Buying Flat - Rejected Retention for Sudden Roof Repairs

AdrianC

yona said:

To be clear - my main question is whether it is really totally unusual to ask for (and agree) a retention if the work is already scheduled. Of course each negotiation is unique, but contextual knowledge could help us to refute this specific point.

No, it's not at all unusual to ask for a retention.
Nor is it unusual for that retention to be rejected.

There is no "precedent" or "what's normal" for you to fall back on here.

In response to some of the questions:

• We're still trying to get the date of when the s20 notice was issued, but believe it was in April or earlier (I realise this is vague - can update if we find out more).
• Two quotes were obtained in early and mid-May. We have reason to believe that work would start very soon given the on-going issues with leaks.
• Of course we could reduce the offer - we've suggested a retention as a solution that's in the interest of both sides (and presumably more amenable to the vendor), but could reconsider this. Thanks a lot for the advice regarding retentions being quite messy.

And your offer was accepted in mid-February... A month and a half or so before you believe the s20 was issued.

Think about the weather around that period. February saw storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge do massive amounts of damage through the country. It's not at all hard to see those contributing towards the requirement for the roof work.

Sorry, but with that timescale, and on the balance of everything, I'm with the vendor on this. 

princeofpounds

AdrianC said:

Sorry, but with that timescale, and on the balance of everything, I'm with the vendor on this. 

Whilst it does suggest that the vendor has not acted in bad faith, I'm not sure why you would side with the vendor. If you were going to buy a nice antique vase in France, agreed a price in principle, and then had to prepare export paperwork, I don't think you would be happy to come back with the paperwork only to discover that the vase was chipped subsequent to your offer and needs repair.

OK, a tortuous analogy maybe, but my basic points is that facts can and do change, and so can prices prior to exchange.

D.L

yona said:
You're of course right to say that collapse is overblown - but there has been a noticeable drop (the fastest since 2009) and that also shows in the area we are looking. In any case I merely set it out as relevant context, so let's not get into a pointless debate about house prices or whether anybody reads 'too much media' without looking at the 'real situation'. 

Yes, it was the largest drop since 2009..... back to the levels of February 2020. Nobody knows what will happen in the coming months and it could likely be further drops but that headline is very much cherry picking. I also saw a headline yesterday about the phenomenal increase in footfall in shops.... since the previous week where shops were not allowed to be open.

To your question, in my opinion in this scenario you should either be willing to suck up the cost of the roof or lower your offer accordingly. They've already issued a S20 with a cost estimate, I think that's past the point of a retention fund which I would associate with e.g. already invoiced roofing costs that will be cleared but additional retention in case this is revised. (Not an expert)