Having to pay for quotes

Folksriker

I'm in the process of purchasing a property (FTB which is why I'm a bit clueless) and the survey has come back with some issues that really need addressing soon (the most serious being problems with the Chimney stack, possible asbestos, corroded window lintels leading to cracking, inadequate ventilation in the floor, roof and chimney breast leading to damp). It's an old terrace, so we knew some work would probably need doing, but this might be a little more than we had bargained for. My problem is that the vendor is being a bit cagey about how much they are willing to negotiate (if at all) and keeps just asking to see the quotes - and everyone I've asked has said they won't do free quotes for prospective buyers in case they don't actually get the work. Most have said they'll charge ~£100 just to have a look and give a quote! Given we'll need at least 4 different specialist tradesmen to do these quotes that's going to add up pretty quickly and we're already using basically all of our savings for the deposit and conveyancing fees. Is it worth me just sucking up the cost and paying for quotes? Have I just spoken to the wrong people and free quotes are available somewhere? What if I pay for the quotes and the vendor decides not to budge? 

Doozergirl

You won't need 4 specialists.  The window lintels, ventilation and chimney stack are all jobs for a builder.  The ventilation is less than a day's work.  

Where's the potential asbestos?  

People aren't keen to offer free quotes for people if there's possibly zero chance of getting the jobs, that's true.  It's hard enough to get quotes when you own a house.  

You don't need to come up with quotes yourselves, there isn't a rule book to be followed when buying a house. 

Folksriker

Doozergirl said:

You won't need 4 specialists.  The window lintels, ventilation and chimney stack are all jobs for a builder.  The ventilation is less than a day's work.  

That's good to hear, would a builder be able to sort out the damage already done from the lack of ventilation to the floor? The surveyor said it was "sponging" which is an alarming sounding word for a floor! He said we should get a damp and timber specialist in...

Doozergirl said:

Where's the potential asbestos?  

Damaged original bathroom ceiling hidden under a suspended tile ceiling

Doozergirl said:

You don't need to come up with quotes yourselves, there isn't a rule book to be followed when buying a house. 

Really? But how would I know how much to ask for?

Section62

Folksriker said:

Doozergirl said:

You don't need to come up with quotes yourselves, there isn't a rule book to be followed when buying a house. 

Really? But how would I know how much to ask for?

How do you know the eventual cost is going to be the same as any quote you get?


Doozergirl's comment means there are no hard and fast rules - this isn't the same as (say) making an insurance claim where you can only claim what it costs and may need to evidence that.

The amount you offer to buy a house (in England) is based on what you feel comfortable paying.  If you find out bad stuff about the property as a result of the survey and post-offer enquiries then you have to re-visit the amount you feel comfortable paying.

The amount (if any) you ask to reduce the offer by depends partly on what any rectification work might cost, but also on whether the vendor is likely to agree to a reduction, or insist the offer remains the same, or gets the hump and remarkets the property.

Hence getting accurate quotes for work isn't the be-all and end-all, unless the work is essential to make the property habitable (and mortgageable) and your budget is stretched to the max.

Pixie5740

Folksriker said:

I'm in the process of purchasing a property (FTB which is why I'm a bit clueless) and the survey has come back with some issues that really need addressing soon (the most serious being problems with the Chimney stack, possible asbestos, corroded window lintels leading to cracking, inadequate ventilation in the floor, roof and chimney breast leading to damp). It's an old terrace, so we knew some work would probably need doing, but this might be a little more than we had bargained for. My problem is that the vendor is being a bit cagey about how much they are willing to negotiate (if at all) and keeps just asking to see the quotes - and everyone I've asked has said they won't do free quotes for prospective buyers in case they don't actually get the work. Most have said they'll charge ~£100 just to have a look and give a quote! Given we'll need at least 4 different specialist tradesmen to do these quotes that's going to add up pretty quickly and we're already using basically all of our savings for the deposit and conveyancing fees. Is it worth me just sucking up the cost and paying for quotes? Have I just spoken to the wrong people and free quotes are available somewhere? What if I pay for the quotes and the vendor decides not to budge? 

Have you had a mortgage valuation yet? If so did the valuation match what you offered? 

TheJP

To plainly answer your question, its your responsibility to carry out due diligence on what you are buying. That means you would bear the brunt of the costs even if the seller refuses to negotiate.

Surveys are often worse than what actually needs repairing.

