Moving house...seller taking summer house

Skiddaw1

I'm with Doozergirl. I'd be annoyed if it were me. If they'd made it clear from the start that the summerhouse was going it would be a different matter.

OP, do let us know what the response is. I think your revised offer is perfectly fair.

pbartlett

Yep true - both sides are free to renegotiate - right up to the point where contracts are exchanged.

Irishpearce26

GDB2222 said:

I must be daft here, but you don't want the garden made good, if I understand correctly. So that's a red herring. What you want is the summer house. And, you don't want to be paying more for it, as you thought it was included.

Obviously, if it's a shed that you can put together for a few hundred pounds, it's not worth pulling out over. But someone here mentioned a figure of £15k, and that's a lot of money for most people. Essentially, the sellers are trying to gazump you by £15k, and I would not put up with it, if it were me.

If they are committed to their new purchase, then you have them over a barrel, really. 

I can guarantee you no summer house costs £15K more like £1000 - £2000. The OP has offered £500 for the summer house so its nowhere near £15K. A fully insulated, electric and plastered garden office building costs about £7-£9k depending on size.  It was never included in the sale so there is no barrel to put over. 

Thrugelmir

If you want something included then there needs to be a conversation. At the moment just a load of assumption.  On the basis of of a single comment made at the viewing. Which in itself was open to interpretation. Certainly not definitive. 

Irishpearce26

Its not silly its reflective of the terms and conditions of the sale. If I said ill probably leave the TV on the wall as its a nightmare to get off to the seller (verbally) but before exchanging fittings and fixtures I managed to get it off and didn't include it in the fittings and fixtures that is how it goes I don't have to discuss reductions because im taking something that wasn't included in the sale. I have never said that the OP shouldn't or has no right to renegotiate, as I've said I hope they get some form of solution but what I am saying from any legal stand point there isn't any. I don't know at what stage the OP is with the conveyancing, has surveys been carried out if they are getting them done? If they are asking for a reduction for something that wasn't included in the sale how seriously are the vendors going to take any further reductions that do warrant that discussion.

No one has suggested that what the vendor has done isn't legal.  

If the buyer feels misled on something, they can choose to renegotiate.  Not only is the object they thought/hoped they would be buying not included, they've been lumbered with an additional cost of doing something with the base.    

My comment is that the OP cant challenge the summerhouse from a legal standpoint i.e. contracts/fixtures & fittings. My point is the summerhouse was not part of the sale to start with and a comment about it might stay doesn't constitute as being misled. I agree its not ideal and im on the OPs side I hope she gets a result but removing the emotional side and if I was the seller I would probably say no as it was never included from the start.

Im currently selling my house and in the garden we have a pergola that is bolted to the ground, underneath it is table and chairs and a BBQ. I told the buyer that the pergola is staying. When she got the F&F form I clearly stated the table and chairs/BBQ would be going and she challenge it by saying that she thought anything under the pergola would be staying and that she was unhappy about that I had made her think they were included. Nothing in writing say that they would be and i never indicated in any correspondence that they would be. After her surveys were complete she asked me to contribute to a fire escape window to the tune of £500 as a gesture of goodwill because of the table/BBQ fiasco, I declined. 

moneysavinghero

Irishpearce26 said:

GDB2222 said:

I must be daft here, but you don't want the garden made good, if I understand correctly. So that's a red herring. What you want is the summer house. And, you don't want to be paying more for it, as you thought it was included.

Obviously, if it's a shed that you can put together for a few hundred pounds, it's not worth pulling out over. But someone here mentioned a figure of £15k, and that's a lot of money for most people. Essentially, the sellers are trying to gazump you by £15k, and I would not put up with it, if it were me.

If they are committed to their new purchase, then you have them over a barrel, really. 

I can guarantee you no summer house costs £15K more like £1000 - £2000. The OP has offered £500 for the summer house so its nowhere near £15K. A fully insulated, electric and plastered garden office building costs about £7-£9k depending on size.  It was never included in the sale so there is no barrel to put over. 

This one does:
https://www.johnlewis.com/crane-garden-buildings-3-x-5-4m-the-hub-plus-left-hand-corner-garden-studio-fsc-certified-scandinavian-redwood/p4341563

Even one there for £24k

Irishpearce26

m
This one does:

https://www.johnlewis.com/crane-garden-buildings-3-x-5-4m-the-hub-plus-left-hand-corner-garden-studio-fsc-certified-scandinavian-redwood/p4341563

Even one there for £24k

Great post thanks bit that's a studio house not a standard summer house. Your missing the point entirely that the OP has offered £500 for the summerhouse that alone clearly tells you it aint a £15k summerhouse.

Charrrb

Yes we're looking around £3000 for this particular summer house, hence why I have since reduced by offer by 3K. Also, just to say I'm not asking for advice from a legal perspective, I know there is no legal issue with the seller taking the summer house and leaving behind the concrete base as this is what they have stated on the inventory form. I am asking from the experience of others, if they would agree that the way the seller has dealt with this is slightly deceiving and that I could morally negotiate the sale price/offer payment for the summer house based on this. This is very new to me as a first time buyer! In terms of conveyancing, all the searches have been completed and didn't show any issues. We were at the stage of looking into setting a completion date until the inventory came back with this issue. It might also be worth mentioning, in response to some queries, it isn't just about the summer house (despite how great this would be), I would also be more than happy for the seller to rectify the concrete base by paving over it to match the rest of the landscaped garden, I have mentioned this also to the estate agent. The point is, like many people, I have put all of my life savings into the deposit for this house leaving me with very little so when I hear this great concrete base is going to be in the centre of what I thought was a beautifully landscaped garden, then I was more than disappointed! Thanks again for all your advice. Waiting on the response from the estate agents.

GDB2222

Irishpearce26 said:

  It was never included in the sale so there is no barrel to put over. 

The sellers may have already contracted to buy their new-build. In which case, they probably have a really, really big problem if their sale to this buyer falls through.

In general, summer houses are quite hard to move, so there ought to be a solution here.

Irishpearce26

I completely emphasise with you I’m looking at both sides of the coin to try and give you realistic feedback. The seller who has likely sold the summerhouse should have let you guys have first refusal to buy it that is where they have gone wrong. 

The reason I ask about where you are with regards to conveyancing can be the determining factor in their decision making. If you haven’t invested much at this stage they could get spooked and think you could pull out and negotiate the reduction. If they know you’ve had your surveys, searches and all is good to go they have nothing to lose in declining the new offer. 

My comment on wether this could affect future negotiations if surveys have raised any issues is based on a) you offered £500 for the summer house as that’s how much you value it in its current state but in the same breath you want a £3k reduction if they won’t sell it to them. Where did the £3k figure come from? As a seller myself I wouldn’t take this seriously as it looks like you want them to buy you a new fancy summerhouse. If and only if you need to negotiate reductions based on survey results I probably wouldn’t take them seriously based on that. 

As I said before I hope you get a solution that works for all as it is stressful buying a house many obstacles.