House survey reported repairs - should one ask seller to repair or negotiate a reduced sale price

need_an_answer

JonMitchell said:

need_an_answer said:

There is always a chance that future buyers will get the same problems highlighted on a survey but each buyer is likely to have a different perspective on the issue and it may not be problematic for them in the same way it is for your friend.
If for example a builder buys the property they may not be so worried about the state of the roof whereas clearly at present it appears a "potentially defining factor" during this purchase.

I have never heard of a home buying policy that pays out against failed purchases where the buyer of the property pulls out....although I  dont doubt that some sort of policy exists...you live and learn.
I would perhaps take a guess that a failed purchase where the buyer rescinds on the offer without very good backup documentation would have been expensive to purchase?

Err.... I believe the previous discussion was the seller walks away from the negotiation table. Not my friend wanting to pull out, never their intention, at least for now

This could still be a sticky situation that the seller could decide to not pull out of...therefore meaning its your friend as the buyer that pulls out...the seller could simply say "im not moving on price"

JonMitchell

need_an_answer said:

JonMitchell said:

need_an_answer said:

There is always a chance that future buyers will get the same problems highlighted on a survey but each buyer is likely to have a different perspective on the issue and it may not be problematic for them in the same way it is for your friend.
If for example a builder buys the property they may not be so worried about the state of the roof whereas clearly at present it appears a "potentially defining factor" during this purchase.

I have never heard of a home buying policy that pays out against failed purchases where the buyer of the property pulls out....although I  dont doubt that some sort of policy exists...you live and learn.
I would perhaps take a guess that a failed purchase where the buyer rescinds on the offer without very good backup documentation would have been expensive to purchase?

Err.... I believe the previous discussion was the seller walks away from the negotiation table. Not my friend wanting to pull out, never their intention, at least for now

This could still be a sticky situation that the seller could decide to not pull out of...therefore meaning its your friend as the buyer that pulls out...the seller could simply say "im not moving on price"

Totally agreed, thanks.
I do understand from my FTB friend that the property had fell through two times already with previous two other buyers, first unknown reason, second because of covid. My friend is the third prospective buyer - it's been quite a while for the seller so I am not sure what mental state the seller is in at the moment. But as you said, it can go pear shaped, the seller might say I had it twice, no harm going for a third and wait for a fourth new buyer.........
Thanks for your thoughts

JonMitchell

hazyjo said:

happysellerbuyer said:

You don't want to move into a house with leaking roof. My surveyor was very helpful.

You also don't really want the seller fixing. Could be filled with blu-tac for all you know...

I was just a little bit more optimistic than you I was thinking of Loctite!!

iwb100

The real answer to this question is get a flat roofer up there to look at the roof and condition of rooms under it to assess the problem and work that needs doing. IF the roof is EPDM (and if it is 15 years old I’d say that’s unlikely) but if it is then any leak can only be via an object striking the roof and causing a hole OR the whole roof failing and shrinking. If the latter then that requires a new roof covering (2-8K depending on size for a normal house/dormer/garage). But if it’s been leaking a while then the whole lot might need ripping out. Add a fair bit on. IF the issue is condensation from the inside then again the roof condition needs assessing as it might need replacing. In any event it would likely need new insulation. 

The bottom line is that we don’t know what work needs doing, neither does the buyer and therefore there is no point trying to do anything till that has been ascertained. I’ve just bought a property with a partial flat roof and before we bought it we knew flat roof coverings needed replacing. So we factored that into our offer but before we did we checked whether timber was sound or rotten because we needed to know how much the work would cost.

NameUnavailable

JonMitchell said:

need_an_answer said:

There is always a chance that future buyers will get the same problems highlighted on a survey but each buyer is likely to have a different perspective on the issue and it may not be problematic for them in the same way it is for your friend.
If for example a builder buys the property they may not be so worried about the state of the roof whereas clearly at present it appears a "potentially defining factor" during this purchase.

I have never heard of a home buying policy that pays out against failed purchases where the buyer of the property pulls out....although I  dont doubt that some sort of policy exists...you live and learn.
I would perhaps take a guess that a failed purchase where the buyer rescinds on the offer without very good backup documentation would have been expensive to purchase?

Err.... I believe the previous discussion was the seller walks away from the negotiation table. Not my friend wanting to pull out, never their intention, at least for now

I think you'll find that the insurance covers your friend against the vendor deciding not to sell or being gazumped, not a non-sale over renegotiation of the agreed price.

Not sure what the problem here is anyway. There are issues with the property, you have estimates for the cost of repair. Just put it to the vendor and see what they say. Ask for the £3K with maybe an idea to settle somewhere in the middle. If they say no then it's your mates choice to find that extra money or walk away (and pay the fees incurred so far!).

iwb100

NameUnavailable said:

JonMitchell said:

need_an_answer said:

There is always a chance that future buyers will get the same problems highlighted on a survey but each buyer is likely to have a different perspective on the issue and it may not be problematic for them in the same way it is for your friend.
If for example a builder buys the property they may not be so worried about the state of the roof whereas clearly at present it appears a "potentially defining factor" during this purchase.

I have never heard of a home buying policy that pays out against failed purchases where the buyer of the property pulls out....although I  dont doubt that some sort of policy exists...you live and learn.
I would perhaps take a guess that a failed purchase where the buyer rescinds on the offer without very good backup documentation would have been expensive to purchase?

Err.... I believe the previous discussion was the seller walks away from the negotiation table. Not my friend wanting to pull out, never their intention, at least for now

I think you'll find that the insurance covers your friend against the vendor deciding not to sell or being gazumped, not a non-sale over renegotiation of the agreed price.

Not sure what the problem here is anyway. There are issues with the property, you have estimates for the cost of repair. Just put it to the vendor and see what they say. Ask for the £3K with maybe an idea to settle somewhere in the middle. If they say no then it's your mates choice to find that extra money or walk away (and pay the fees incurred so far!).

I don’t believe he had estimates...he has a survey that notes some problems and speculates it might be the flat roof failing. That is probably the case but what needs determining properly is whether it’s only the covering that needs replacing or whether there is rot in the timber from inside etc....the costs might estimate a new covering but quite often there is a more fundamental problem that requires the flat roof taking off entirely and replacing which will be more than the estimates. Finally the roof may not be responsible for the mould and damp at all....it might need investigation as to what has caused that. Might be poor insulation or a problem elsewhere. 

JonMitchell

Thanks all for your contributions!
My FTB friend had just conveyed to their solicitor to renegotiate for a reduced price by ~£3K, not big money but it does help with the repairs. Fingers crossed.

ebincheon

Hello. Can I ask how this resolved in the end? In a similar position to your friend now myself. Thanks

Crashy_Time

Ask for the reduction every time IMO.