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Survey says 20k repair, estate agent says it's only 2k
ladyellyria
Posts: 35 Forumite
Hi guys, we are really confused and could use some advice.
We saw a house that we really liked that was marketed just under 200k. They told us someone had put in an offer at 195, which fell through due to their finance problems. We put in an offer at 194, they accepted. The house not marketed as TLC needed or anything, no obvious faults except fresh paint needed, and modernised. It's a 2 bed semi, but with a large extended kitchen, and big garden, which are the two main pluses.
We were told that the house was initially a 3 bed so we thought this was a reasonable valuation. However after further research we realised the house is actually built as 2 bed, which was converted into a 3 bed by moving the toilet downstairs, and the current owner converted it back to 2 bed. So it actually is a 2 bed property -- the nearby sold price for 2 bed (with only small extensions) market for about 170k, we only saw one that is 190k but that was completely refurbished with a nice kitchen extension as well (not as big as ours, but still). On the same street, houses that are extended to 3 bed went for about 190k last year. So already we feel this 2 bed at 194k is a little overpriced.
Then came the big surprise: we got our survey back and it revealed urgent & major works for the roof (overhaul is needed), as well as an assortment of smaller things, totalling to about 20k.
We went to the estate agent and he actually told us that he thinks only the roof needs work, the rest is all "betterment" (???) and even the roof he thinks it's minor work, 2k tops. He sounded reluctant to go back to the vendor for a reduced offer, even though we felt a 10k reduction is fair, as this would be splitting the cost.
So we put in 185k for now, but I'm really worried because the EA was quite condescending and unprofessional on the phone. We sent them the survey but it didn't sound like he read through it, just went, "what overhaul? this is just doing the tiles". The surveyor saw there was sunlight coming through the roof, and there were signs of timber wet rot, and water ingress. But the EA basically was like, sure, the roof needs a bit of work, not a lot though, and everything else, nah. He also tried to convince us that it was "priced to reflect the condition", despite telling us a week before it was well presented and ready to move in!
We are unsure what we should do now -- we offered 185k, but I worry that the EA will sabotage the sale by going back to the vendor and saying that the roof doesn't need that much work. He didn't sound like he trusted our surveyor at all -- in fact, he initially wanted us to use his father-in-law as a surveyor!
This is a very small village location which we really like and about 80% of properties are marketed through this EA (a family business), so we don't want to get on their bad side, although to be honest we are quite unhappy following the phone conversation yesterday. We get the feeling that they are trying to play us for fools...
Any advice or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE ON SECOND PAGE!! The plot thickens...
We saw a house that we really liked that was marketed just under 200k. They told us someone had put in an offer at 195, which fell through due to their finance problems. We put in an offer at 194, they accepted. The house not marketed as TLC needed or anything, no obvious faults except fresh paint needed, and modernised. It's a 2 bed semi, but with a large extended kitchen, and big garden, which are the two main pluses.
We were told that the house was initially a 3 bed so we thought this was a reasonable valuation. However after further research we realised the house is actually built as 2 bed, which was converted into a 3 bed by moving the toilet downstairs, and the current owner converted it back to 2 bed. So it actually is a 2 bed property -- the nearby sold price for 2 bed (with only small extensions) market for about 170k, we only saw one that is 190k but that was completely refurbished with a nice kitchen extension as well (not as big as ours, but still). On the same street, houses that are extended to 3 bed went for about 190k last year. So already we feel this 2 bed at 194k is a little overpriced.
Then came the big surprise: we got our survey back and it revealed urgent & major works for the roof (overhaul is needed), as well as an assortment of smaller things, totalling to about 20k.
We went to the estate agent and he actually told us that he thinks only the roof needs work, the rest is all "betterment" (???) and even the roof he thinks it's minor work, 2k tops. He sounded reluctant to go back to the vendor for a reduced offer, even though we felt a 10k reduction is fair, as this would be splitting the cost.
So we put in 185k for now, but I'm really worried because the EA was quite condescending and unprofessional on the phone. We sent them the survey but it didn't sound like he read through it, just went, "what overhaul? this is just doing the tiles". The surveyor saw there was sunlight coming through the roof, and there were signs of timber wet rot, and water ingress. But the EA basically was like, sure, the roof needs a bit of work, not a lot though, and everything else, nah. He also tried to convince us that it was "priced to reflect the condition", despite telling us a week before it was well presented and ready to move in!
We are unsure what we should do now -- we offered 185k, but I worry that the EA will sabotage the sale by going back to the vendor and saying that the roof doesn't need that much work. He didn't sound like he trusted our surveyor at all -- in fact, he initially wanted us to use his father-in-law as a surveyor!
This is a very small village location which we really like and about 80% of properties are marketed through this EA (a family business), so we don't want to get on their bad side, although to be honest we are quite unhappy following the phone conversation yesterday. We get the feeling that they are trying to play us for fools...
Any advice or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE ON SECOND PAGE!! The plot thickens...
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Comments
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The two aren't mutually exclusive.ladyellyria wrote: »He also tried to convince us that it was "priced to reflect the condition", despite telling us a week before it was well presented and ready to move in!
