Purchase valuation problems & EA's telling me to ignore my survey

theronkinator

Hi I'm in the process of trying to buy my first house, it was up for £165k and after some messing around they accepted 160k early December. This was a bit more than it's worth, for example a few doors down went for £142k in September. The seller is refusing to acknowledge the house is over valued and the estate agents are very unhelpful. Also to note that before my offer was accepted there had been multiple viewing and no other offers which supports the fact it's overpriced (as others are going quite quickly).

Anyway, I came to terms with the fact it was a bit more than it was worth but most people advised the valuation would probably just come back at what I offered - it didn't. The valuation has come back at 150k which to be fair I think is closer to the true value. It's also highlighted quite a few issues marked as '3' on my homebuyers report. Things such as the party wall between the semi's is damaged and has missing bricks and holes, the roof has some damaged tiles and it is recommended that the whole roof is replaced in the near future as it's reaching EoL, a lot of the neighbours have already had this done. There's also some of the windows that need re-doing as the seals are going. Also work has been done on the gas/electrics and whilst the sellers claim they have certificates none have been produced.

I have come back and said I wouldn't be able to proceed at 160 and would be looking at closer to the region of 140. This is based on a valuation of 150k and then knocking off 10k for repairs for acknowledging that they'll always knock back the initial offers and try for more. I've also pointed out that 2 doors down sold with themselves for 142k in September and already has a new roof.

My issue is the estate agents are being extremely unhelpful and I suspect not passing things on, they also won't acknowledge that they may have got the valuation wrong. One of my big frustrations is they've told me to ignore my survey as everyone knows homebuyers are overdramatic and not to be trusted. Telling me that things marked as a '3' needs immediate work don't need doing for often 10 years and that it won't be taken into account. They had the nerve to say the damaged party wall wasn't an urgent issue even though it now means no fire separation between the houses.

Any advice? My issue is that I've been looking for around 18 months now and have struggled to find much. I'm not sure whether to see if they'll do the £150k valuation and I take the hit on the full repairs, although a new roof is expensive and it would take me close to 2 years to save up the funds for that (I don't think the whole replace needs doing ugently, just a few cracked tiles sorting for now).

The agents have advised they'll speak to the buyer about accepting lower (although I'm not convinced) and it's now back on the market.

TLDR: Valuation 10k under, unhelpful agents telling me everyone knows to ignore homebuyers.

Aylesbury_Duck

My advice? If it's back on the market I would formally withdraw your previous offer and make a new offer for what you think it's worth minus what you know you'll have to spend on it. Final offer and leave it at that. Make no contact afterwards either.

Ignore the agent's views on the survey - they simply want to complete the sale to get their commission. Any other interested party is going to come across the same concerns at the point of a survey, so I doubt it's going to sell at the vendor's asking price any time soon. I suspect the vendor will come back to you in a few weeks' time when they have no other offers or only offers lower than yours.

Comms69

theronkinator wrote: »

Hi I'm in the process of trying to buy my first house, it was up for £165k and after some messing around they accepted 160k early December. This was a bit more than it's worth, for example a few doors down went for £142k in September. The seller is refusing to acknowledge the house is over valued and the estate agents are very unhelpful. Also to note that before my offer was accepted there had been multiple viewing and no other offers which supports the fact it's overpriced (as others are going quite quickly). - It's not overpriced, you just don't want to pay that price.

Anyway, I came to terms with the fact it was a bit more than it was worth - a house is worth exactly what someone will pay for it but most people advised the valuation would probably just come back at what I offered - it didn't. The valuation has come back at 150k which to be fair I think is closer to the true value. It's also highlighted quite a few issues marked as '3' on my homebuyers report. Things such as the party wall between the semi's is damaged and has missing bricks and holes, the roof has some damaged tiles and it is recommended that the whole roof is replaced in the near future as it's reaching EoL, a lot of the neighbours have already had this done. There's also some of the windows that need re-doing as the seals are going. Also work has been done on the gas/electrics and whilst the sellers claim they have certificates none have been produced.

I have come back and said I wouldn't be able to proceed at 160 and would be looking at closer to the region of 140. This is based on a valuation of 150k and then knocking off 10k for repairs for acknowledging that they'll always knock back the initial offers and try for more. I've also pointed out that 2 doors down sold with themselves for 142k in September and already has a new roof.

