. (Sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread PollyannaL)

pollyannaL

Only just seen some of your replies. Thanks for feedback.

An update for you. I gave a breakdown of the estimated costings to EA, and did not do it in a 'reduce it or i'm walking' manner. Just that I hoped the vendor would see this as a fair request as i have disregarded much of the renovation costings required. Vendor agreed to reduce by £5k so I am happy with that. Resolved in a day. So all good.