I doubt it, unless feels he has earned enough money this year already. Which is unlikely, as he's an estate agent.ladyellyria wrote: »but I worry that the EA will sabotage the sale by going back to the vendor and saying that the roof doesn't need that much work.
He'll want the sale. It's his job to tell you that it's worth more, and the sell the seller to accept an offer.
See what they come back with.0 -
Deleted_User wrote: »The two aren't mutually exclusive.
Hi zx81, can you elaborate a bit on this? I don't really understand how a house can both be well presented and priced to reflect the work needed? I was under the impression that if they knew it needed work, they are obligated to tell us.0 -
I think I would trust a surveyor over an estate agent re building work. Why are you worried about falling out with the estate agent? They're not bothered about your impending roof repair,0
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lookstraightahead wrote: »I think I would trust a surveyor over an estate agent re building work. Why are you worried about falling out with the estate agent? They're not bothered about your impending roof repair,
I'm only worried about falling out with the EA because he's the only EA in the area, and we still have to deal with them in the future if we want a house in the area...
I of course trust the surveyor's estimates more, but the EA was trying to convince us that our surveyor overpriced it, then was asking what if the vendor fixed it, can we still go in at original price, and then said you need to get 3 more quotes for "independent proof", basically he really quite annoyed us with the implication that our surveyor couldn't be trusted. However he initially did not want us to do a building survey, and then recommended his father-in-law to do our survey, so...0 -
ladyellyria wrote: »Hi zx81, can you elaborate a bit on this? I don't really understand how a house can both be well presented and priced to reflect the work needed? I was under the impression that if they knew it needed work, they are obligated to tell us.
They are not obligated to tell you anything beyond the questions asked by your solicitor.
Due diligence is your obligation and anyway they might not know.
I’d trust the surveyor 100% over the estate agent who is not an expert in roofs and clearly a vested interest.
The estate agent is legally obliged to pass on any offers (unless client has instructed them not to pass on anything below £x) so it doesn’t matter whether the EA is reluctant or not.
You’ve already agree to pay half the cost of the repairs on a property you think is slightly overpriced so this is more than reasonable.
Let us know what they say but if they don’t accept then I think you should take a step back and serious reconsider.
This can’t be the only property that meets your needs and your taking a risk with the roof (it could in fact be worse).0 -
ladyellyria wrote: »Hi zx81, can you elaborate a bit on this? I don't really understand how a house can both be well presented and priced to reflect the work needed? I was under the impression that if they knew it needed work, they are obligated to tell us.
Well presented = Looks nice. Freshly painted. Nice carpet. Rose bush in the garden
Priced to reflect work = Could use a new boiler. Double glazing a bit draughty. Roof might need some work.
Both can be equally true of the same property.0 -
My advice is not to be too worried, because EAs are sometimes unprofessional and condescending when dealing with people who bring them news they'd rather not hear. We have reports of it on this board quite often. It's practical psychology and it must work or they wouldn't do it.ladyellyria wrote: »I'm really worried because the EA was quite condescending and unprofessional on the phone.
Any advice or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect 'professional' from people who, as yet, don't actually have a profession, compared with surveyors, who do.0 -
They are not obligated to tell you anything beyond the questions asked by your solicitor.
Due diligence is your obligation and anyway they might not know.
I’d trust the surveyor 100% over the estate agent who is not an expert in roofs and clearly a vested interest.
The estate agent is legally obliged to pass on any offers (unless client has instructed them not to pass on anything below £x) so it doesn’t matter whether the EA is reluctant or not.
You’ve already agree to pay half the cost of the repairs on a property you think is slightly overpriced so this is more than reasonable.
Let us know what they say but if they don’t accept then I think you should take a step back and serious reconsider.
This can’t be the only property that meets your needs and your taking a risk with the roof (it could in fact be worse).
Thank you. That is what our head says as well. Our heart however, was wooed by the kitchen and the garden, which we have seen very few similar ones that is within our price range. But these things don't really affect valuation THAT much... whereas the number of bedrooms and a roof repair does! 'tis a struggle...0 -
My advice is not to be too worried, because EAs are sometimes unprofessional and condescending when dealing with people who bring them news they'd rather not hear. We have reports of it on this board quite often. It's practical psychology and it must work or they wouldn't do it.
Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect 'professional' from people who, as yet, don't actually have a profession, compared with surveyors, who do.
Haha! Well said. To be honest if I was buying in a big city with lots of EAs to choose from, I wouldn't be worried or even be as considerate on the phone, I'd straight out point out the !!!!!!!!. I think they get away with quite a lot because they essentially monopolise this small area...0 -
Deleted_User wrote: »Well presented = Looks nice. Freshly painted. Nice carpet. Rose bush in the garden
Priced to reflect work = Could use a new boiler. Double glazing a bit draughty. Roof might need some work.
Both can be equally true of the same property.
In that case the house wasn't even "well-presented" 😂 but we were told no major works were needed and it was ready to move in. The EA had to concede that the roof was news to them, but tried to play all the other repairs down, which included things like a leaking flashing which led to leak through the back wall and mold, etc, which was actually covered up when we visited...0
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