Buyer wants money off for issues raised on survey

csgohan4

Sound like nervous Buyers and no guarantee they may not try and gazunder on day of exchange

OldMusicGuy

leypt1 said:

- 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

I'm old fashioned. When I make an offer, it's what I think the house is worth (well, it may be a bit under that if I am going to negotiate but risk losing the house). Like many said, all houses have problems. For me, the point of a survey is to find out if there are any serious issues that would make me back out that aren't obvious, for example something structural or something to do with the construction. But I usually don't bother with surveys because they are generally not worth the paper they are written on IMO. They are over-cautious and full of CYA language. Just look on here to find threads of serious things missed in surveys.

But I have a fair amount of knowledge about houses and I also do a lot of research when buying. When we sold our place in 2019, we had some time waster buyers who would make offers but then dither around and then pull out over vague concerns. They drove us mad. As a seller, you wish buyers would be more prepared before making offers, but as you say it's the house buying/selling process in this country which is a nightmare for all involved.

leonj

I wouldn't engage with the buyer at all, just a straight no, take it or leave it save everybody's time

StandingInTheSun

leypt1 said:

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!

Absolutely this. There is nothing inherently wrong with either renegotiating price after a survey or asking the seller to help with/solve problems it brings up in advance. Particularly when these are serious issues which were not noted when you viewed the property, and the property was not advertised as "priced for modernisation/updating".

I do feel in this case the £10k price reduction is silly, but the concept of renegotiating after a survey is very normal. I don't give a damn if it's a seller's market or not - if your survey brings up serious issues, it will for other buyers too.

Crashy_Time

StandingInTheSun said:

leypt1 said:

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!

Absolutely this. There is nothing inherently wrong with either renegotiating price after a survey or asking the seller to help with/solve problems it brings up in advance. Particularly when these are serious issues which were not noted when you viewed the property, and the property was not advertised as "priced for modernisation/updating".

I do feel in this case the £10k price reduction is silly, but the concept of renegotiating after a survey is very normal. I don't give a damn if it's a seller's market or not - if your survey brings up serious issues, it will for other buyers too.

Exactly, but it is probably safe to say that it isn`t a seller`s market any more?

verytired11

Thanks for all your advice on this. I have decided to agree to get the guttering repaired and get a plumber out to check the possible leak.  I have also offered half for capping the chimney and half for repointing by the front door (total £750).  I have declined to get the gas and electrics and the other silly requests around building regs and anything that was clearly visible on viewing.  I will let you know how he responds! Wish me luck.  

kimwp

verytired11 said:

Thanks for all your advice on this. I have decided to agree to get the guttering repaired and get a plumber out to check the possible leak.  I have also offered half for capping the chimney and half for repointing by the front door (total £750).  I have declined to get the gas and electrics and the other silly requests around building regs and anything that was clearly visible on viewing.  I will let you know how he responds! Wish me luck.  

I think this seems very reasonable of you, I'm not even sure why you are paying for the plumber, they should be doing that and bringing in an electrician if they are worried about the electrics. It's completely ridiculous to ask you to pay to bring the house up to modern regs.

teachfast

csgohan4 said:

Sound like nervous Buyers and no guarantee they may not try and gazunder on day of exchange

This - and also after purchase come back through solicitors and try for money for faults he will claim you should have declared.

verytired11

teachfast said:

csgohan4 said:

Sound like nervous Buyers and no guarantee they may not try and gazunder on day of exchange

This - and also after purchase come back through solicitors and try for money for faults he will claim you should have declared.

This is what I am worried about.  He also lied about the surveyor having advised him that a build over agreement was required for the extension, when in fact, after I requested the survey, I could see that the surveyor had advised him the exact opposite - that no build over agreement was required.  If he will lie about this what else will be lie about?  I am wondering whether to find a new buyer.  I live in a pretty Victorian terrace, slightly run down but in a highly sought after area due to being in catchment of two top performing state schools.  If I find a new buyer there is a risk that the chain falls through.

Persian_DG

As above, if you don't want to entertain then avoid entering negotiations, just instruct for it to be placed on the market again. That will annoy the buyer more than anything. Deal is off if they still want to purchase price has gone up 😄