Best way to negotiate after survey?

hg1994

Thanks for all of the responses. I don't have the report to hand currently but the part on the roof was along the lines of "x, y and z findings indicate a possible failure of the decking, although no leaks are visible in current dry conditions". House is 30-40s. They advised for a roofer to see it as well and give a full recommendation and quote (they visited with the surveyor but still waiting for their formal advice). I suppose I might be jumping the gun a bit and getting anxious about it, maybe they will say the roof can hold on a bit longer.

I got a full structural survery because I have zero experience with houses and know that I would miss things like slipped tiles, cracks and other details that are probably very obvious to people with more experience and knowledge. The surveyor didn't use any traffic light systems (this would have been very useful) to identify what imminently needs doing and what can wait, but the language in the report did help to identify the areas they felt were less urgent  ie "we advise this is considered etc".

With regards to the house pricing, my offer was very similar to recent sold prices of other properties in the estate. I didn't account for the roof in my offer because I didn't know that the roof was an issue.

There wasn't a valuation in the report. I could definitely share the full report with the vendor if this is a wise thing to do?

SpiderLegs

Doesn’t sound like there’s much to be negotiated to me. 

Thrugelmir

hg1994 said:

With regards to the house pricing, my offer was very similar to recent sold prices of other properties in the estate. I didn't account for the roof in my offer because I didn't know that the roof was an issue.

Houses require maintenance. The surveyor is simply warning you of potential issues that will arise in the future. When you have your car serviced the garage advises on tyre and brake wear etc. Doesn't mean that they'll need replacing immediately. 

BikingBud

hg1994 said:

Thanks for all of the responses. I don't have the report to hand currently but the part on the roof was along the lines of "x, y and z findings indicate a possible failure of the decking, although no leaks are visible in current dry conditions". House is 30-40s. They advised for a roofer to see it as well and give a full recommendation and quote (they visited with the surveyor but still waiting for their formal advice). I suppose I might be jumping the gun a bit and getting anxious about it, maybe they will say the roof can hold on a bit longer.

I got a full structural survery because I have zero experience with houses and know that I would miss things like slipped tiles, cracks and other details that are probably very obvious to people with more experience and knowledge. The surveyor didn't use any traffic light systems (this would have been very useful) to identify what imminently needs doing and what can wait, but the language in the report did help to identify the areas they felt were less urgent  ie "we advise this is considered etc".

With regards to the house pricing, my offer was very similar to recent sold prices of other properties in the estate. I didn't account for the roof in my offer because I didn't know that the roof was an issue.

There wasn't a valuation in the report. I could definitely share the full report with the vendor if this is a wise thing to do?

You have paid for professional advice I would seek to exploit that are as far as possible, discuss with them again to fully understand their position, often spoken word is different from written assessment.

Don't be shy or timid, be straight up and ask them if they feel the sum offered is reasonable and would they pay it given the observations in the report.

It's your money you need to decide whose advice you take but I would be very wary of someone on an internet forum who you don't know from Adam that may be a surveyor or may be a social worker and says:

"Doesn’t sound like there’s much to be negotiated to me."

You have paid professionals, they have seen the property and have a much better perspective of both the issues identified and the local market than anybody on here saying suck it up sweet cheeks!

SpiderLegs

BikingBud said:

hg1994 said:

Thanks for all of the responses. I don't have the report to hand currently but the part on the roof was along the lines of "x, y and z findings indicate a possible failure of the decking, although no leaks are visible in current dry conditions". House is 30-40s. They advised for a roofer to see it as well and give a full recommendation and quote (they visited with the surveyor but still waiting for their formal advice). I suppose I might be jumping the gun a bit and getting anxious about it, maybe they will say the roof can hold on a bit longer.

I got a full structural survery because I have zero experience with houses and know that I would miss things like slipped tiles, cracks and other details that are probably very obvious to people with more experience and knowledge. The surveyor didn't use any traffic light systems (this would have been very useful) to identify what imminently needs doing and what can wait, but the language in the report did help to identify the areas they felt were less urgent  ie "we advise this is considered etc".

With regards to the house pricing, my offer was very similar to recent sold prices of other properties in the estate. I didn't account for the roof in my offer because I didn't know that the roof was an issue.

There wasn't a valuation in the report. I could definitely share the full report with the vendor if this is a wise thing to do?

You have paid for professional advice I would seek to exploit that are as far as possible, discuss with them again to fully understand their position, often spoken word is different from written assessment.

Don't be shy or timid, be straight up and ask them if they feel the sum offered is reasonable and would they pay it given the observations in the report.

It's your money you need to decide whose advice you take but I would be very wary of someone on an internet forum who you don't know from Adam that may be a surveyor or may be a social worker and says:

"Doesn’t sound like there’s much to be negotiated to me."

You have paid professionals, they have seen the property and have a much better perspective of both the issues identified and the local market than anybody on here saying suck it up sweet cheeks!

Ooh get you.

the problem with your ‘listen to the surveyor’ advice is that this surveyor doesn’t appear to have actually done anything more than cover their backside without providing actual qualified evidence. Perhaps the OP will provide more context, but if not, and I was the vendor on the end of an attempted negotiation based on such flimsy, unsubstantiated claptrap, I would tell the OP to stop wasting my time.

owenjt

hg1994 said:

I was wondering how you all feel the best way to negotiate after a survey would be. Essentially, I have had a full survey done which has shown a few minor issues (4-5) and a few potential issues that need further assessment (2). Now some of these, I am happy to absorb the cost of as I really like the property (~1k worth of repairs). However, pending a bit more information, the property potentially needs a new roof (quoted 8-10k) which I have the money to do but ideally would want the vendor to at least cover some of this.

Have you spoken to your surveyor to find out more about the potential issues with the roof, how urgent it is and what's required to fix it? I'd find out as much as you can from them, then potentially pay for a specialist to investigate further and find out exactly what work is required and when before negotiating with the vendor.

If it's important the work is done soon and it's going to cost £8-10k, I'd definitely be asking the vendor to pay some if not all of the cost.