Folksriker

Pixie5740 said:

Folksriker said:

I'm in the process of purchasing a property (FTB which is why I'm a bit clueless) and the survey has come back with some issues that really need addressing soon (the most serious being problems with the Chimney stack, possible asbestos, corroded window lintels leading to cracking, inadequate ventilation in the floor, roof and chimney breast leading to damp). It's an old terrace, so we knew some work would probably need doing, but this might be a little more than we had bargained for. My problem is that the vendor is being a bit cagey about how much they are willing to negotiate (if at all) and keeps just asking to see the quotes - and everyone I've asked has said they won't do free quotes for prospective buyers in case they don't actually get the work. Most have said they'll charge ~£100 just to have a look and give a quote! Given we'll need at least 4 different specialist tradesmen to do these quotes that's going to add up pretty quickly and we're already using basically all of our savings for the deposit and conveyancing fees. Is it worth me just sucking up the cost and paying for quotes? Have I just spoken to the wrong people and free quotes are available somewhere? What if I pay for the quotes and the vendor decides not to budge? 

Have you had a mortgage valuation yet? If so did the valuation match what you offered? 

I don't know, as I didn't pay for the valuation they said I don't get to see it, it was "accepted" though so I assume it's at least valuable enough to be suitable security. 

Pixie5740

Folksriker said:

Pixie5740 said:

Folksriker said:

I'm in the process of purchasing a property (FTB which is why I'm a bit clueless) and the survey has come back with some issues that really need addressing soon (the most serious being problems with the Chimney stack, possible asbestos, corroded window lintels leading to cracking, inadequate ventilation in the floor, roof and chimney breast leading to damp). It's an old terrace, so we knew some work would probably need doing, but this might be a little more than we had bargained for. My problem is that the vendor is being a bit cagey about how much they are willing to negotiate (if at all) and keeps just asking to see the quotes - and everyone I've asked has said they won't do free quotes for prospective buyers in case they don't actually get the work. Most have said they'll charge ~£100 just to have a look and give a quote! Given we'll need at least 4 different specialist tradesmen to do these quotes that's going to add up pretty quickly and we're already using basically all of our savings for the deposit and conveyancing fees. Is it worth me just sucking up the cost and paying for quotes? Have I just spoken to the wrong people and free quotes are available somewhere? What if I pay for the quotes and the vendor decides not to budge? 

Have you had a mortgage valuation yet? If so did the valuation match what you offered? 

I don't know, as I didn't pay for the valuation they said I don't get to see it, it was "accepted" though so I assume it's at least valuable enough to be suitable security. 

What? Was the mortgage valuation not done as part of your mortgage application or are you in Scotland where the vendor paid for the Hone Report? In both cases you should be able to see how much the property was valued at. 

Folksriker

Pixie5740 said:

Folksriker said:

Pixie5740 said:

Folksriker said:

I'm in the process of purchasing a property (FTB which is why I'm a bit clueless) and the survey has come back with some issues that really need addressing soon (the most serious being problems with the Chimney stack, possible asbestos, corroded window lintels leading to cracking, inadequate ventilation in the floor, roof and chimney breast leading to damp). It's an old terrace, so we knew some work would probably need doing, but this might be a little more than we had bargained for. My problem is that the vendor is being a bit cagey about how much they are willing to negotiate (if at all) and keeps just asking to see the quotes - and everyone I've asked has said they won't do free quotes for prospective buyers in case they don't actually get the work. Most have said they'll charge ~£100 just to have a look and give a quote! Given we'll need at least 4 different specialist tradesmen to do these quotes that's going to add up pretty quickly and we're already using basically all of our savings for the deposit and conveyancing fees. Is it worth me just sucking up the cost and paying for quotes? Have I just spoken to the wrong people and free quotes are available somewhere? What if I pay for the quotes and the vendor decides not to budge? 

Have you had a mortgage valuation yet? If so did the valuation match what you offered? 

I don't know, as I didn't pay for the valuation they said I don't get to see it, it was "accepted" though so I assume it's at least valuable enough to be suitable security. 

What? Was the mortgage valuation not done as part of your mortgage application or are you in Scotland where the vendor paid for the Hone Report? In both cases you should be able to see how much the property was valued at. 

The mortgage valuation was done by my lender, I asked if I would get to see it and they said no, it's just information for them and to see if the property is suitable security for them, and that the survey was the one that gave information relevant for me.

TBagpuss

What does your surveyor say? They may be able to give you an idea of costs, and as you are paying them they are likely to be more open to answering questions.

That said, if they value the property 'as is' at or above the agreed price then it's unlikely that the sellers will negotiate as the issues identified don't reduce the value of the property from what has been agreed.

Folksriker

TBagpuss said:

What does your surveyor say? They may be able to give you an idea of costs, and as you are paying them they are likely to be more open to answering questions.

That said, if they value the property 'as is' at or above the agreed price then it's unlikely that the sellers will negotiate as the issues identified don't reduce the value of the property from what has been agreed.

We called him after getting the report, he recommended that we negotiate, but said that the problems were all "fixable" and that we shouldn't walk away, just get a bit off the price so that we can afford to get the the work done ASAP to stop things getting worse. We got a level 3 report which doesn't include a valuation so he didn't put a number in the report itself, but that's what he said to us.