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Buyer wants money off for issues raised on survey

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  • I don't think any of the buyer's requests are particularly unreasonable. Of course you can argue that the house was priced appropriately for the condition it's in - equally he might say that this was not communicated to him by you or the estate agent and therefore he's within his rights to ask for a reduction.

    No. 6 is a very standard surveyor's request. I'd expect any knowledgeable seller to have those documents available.

    How much money are they asking off? This forum often states that "a couple of grand is nothing when compared to the cost of a house". If you want the sale to go through, maybe not worth fighting over such a small amount.
  • There are some things that it might be reasonable to negotiate over, or to split, but on the other hand you aren’t selling a new-build, and the general condition is as it was when it was viewed.
    The issues raised donf a bit minor, and a bit petty, but against that there’s the hassle of re-listing.
    I’d be tempted to politely point out that they can’t expect you to refurbish the house because of imperfections, but possibly to offer a reduction of maybe £1,000, on condition that they get their backsides in gear and exchange.
  • OldMusicGuy
    OldMusicGuy Posts: 1,768 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Those are all pretty minor things, and like Slithery said, gas and electrical safety certificates are not required. I sold a house without them no problem. It will cost them a few grand to fix all those things which isn't much in the overall scheme of things. They don't seem to be very realistic about buying an older property. In the current market I would be remarketing unless they honoured their offer.
  • Slithery said:
    No. 6 is a very standard surveyor's request. I'd expect any knowledgeable seller to have those documents available.
    Why? It's not documentation that the owner has any legal obligation to produce. I'd say that the vast majority of property owners don't have either.
    The standard answer is 'if the vendor wants to get the gas and electricity checked, then they can pay for it'.
    Just because the legal obligation isn't there doesn't mean it isn't something which isn't going to be asked for. EVERY survey is going to bring those things up and so there's a good chance your buyer will ask for them. 

    Having them done in advance not only saves that time and hassle but also prevents any unexpected shocks if the buyer does pay to get them done and it brings up major safety issues, which can lead to the collapse of the sale.

    As I say, from a seller's perspective getting those certificates in order is going to cost you, what, a couple of hundred? Small change compared to the possible pitfalls of not having them done and asking the buyer to do it instead.
  • verytired11
    verytired11 Posts: 252 Forumite
    100 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    I don't think any of the buyer's requests are particularly unreasonable. Of course you can argue that the house was priced appropriately for the condition it's in - equally he might say that this was not communicated to him by you or the estate agent and therefore he's within his rights to ask for a reduction.

    No. 6 is a very standard surveyor's request. I'd expect any knowledgeable seller to have those documents available.

    How much money are they asking off? This forum often states that "a couple of grand is nothing when compared to the cost of a house". If you want the sale to go through, maybe not worth fighting over such a small amount.
    They are asking for £10,000 off.
  • Those are all pretty minor things, and like Slithery said, gas and electrical safety certificates are not required. I sold a house without them no problem. It will cost them a few grand to fix all those things which isn't much in the overall scheme of things. They don't seem to be very realistic about buying an older property. In the current market I would be remarketing unless they honoured their offer.
    You can look at it both ways though. From the buyer's perspective they'd rather that couple of grand came out of the seller's pocket given that these were unforeseen and undisclosed issues only brought up in the survey. 

    The OP may hold all the cards here and be in no chain and no rush, in which case I'd call their bluff and stick to your guns.

    Conversely the OP may rather take a couple of grand of a hit for the sake of keeping the sale on track.

    There are no right answers here but there is a wrong one,.and that's suggesting the buyer is doing anything wrong by seeking to renegotiate after a survey brings up unforeseen issues. This is pretty standard practice regardless of the age of the house.
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