Buyer asking us to pay for structural survey

couriervanman

Different people will have different answers.......i would tell them to do one

AnotherJoe

CheesyWiggles said:

Absolutely not - the survey helps you in no way whatsoever. They’re trying it on, and I can imagine them pushing your boundaries later on if you give in now. You need to reframe it that you don’t want to allow a full survey, with your compromise position being to let them pay for one.

Did you mean to say that? If my seller said "i dont want to allow a full survey" that sounds as dodgy as you know what.

Would you not say "you are welcome to pay for one yourself but a survey we arrange is of no use to us or you" ?

All depends, as said, how set you are on this, how much you think you can call their bluff. To be fair to them, if the lintel is dodgy (how did they discover that?) what else might be wrong?

Missy79

Any hint that a vendor wouldn't "allow" investigation of any issue should be an immediate massive red flag and walk away moment. There is no acceptable compromise position after this all trust has been lost and any vendor like this would be a massive risk anyway, they're unlikely to be willing to negotiate following survey. 

worriedegg

Thanks @AnotherJoe, it came back on the Homebuyers Survey they had done which then went on to value the house at 0. 

We’ve had it fixed under the assumption it would come up with any buyer as a red flag, but there aren’t any further issues on the report that are labelled as 3 or urgent. 

As mentioned we are really keen the purchase of the new house doesn’t fall through but feel as though we are stuck between a rock and a hard place! 

macman

The only reason they want a full survey is because it will inevitably reveal some minor issues: no-one pays a surveyor £300 to conclude that 'the house is practically perfect in every respect'. They will simply use it to drive the price down further.
If you don't put down your line in the sand now then they will walk all over you. Just say they are welcome to commission any surveys they wish, but at their expense.

youth_leader

@worriedegg, my house was on for £400 because of its condition, it was clearly advertised as needing renovation, which was obvious to the eye upon arrival.  My selling journey was a nightmare I never want to repeat, it all started in late November 2019.  

The buyer reduced his offer from £355 to £305 following the structural survey.  The EA got him up to £330 which I accepted but they insisted on trying for more -  when asked for £335 he withdrew by email overnight.  The next day the EA persuaded him to go ahead with the mortgage survey that afternoon, I had cancelled plans to be at home for it.  Following the failed damp/timber report scenario, the buyer wrote to the EA and gave two options.  The first was that in a six month period 'the seller', ie me, organise and pay for £50K worth of work including the roof, ground floor timbers replacement, and damp proofing.  Apparently his mortgage company would 'inspect' my works at the end of the six months and if the work was satisfactory they would lend him the £335.  The quotes he gave for the works I was supposed to consider financing were ridiculously high and not sourced from local tradesmen/builders I have used, who would have been both reliable and cheaper..  Second option was that he would give me £285 and pledge to do the works himself within a six month period (I assume a retention?).  I was astounded anyone could suggest a vendor do this amount of work, at their own expense,  during the harsh winters we have here.  I lost patience, I couldn't believe the situation had spiralled into the ridiculous.  I withdrew from the sale and left the EA and decided to go to auction, I'd had enough.  Unfortunately he went to the auction and bid the most, and with the onset of Covid lockdown, I decided to settle.  

Bea787

I've been in something similar to your buyer's position before where a survey I paid for identified structural issues that needed investigating. The vendor had not undertaken any repairs as yours has though. I asked for them to get a structural report as I had already paid out for one survey, and I figured that they would encounter the same issue with any future buyers so it would need addressing (the issue was about cracks, subsistence and had implications for insurance etc). They paid for it and I think that is fair (I guess I would!). I had to pay a fee to have it officially "transferred" to me to become my report which I also think is fair - i.e. they didn't just hand it over - £60 paid to the company not the vendor. I think your vendor has made a reasonable offer but it depends on everyone's individual perspective and flexibility. In the scheme of a house purchase for one you really want, I wouldn't want to lose that over a few hundred quid, but that may not be the view of many others. Good luck whatever you decide.  

worriedegg

Thank you all, really good to read and have as mentioned independent opinions from experienced others. 

@youth_leader thanks for taking the time to give me more information and @Bea787 to give me a buyers point of view. 

I have asked our solicitors what implication having the buyer fall through might have on our new purchase and hoping that might help guide our decision, although the consensus seems to be to refuse to pay. 

youth_leader

@worriedegg - I do feel that paying for the damp/timber report was a bad decision on my part, I feel it encouraged the  buyer to think  I would pay for more work.  I forgot I'd also paid out for a repair in the loft, because as his surveyor left he whispered in my ear I had 'a leaking joint' on my water tank.  I'd never been up there and was really concerned, got an emergency plumber, £250 later the plumber said it was a teardrop drip and the joint was good for many more years.  

Jeepers_Creepers

Hi Worriedegg.

What was this lintel that needed replacing, and why? I ask because, if this was an original lintel and one of a few similar ones, then the potential buyer/mortgage lender might feel justified in being nervous about the others. Ergo, a full structural might be 'reasonable', so you might wish to conclude it's worth at least contributing to it. 

If, however, this lintel was not original to the house but had been added at some point since its build - say to open-plan some rooms, or to open out to an extension, then I would suggest that further structural surveying is probably unreasonable as there's no cause to suspect the original build quality and the rest of the house (and '30s builds were usually pretty solid, I believe). 

I can't suggest what you should do about this, but the above might be a factor to consider in your decision; if an alteration to the house contained the failed/incorrect lintel and this has been sorted by you, then the main house should not remain under suspicion. I think I'd be inclined to tell them, in this case, 'if you want a full struct, go ahead - at your cost'.