House Down valued by survey - Advice required

fdama

I have just received the report on the valuation survey by the lender on a property that I had an offer accepted on. Just a bit of history – I previously offered the asking price of £115,000, but was then asked for a best and final offer as there was another party that offered the same. I offered £116,500 and lost. Three weeks later, the agent called me to tell me that that they buyers have pulled out after their Homebuyer’s survey and some issues were flagged up: damp, wood rot and an asbestos roof on the kitchen extension. He told me that as they have kids, they were reluctant to carry out work. This may or may not be true as the house needed some work in the kitchen and the bathroom. He told me to go in at £115,000 rather than the £116,500 with which I agreed rather than reduce it further as I did not know the extent of the issues.

So back to the valuation survey – the surveyor valued the house at £107,000, which is £8,000 short of my asking price offer. This is based on recent sales on the street and the condition of the property where he noted that some repair was required. One thing to note is that it seems that this house and the neighbouring three houses are slightly larger than the other homes on the street. It is a Victorian terrace with an entrance hallway. The other homes that the surveyor has done a comparison with have a front door that leads you straight into the Living room which I do not like and wouldn’t buy.

Now, the other thing is that I subsequently realised that I could have upgraded this to a Homebuyer’s survey for a little bit extra. I had to pay £270 for the valuation survey with NatWest, the lender, on application. My broker, L&C, failed to mention this. I was planning to do a separate Homebuyers survey after the Valuation survey so I don’t lose money in case things don’t go to plan after the valuation, which I think is sensible.

Sometimes you do feel a bit lonely through this process as I feel there is no one to discuss these matters with as everyone is looking after their own interests, which is why I am seeking some advice from the good people on this forum on the best way to proceed. The issue that I am thinking about now is that I haven’t done a Homebuyers survey which is likely to flag issues which will no doubt warrant a price reduction. I think it would have been better to submit a revised offer with the valuation and homebuyer’s as the evidence. But this will cost me an additional £400 and would be a waste if the seller decides not to budge on price, because I will pull out. Should I just submit a revised offer of £107,000 to reflect the valuation and then worry about whatever the Homebuyers will flag later?

Sorry about the long post

Many Thanks.

SmashedAvacado

What would make you feel better?
Make a revised offer - have it accepted / turned down / they are so offended that they pull out?

can you afford the property with the revised valuation in terms of mortgage (ie paying the agreed price but only borrower x% of the value)? If not, then you have to make a counteroffer in any event. Nothing to stop you making a second offer or pulling out if the survey throws up things that you havent considered but presumably your offer will take into consideration the issues you know / now know about.

They are very unlikely to be so offended that they pull out of the deal, so i vote for "make a new offer now".

obriend6

Hi,

I am sorry to hear you are having a tough time with this purchase, but having read your post my advise to you is to really consider whether proceeding with this purchase is a sensible idea....

You mention that the other bidder found "damp, wood rot and an asbestos roof"..... each one of these items are individually serious, and all 3 together would be major red flags for me, and i personally would walk away from this.

If you really have your heart set on this place, then offer £107k, proceed with the survey, and expect to have another round of negotiation in a few weeks time.

To de-risk spending the money on the survey, you could make it very clear to the estate agent that you are expecting the survey to result in a price reduction, and validate that the seller is expecting this too

All the best

Cakeguts

I think you now know why the previous buyers pulled out. I expect they got a valuation of less than the price the offered as well.

Thrugelmir

fdama wrote: »

I previously offered the asking price of £115,000, but was then asked for a best and final offer as there was another party that offered the same. I offered £116,500 and lost. Three weeks later, the agent called me to tell me that that they buyers have pulled out after their Homebuyer’s survey and some issues were flagged up: damp, wood rot and an asbestos roof on the kitchen extension.

Then before proceeding you should have sought further information on the issues highlighted. Which your surveyor subsequently did. In valuing the property by the looks of it.

fdama

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Then before proceeding you should have sought further information on the issues highlighted. Which your surveyor subsequently did. In valuing the property by the looks of it.

I tried to but the EA did not give much away. So I thought the only way would be to do my own survey.

Thrugelmir

fdama wrote: »

I tried to but the EA did not give much away.

Not the EA's responsibility. The report for the previous potential buyers belongs to them. Though the EA's did appear to highlight the issues. Any further course of action was then up to you.

Buying property can be a nightmare. Particularly as vendors won't disclose all the niggly matters that need addressing.

fdama

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Not the EA's responsibility. The report for the previous potential buyers belongs to them. Though the EA's did appear to highlight the issues. Any further course of action was then up to you.

Agree. I did not expect much in the way of detail from the EA. He is not my friend in this process. I intend to do my Homebuyers next. I thought it would be sensible to wait until after the Valuation as this step could put a stop to the whole thing.

AdrianC

Cakeguts wrote: »

I think you now know why the previous buyers pulled out. I expect they got a valuation of less than the price the offered as well.

^ This.

Now put yourself in the vendor's shoes. He's lost one buyer because of certain aspects of the condition of the property.
Do you think he wants to lose a second? I reckon he'll move.

jonnygee2

Three weeks later, the agent called me to tell me that that they buyers have pulled out after their Homebuyer’s survey and some issues were flagged up: damp, wood rot and an asbestos roof on the kitchen extension. He told me that as they have kids, they were reluctant to carry out work. This may or may not be true as the house needed some work in the kitchen and the bathroom. He told me to go in at £115,000 rather than the £116,500

So the agent told you there was damp, wood rot and an asbestos roof, and then to knock just £1500 off your original offer?

I think that was a bit cheeky of the EA to be honest and you should have gone in at around £107 to begin with. Definitely go back with it now!

fdama

I called the EA and told him about the down valuation and he asked if there were additionally any 'retentions'. He told me that he will talk to the vendor. I was surprised that he didn't ask what i wanted to offer. I don't know whether to take this as a positive or negative.