Negotiating lower price after survey

14sprocket

Hi there, would appreciate some advice re my situation.
We gave an offer on the house at the seller's guide price - we though it was a touch high, but still within our budget, and we wanted to make sure that it's not going to go away, as we got gazumped on the previous purchase rather painfully.
So all is good, we instructed searches and ordered a survey with a rather good and experienced surveyor.
The survey came back with a few meaningful findings, so we took a builder's quote for addressing them and revised our offer for this amount. The vendor, however, is not playing ball, pushing back on every single count as follows:

All windows on the ground floor are painted shut, potential for dry rot under the paint and damaged sash mechanism - we took a quote for proper refurbishment work
Well, we've done it for safety - you're much better off leaving them as is! Otherwise, we'll bring in a handyman with a Stanley knife to open them up before moving out. Don't think we should be picking up the tab for full refurbishment work 
PVC conservatory is showing its age (installed c. 15 years ago) - the roof is showing signs of deterioration and is expected to start leaking soon. Replacing the roof is recommended
The conservatory is fine and the roof has never leaked so far - why should I pay for future damages and issues?
Shower cabin should be replaced
You made an offer on the house having seen the bathroom... the price already accounted for some pre-existing wear and tear
...and so on....(you get the drift)
We haven't yet shared the builder's detailed quote, but I think that even once we do there'll be more pushback. The vendor may offer to bring in his own builders to do the work, but I'm afraid they'll just do a slapdash job merely to tick off the box.

The EA isn't being very helpful in facilitating the discussion as they're obviously siding with the seller.... We can obviously draw the line by saying we won't proceed with the execution unless some sensible price reduction takes place. Yet we've already invested in survey + searches, plus we're on track to close before the end of June, saving another 15K in stamp duty. The seller has also made an offer on another property, so they're obviously incentivised to close the sale rather than putting the property back on the market.

So, what's the best strategy to use to negotiate here?

Crashy_Time

Just stick to your price, they will encounter the same issues with another buyer.

SpiderLegs

What is the offer price?
If you are using a mortgage has it been approved at that price? If not, what was it?
did your surveyor give a valuation? If so, what was it?

14sprocket

SpiderLegs said:

What is the offer price?
If you are using a mortgage has it been approved at that price? If not, what was it?
did your surveyor give a valuation? If so, what was it?

The price seems fair vs what the other houses on the same street were sold for recently (plus a few houses in the process of selling). Mortgage valuation is a couple of weeks away, and we haven't order a surveyor valuation

sheramber

If they don’t want to negotiate you proceed with  the offer you made or you walk away. 

robatwork

I'm with your vendor - the things you're gazundering on are all things obvious to a layman and not structural or something you can't avoid doing like fixing dangerous wiring. 

I wouldn't give you anything off if it were me, but I'd be rapidly relisting.

Crashy_Time

14sprocket said:

SpiderLegs said:

What is the offer price?
If you are using a mortgage has it been approved at that price? If not, what was it?
did your surveyor give a valuation? If so, what was it?

The price seems fair vs what the other houses on the same street were sold for recently (plus a few houses in the process of selling). Mortgage valuation is a couple of weeks away, and we haven't order a surveyor valuation

So absolutely no point in doing anything before the bank tells you how much it is worth really?

14sprocket

robatwork said:

I'm with your vendor - the things you're gazundering on are all things obvious to a layman and not structural or something you can't avoid doing like fixing dangerous wiring. 

I wouldn't give you anything off if it were me, but I'd be rapidly relisting.

How's that gazundering?
Isn't the point of the survey to highlight issues from an unbiased 3rd party perspective?
And you'd be relisting expecting exactly what - like a new buyer won't notice exact same issues?

14sprocket

Crashy_Time said:

14sprocket said:

SpiderLegs said:

What is the offer price?
If you are using a mortgage has it been approved at that price? If not, what was it?
did your surveyor give a valuation? If so, what was it?

The price seems fair vs what the other houses on the same street were sold for recently (plus a few houses in the process of selling). Mortgage valuation is a couple of weeks away, and we haven't order a surveyor valuation

So absolutely no point in doing anything before the bank tells you how much it is worth really?

Good point... Would I not be better off raising my concerns from the surveyor's report earlier rather than later? As soon as I receive the report and realise how much it will cost to fix all the issues listed in it. Once I leave it down to the wire, this may look more like a deliberate gazundering

houghton91

Did you expect the survey to come back and tell you the house was perfect? If my buyer asked me to replace a (so far) functioning conservatory roof and shower that they'd seen before putting an offer in, I'd be putting it back on the market sharpish. Is it worth potentially losing the house over when they're things you could replace reasonably over time?

Grabs39

If I were the seller I’d be unhappy with a reduction.  It sounds like there’s nothing wrong with the conservatory roof, and the windows and shower would have been visible by you before you offered.  I’d guess the windows could be opened with a Stanley knife, a chisel and a wrecking bar if you want to keep the old wooden framed windows.