My issue is the estate agents are being extremely unhelpful and I suspect not passing things on, they also won't acknowledge that they may have got the valuation wrong. One of my big frustrations is they've told me to ignore my survey as everyone knows homebuyers are overdramatic and not to be trusted. Telling me that things marked as a '3' needs immediate work don't need doing for often 10 years and that it won't be taken into account. They had the nerve to say the damaged party wall wasn't an urgent issue even though it now means no fire separation between the houses.

Any advice? My issue is that I've been looking for around 18 months now and have struggled to find much. I'm not sure whether to see if they'll do the £150k valuation and I take the hit on the full repairs, although a new roof is expensive and it would take me close to 2 years to save up the funds for that (I don't think the whole replace needs doing ugently, just a few cracked tiles sorting for now).

The agents have advised they'll speak to the buyer about accepting lower (although I'm not convinced) and it's now back on the market.

TLDR: Valuation 10k under, unhelpful agents telling me everyone knows to ignore homebuyers.

advice? Tell them your offer and don't expect them to be helpful. They are NOT your agents.

ProDave

The valuation of £150K will almost certainly be the valuation as it is now, defects and all, so don't expect the vendor to drop further because of the defects.

Offer what you think it's worth and if turned down go and find a different house.

theronkinator

I've gone back to the agents and said I'll do the £150k it's been valued at and nothing more. They've advised that the sellers physically can't take less than the agreed £160k as they have a high mortgage, I'm not sure how as I know they bought it for £125k 10+ years ago. Anyway, I guess the search continues.

ProDave wrote: »

The valuation of £150K will almost certainly be the valuation as it is now, defects and all, so don't expect the vendor to drop further because of the defects.

Offer what you think it's worth and if turned down go and find a different house.

The valuation specifically notes it is based on the market and approvals for some of the issues (such as a fire place alteration and the gas/electricity installation certificates). Which I took to mean it didn't include the other remedial works (roof etc.) or they'd also be listed.

eddddy

theronkinator wrote: »

TLDR: Valuation 10k under, unhelpful agents telling me everyone knows to ignore homebuyers.

I think you're assessing the situation wrongly.

The EA just wants their fee as soon as poss - they won't be too bothered whether it sells at £140k (= £1400 fee?) or at £160k (= £1600 fee?).

Putting it back on the market could mean:

- The EA has to do lots of extra work (viewings etc), just to get £200 more
- The EA may have to wait extra weeks/months before getting their fee
- The seller might move to another EA, so this EA gets nothing

In reality, the EA has probably been pushing the vendor to accept a lower offer from you. But presumably the vendor is standing firm.

£20k is much more important to a vendor, than £200 is to an EA.

You might be better off "making friends" with the EA and then trying to find out more about the vendor's mindset/position, etc. This might help you judge your chances of getting a lower offer accepted.

stator

You're worrying too much about the EA. If you think the EA is not passing on your offers then put them in writing direct to the seller.
Otherwise, just ignore everything they say. The EA won't haggle with you. They are just the middleman.
If you can't or won't pay £160k then start looking for something else.
Tell them that your offer of £150k is still on the table until you find another house. They might come back to you when no-one else is interested.

davidmcn

theronkinator wrote: »

The valuation specifically notes it is based on the market and approvals for some of the issues (such as a fire place alteration and the gas/electricity installation certificates). Which I took to mean it didn't include the other remedial works (roof etc.) or they'd also be listed.

No, the default is that they've valued it in its current state, including the stuff the surveyor can see and understand. It will however be subject to assumptions that there are no legal problems, lack of certification, further problems uncovered by specialist surveyors, etc.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unless the roof is obviously leaking or in need of urgent repair, I doubt the valuation surveyor made any deduction for the roof.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Only offer what the property is worth to you, if that's £140k then offer £140k.[/FONT]

m0bov

You could send part of the valuation to the EA and ask them to send it onto the vendor. They will only hit the same issue with the next valuation.

Are you applying for a mortgage? If so, no matter what you think its worth, they will only lend up to £150k so again, other buyers will hit the same issue. Ask the EA to press this home to the vendor, then leave it at that, tell them 150 is your full and final offer, then leave it be.

AdrianC

How is it "overpriced", given that they found somebody willing to pay £160k for it? Sounds like buyer's remorse to me.

Then to go and say "Look, I know the surveyor says it's worth £150k as lender's security, but I'll give you £140k".

Sorry - but if I was the vendor, you'd be being told precisely where to shove your timewasting, and it'd be straight back on the market.