Should I renegotiate offer?

societys_child

Browny137 wrote: »

ReadingTim - the BR issue is not irrelevant at all, “a piece of paper” would at least prove that the conservatory was built by a ‘professional’, otherwise what’s to say they didn’t do it themselves?

Hmm, have you seen some of the professionals that erect conservatories?
Do you have a problem if someone did build it themselves? It's not rocket science.

teddysmum

We never had our old boiler serviced; just having someone in if there was a problem.


We have the current one serviced annually, but only because of warranty and will cut down to every two or three years after the warranty ends. This change of policy is just because combis are not as trustworthy as earlier machines.


As mentioned above, a service is not just a brush out, but involves running tests with a piece of equipment and I get the impression that many combi problems show signs before they occur.


I certainly wouldn't expect a house buyer to require me to have had services, with proof that they took place.

Browny137

Societys child - hence I said ‘profesionals’. If I knew they had built the conservatory themselves I would probably have it looked at in more detail. At the moment all I know is that they’ve had it built by person(s) unknown with no BR or PP.

I have to laugh, when things go wrong people are so quick to say you should have checked stuff beforehand, but ahead of time you’re just being paranoid.

Browny137

teddysmum - I agree, newer boilers seem to need maintenance much more as they are not the same quality as older boilers. Unfortunately I have no idea of the age of the boiler or it’s condition.

Edit: providing evidence of a boiler service is in the standard property & information form, it’s just that it’s up to the buyer what to make of it. IMO if you bother to pay for th service you might as well keep the paperwork so no issue!!

Scotbot

How long was it on the market before you made an offer? If it was only a couple of weeks and they had lots of viewings I imagine the seller will hold out for the agreed price. Only one way to find out.

davidmcn

Browny137 wrote: »

Seashore22 - I think you’re missing the point tbh, I don’t think it will fall down, the price reduction would reflect the added risk on a number of ‘minor issues’ that I was unaware of when we first made the offer. Obviously I don’t know the ins and outs of PP, I am only going on my solicitors advise that this conservatory SHOULD have had PP.

If you don't understand the risks then how are you going to quantify any reduction in price? Indemnity insurance against enforcement by the authorities for lack of consents is a trivial cost (you can argue whether you or the sellers ought to pay for it), because the risk is tiny. But such consents don't prove that the work is currently in good condition (or that it was done by a professional!), so you should really be relying on your surveyor on that.

aneary

You state that the house was overpriced but was the only one that ticked all the boxes, from what I have read you don't really want to pay the price you agreed on and are trying to find excuses to lower the price.

Stop messing the vendors about either
1. Pay the price you agreed
2. Offer lower but expect them to say no
3. Walk away now

hazyjo

Browny137 wrote: »

I must admit I am a bit surprised that the ‘norm’ seems to be if you want something checked, do it yourself.

Partly it's because it's in the buyer's best interests, not the seller's. You don't want them getting some cowboy in or a friends/relative who might overlook a couple of things and say they must have broke/whatever after you moved in...

Browny137

aneary - I am not messing the vendor about, nor am I trying to find excuses to lower the price. At the end of the day, I am raising concerns about some ‘red flags’ pointed out by my solicitor. I want to be sure I’m making the right decision because a lot of money is involved! Really I hoped renegotiating the price might encourage the vendor to get the electrics checked etc.

somethingcorporate

Buying a house is always buyer beware. If you want the checks done then you put your hand in your pocket (or walk away).

In terms of why get them checked properly when they are installed - for a couple of reasons:

a) It could be a legal requirement.
b) you want to make sure the house you are living in is safe.

Pretty obvious really.