Re-negotiate on house purchase after survey/reports opinion

LAD917

I disagree with others that the condition is already built-in to the £7k discount from ask price. None of us knows if £240k was a realistic ask price for the condition of the house, or if £233k is an accurate reflection of its value.  None of us knows whether this is an amazing deal, a terrible deal, or something in between. None of us will have to live with the consequences of potentially overpaying. You will. 

You did a survey and found some hidden things, plus some things that you hadn't noticed. I disagree with others who think this means they are off-limits. Unless things are plainly disclosed or obviously pointed out to buyers, it's unfair to assume that people will notice everything.  If you are unhappy with the price given the condition of the home, then by all means ask for a reduction / credit or pull out.

That said, if I were the vendor, I'd be peeved that you've waited until April to have a survey after agreeing an offer in January.  But some of this is on the vendor, too.  I normally set expectations that buyers are encouraged to do surveys, but purely for informational purposes (i.e., I do not intend to reduce price or credit for anything).  If I had a property in need of repair, I'd be especially diligent in setting any expectations that the buyer would need to accept the property "as is" in exchange for any price reduction, and I'd be pressing the estate agent to have the buyer do a survey early or commit to not doing one.  If your vendors didn't do that, then I don't think you're unreasonable in going back.

hazyjo

You say there was furniture blocking the windows, but surely you could've seen them from outside the property! If anything, having something behind the would've probably made it more obvious, not less.

Anyway, it's not urgent, just ongoing maintenance. And there are other ways now which may work which doesn't mean replacing the entire glass. Much much cheaper.

Irishpearce26

LAD917 said:

I disagree with others that the condition is already built-in to the £7k discount from ask price. None of us knows if £240k was a realistic ask price for the condition of the house, or if £233k is an accurate reflection of its value.  None of us knows whether this is an amazing deal, a terrible deal, or something in between. None of us will have to live with the consequences of potentially overpaying. You will. 

You did a survey and found some hidden things, plus some things that you hadn't noticed. I disagree with others who think this means they are off-limits. Unless things are plainly disclosed or obviously pointed out to buyers, it's unfair to assume that people will notice everything.  If you are unhappy with the price given the condition of the home, then by all means ask for a reduction / credit or pull out.

That said, if I were the vendor, I'd be peeved that you've waited until April to have a survey after agreeing an offer in January.  But some of this is on the vendor, too.  I normally set expectations that buyers are encouraged to do surveys, but purely for informational purposes (i.e., I do not intend to reduce price or credit for anything).  If I had a property in need of repair, I'd be especially diligent in setting any expectations that the buyer would need to accept the property "as is" in exchange for any price reduction, and I'd be pressing the estate agent to have the buyer do a survey early or commit to not doing one.  If your vendors didn't do that, then I don't think you're unreasonable in going back.

There is a point of sold as seen with houses, things like blown seals are pretty obvious as the window will be misted/filled with water. So i don't see how the OP can claim for that to be rectified.

I don't trust homebuyer surveys as they are all what ifs and maybes, when i sold my house my buyer had a shopping list of things she wanted me to pay for. Thankfully a friend with experience said I should ask her to get an independent specialist to look at the areas that the surveyor said needed to be fixed. The specialist said all was fine and the survey was BS and that this is just a case of could happen, hasn't happened but be aware in 5 years you may need to replace. Thankfully this survey had a valuation that stated despite some of the things that needed attention it was priced in consideration. 

My buyer finally accepted that and I didn't reduced a penny, in fact I know with some of the work she is doing she will likely make a good profit if she sells. 

Often FTBs see these surveys as gospel and that the seller must reduce rather than its more something you will need to maintain in the future. That's home ownership baby!