Would you renegotiate?

dantheram1985

Hi all

i have received a surveyors report with a couple of category 3 aspects, would it be appropriate to reduce my offer on the basis of requiring remedial works to the timber floors? Surveyor notes below -

"The floors are a mixture of timber and solid construction.
Floors within the entrance hallway front reception room and original part of the reception area are of suspended timber.
In the cellar we could see that floor timbers are in contact with damp masonry and are at risk from rot and decay. These timbers should now be physically separated from the surrounding masonry and ventilation to the area improved.
Condition Rating 3."

and

"There is a cellar, accessed via brick steps from within the ground floor cloak room (understairs). The cellar steps are steep, worn and uneven and should be used with care at all times. Defects were noted including damp affected timbers and repairs are required. The cellar is only suitable for the storage of non-perishable items.
Condition Rating 3."

Any advice welcome

eddddy

The key question that the EA will ask you is: What did your mortgage valuer value the property at?

The mortgage valuer would have valued the property in its current condition - i.e. the valuation takes account of the problems you mention.

So if the valuation matches what you've offered, you don't have a very strong argument for renegotiation.


Also... when you viewed the house, I guess you noticed that...

dantheram1985 wrote: »

The cellar steps are steep, worn and uneven and should be used with care at all times. Defects were noted including damp affected timbers and repairs are required.

...and took that into account when deciding how much to offer.

It's a bit unreasonable to ask for a discount now, for something that you knew about before you made your offer.

But who knows... If the seller is desperate, and thinks you might walk away...

dantheram1985

eddddy wrote: »

The key question that the EA will ask you is: What did your mortgage valuer value the property at?

The mortgage valuer would have valued the property in its current condition - i.e. the valuation takes account of the problems you mention.

So if the valuation matches what you've offered, you don't have a very strong argument for renegotiation.


Also... when you viewed the house, I guess you noticed that...



...and took that into account when deciding how much to offer.

It's a bit unreasonable to ask for a discount now, for something that you knew about before you made your offer.

But who knows... If the seller is desperate, and thinks you might walk away...

it valued at what i offered, i've never had a house be valued at anything else other than the offer price, is this pretty standard?

i didn't go in the cellar when i viewed it, silly with hindsight

dantheram1985

Any other thoughts on this?

hazyjo

Agree with the others - wouldn't renegotiate if it was valued the same (and yes, they can easily be down-valued).


Anyone buying a house with a cellar should be aware they're likely to suffer with damp.

Simby

I would renegotiate in this instance as the survey valued at what you offered.

Vicki1990

We’re currently buying a property and our mortgage lender valued the property at the figure we offered. We have since had a survey done who valued it less than that and we have renegotiated the price with the vendor.

dantheram1985

Simby wrote: »

I would renegotiate in this instance as the survey valued at what you offered.

I’m not sure I understand the argument here? Are you saying I should reduce to below the valuation?

dantheram1985

hazyjo wrote: »

Agree with the others - wouldn't renegotiate if it was valued the same (and yes, they can easily be down-valued).


Anyone buying a house with a cellar should be aware they're likely to suffer with damp.

I accept the cellar is likely to exhibit damp but wasn’t aware of the urgency of the required repairs - hence my questioning of whether or not to reduce my offer to allow for outlay on ripping up the floor

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

As an experienced property investor, yes I would most definitely use the below finding to renegotiate the price downwards to reflect the work that needs doing. What's the point of doing a survey otherwise. Used smartly, surveys almost always pay for themselves (at least!).

Of course, that is not to say that the vendor will agree to a reduction. And as you are buying the house to live in, not as an investment, there might well be other overriding factors which you deem more important than the cost of getting the timbers off the damp masonry. Only you can tell if that is the case.

https://propertyhub.net/podcast/ask197-negotiating-discounts/

dantheram1985 wrote: »

In the cellar we could see that floor timbers are in contact with damp masonry and are at risk from rot and decay. These timbers should now be physically separated from the surrounding masonry and ventilation to the area improved."

shortcrust

You’re in a better position to know whether you should renegotiate than we are.

I didn’t renegotiate on my purchase because there was lots of other interest and I had a very reluctant vendor. If I’d be buying from someone desperate to sell and the property had been on the market for months I might have made a different decision.