Buyer wants money off for issues raised on survey

OldMusicGuy

StandingInTheSun said:

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.

They're not doing anything wrong, and nor is the OP by telling them to stick to their original offer. In a tight market the OP might have to suck up their games, but not in the current market. They are making a mountain out of a molehill and they sound like people you don't want to do business with unless you have to. I was messed around by several unrealistic buyers when I was selling. In the current market the OP can choose their buyer and IMO that's what they should do.

Norman_Castle

verytired11 said:

@Sunsaru the stain is a very old one, which I think came from the waste pipe under the bath.  I fixed it myself so don't have any evidence!  I may get a plumber out for that one anyway, just in case there is an ongoing leak (pretty sure there isn't).

If the bath panel is easy to remove look underneath for any signs of an ongoing leak.

AnotherJoe

verytired11 said:

m0bov said:

Tell him it's priced for the condition, take it or leave it.

That was my initial response to the agent.... but he seems to want me to provide a more detailed rebuttal.

As the saying goes "no" is a complete sentence. That's the price take it or leave it.

You could always tell your EA if you dont get an answer in very short time, you'll be asking them to go back to the other  25 viewers and get him to provide that info back to your prospective buyer.

AnotherJoe

StandingInTheSun said:

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.

That of course works equally well in the opposite direction.

tellmeagain

In this current heated market i would absolutely NOT take a reduction in price. Other people will happily pay the price as your house was obviously very much in demand when it went on to the market. Just say a firm no and be prepared to move on to another buyer. I think your original buyers will continue with the sale anyway - buying property is very competitive in some areas at the moment so if they give up yours they are back competiting for other properties with lots of other potential buyers. 

ss2020jd

Glad to hear it was not as serious as you feared. Whilst I would be of the mind to meet somewhere in the middle or offer things that could be easily done to placate the buyers 10k does sound like a lot.
Do you have your original survey when you purchase stating whether it was lead mains? Other things you could confirm such as the leak I would also do. I did get a boiler service and certificate (£95) just because I missed a couple of services and I knew it would be requested even if not required. My buyers offered over the asking so I feel like there would be leeway to take things like that into account, although still waiting to hear the dreaded results! 

If you offer something you feel is fair then both parties hopefully happy. If you have to start again that will be more fees incurred and presumably at this stage they may be trying to hit the SDLT deadline so it could cost them more to start again. 

StandingInTheSun

AnotherJoe said:

StandingInTheSun said:

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.

That of course works equally well in the opposite direction.

Naturally. Although £10k is more than what I thought they would have asked off based on what the OP posted here. A couple of grand to reflect essential maintenance costs, maybe, but £10k does sound like they're taking the hand.

Prudencerules33

Its very rare any house is 100% perfect , even new houses need de snagging , this potential vendor is trying it on, and could spell trouble down the line. Tempting as it is to bend over backwards , someone will love the house warts and all. Reduce the price nominally and back off engaging with him.

saajan_12

verytired11 said:

[Deleted User] said:

I would absolutely not engage in lengthy rebuttals, your original response was sufficient. 
You are the picture of restraint. A buyer who has presumably outbid others, somewhat predictably trying to re-negotiate on the back of a survey with no red list items and this against the background of rising property prices!
The problem with any goodwill gesture to smooth this over, is that it's not likely going to work as he is so out of line. Placing the onus on you to do various follow up reports, against the background of asking for 10k off - please!

I think the thing that worries me is that if I do anything as a good will gesture it may be like offering an inch and him taking a mile, including potentially encouraging him to be a c and asking for another chunk of money off just before exchange. It's the tone of his email that puts my back up so much as it is so aggressive and entitled, saying 'i require this' and 'i require that' and 'the seller has neglected core maintenance' and it makes me not want to sell to him at all.  I live in a very lovely and tight knit community with top state schools and have lived here for 20 years.  I really like my neighbours and I want someone nice living here.  Because his email is so entitled,  I feel process wise it may be sensible to tell him to confirm he will go ahead at the agreed price asap, in order to send a clear message that I won't be messed around further down the line.  If the tone of his email was more reasonable I would be more minded to meet him halfway.

I am thinking maybe I will get the gas and electric certificates as unfortunately there is a failed electric certificate from a few years ago and I can't find evidence of the works required from that as ever being done.  I will also get a plumber out anyway as I wouldn't want to risk a potential on going leak.  And then ask him to confirm that if I get those done he will go ahead at the agreed price or we go back to market.  

That would be last on my list if you were going to do any of it.. "gas & electrics not tested" is the most standard lines in any survey, not because there's anything wrong but because its outside the remit of a standard survey. Similar to how they organised and paid for the original survey, checking the gas & electrics would also typically be at their cost for any property. 

leypt1

OP, it sounds like you're being very reasonable by offering to check on the leak (which to me sounds like the biggest issue) - 10k off is a big ask!! And asking for period features to be replaced because they don't need modern standards is a bit much.

I do just want to add some general reflections as a first time buyer though, not aimed at you but more in response to the overall debate, which comes up a lot on this forum:

- The advice given is almost always "tell the buyer that the property was priced to reflect its condition", regardless of the seller's personal circumstances. Why are buyers consistently advised to pay for an expert survey (sometimes over £1000 for a level 3 survey in London) if they're not allowed to renegotiate prices or ask for repairs when the survey finds an issue? Is there some sort of invisible line at which asking for money off/repairs suddenly becomes acceptable? Where is this line?

- As a first time buyer it's sometimes hard to know which issues actually matter and which are minor issues which many households live with happily/unknowingly for years. Also (related to my first point) first time buyers are told that there are certain steps they must go through to ensure that they make a good, safe purchase - e.g. hiring a conveyancer, booking a survey. The feeling is that we've hired them for their expertise and we should trust them implicitly, and it can be hard to find the confidence to take what they say with a pinch of salt!
Also, FTBs are often criticised on this forum for not fully appreciating the "buyers beware" principle and not investigating/failing to take various issues seriously during the buying process, so it feels a bit like being pulled in two directions. All I know is that I have personally chosen to err on the side of vigilance

So, I have a bit of empathy for both sides in this situation. Generally, I think the house-buying process in this country - which regularly creates these kinds of stand-offs - is the absolute worst. Wishing you well!