Would you give a dubious vendor a second chance?

giantkatie

Very long story shortened as best I can...

The house we bought (dream home) suffered a leak that was discovered after we offered. It seems this was concealed by the vendors until the refresh home report was carried out 2 1/2 weeks before moving date. The vendors assured us that the cause was fixed and that they would make good the damage, sharing the £1000 cost with the upstairs neighbour. For a myriad of reasons, we were dubious and instructed a damp survey. It was now 1 week before moving. The survey indicated leakage over many months. Dry rot had set in, the full extent of which was unknown, but it had likely spread to cornicing and, potentially, joists. Two walls were saturated; the damage was extensive and would require a full structural survey. Due to this, and other suspicious actions by the vendor, we felt entirely misled and withdrew from the purchase. We were shattered but also very relieved that we found out about the issue when we did.

We have spent this week unpacking and generally feeling very sorry for ourselves. Then, today, the vendor's solicitor got in touch to ask if anything could be done to salvage the situation.

Obviously we would need to request that the damage was fully surveyed and rectified at cost to the vendor by a contractor of our choosing but...should we even go there?

FreeBear

If it really is dry rot and as extensive as the surveys suggest, you did the right thing by walking away. In your shoes, I wouldn't even consider entering in to any further negotiations. Find another property and leave this (ex) dream home for someone else. It is going to turn in to a nightmare property and a constant drain on the wallet.

giantkatie

FreeBear wrote: »

If it really is dry rot and as extensive as the surveys suggest, you did the right thing by walking away. In your shoes, I wouldn't even consider entering in to any further negotiations. Find another property and leave this (ex) dream home for someone else. It is going to turn in to a nightmare property and a constant drain on the wallet.

It most definitely is dry rot. I know everything can be fixed for a price, and we have an excellent preservations contractor lined up, but our main issue now is trust. We live in an old property and you're right - there is always some problem or another. Thank you for your point of view.

AnotherJoe

giantkatie wrote: »

but...should we even go there?

No you should not.

giantkatie

AnotherJoe wrote: »

No you should not.

In a word. Thank you.

lookstraightahead

This would be so much more hassle and more expensive than renting for a while.

giantkatie

lookstraightahead wrote: »

This would be so much more hassle and more expensive than renting for a while.

Undoubtedly. The costs we would negotiate sensibly. But worth the hassle for the dream home? It's a unique Victorian properpty. We'd be unlikely to find anything similar and affordable in the near future.

AdrianC

giantkatie wrote: »

We'd be unlikely to find anything similar and affordable in the near future.

So the purchase price takes the issues into account...?

Then it's a simple balancing act.
Are you willing to take on the risk/hassle/blood pressure? Is the discount on the unblighted value sufficient?

Only you can answer that. But I think I'd be getting quotes for the work and getting it done to my spec by my contractors after a reduction in asking equal to or greater than the quotes. I wouldn't be getting the vendors to do it - it's in their interest to skimp and minimise the work and cost.

Doozergirl

Taking the vendor out of it, for a minute. It is your job to do your homework and pretty much ignore the vendor, so I wouldn't let that influence your decision, other than to dig extra deep - which is never a bad thing.

If you're confident you have good people to do the work and you can negotiate them doing it before you buy, there isn't any more risk with this house than any other. Any house can hide problems. You're in a position of understanding these.

'Preservations' contractor makes me feel a bit nervous though. Same people that surveyed the issue? Do they sell chemical damp proofing? Those people shouldn't be allowed near Victorian properties.

Any issues with mortgage lenders and dry rot?

[Deleted User]

For successful negotiations you have to be able to trust the vendor will abide by the negotiations. It doesn't seem like this vendor will and who knows what else they are hiding.

However special this property is, its not worth the hassle. The phrase Money Pit exists for a reason and doesn't begin to describe the stress that a difficult property can cause.

However, thats what most would feel, you may feel its worth taking on. It has to be your choice. But I hope you have a bottomless contingency budget lol. Just in case.

giantkatie

AdrianC wrote: »

So the purchase price takes the issues into account...?

Then it's a simple balancing act.
Are you willing to take on the risk/hassle/blood pressure? Is the discount on the unblighted value sufficient?

Only you can answer that. But I think I'd be getting quotes for the work and getting it done to my spec by my contractors after a reduction in asking equal to or greater than the quotes. I wouldn't be getting the vendors to do it - it's in their interest to skimp and minimise the work and cost.

Agreed.

The purchase price is another issue. We offered what the property is worth, having a sound knowledge of the local market. We'd been looking for 2 years! However the original HR valuation was significantly higher. We knew it was over-valued - our vendor is very connected in the property sector - make of that what you will. The refresh HR down-valued it to just £12,000 over our offer price. We still believe this is inflated. So, in short, no - our offer price does not, in our opinion, already take into account this damage.