Who do we go to regarding issues on surveyors report?

thankmyluckystars

We have received the surveyors report for a house we are buying and it has lots of issues that will need to be resolved. They are nothing major and as its an older house it was reasonable that some would be expected. We want to negotiate some of the cost with the buyer so do we contact their estate agent (Purplebricks) or our solicitor? Any advice would be welcome.

eddddy

Solicitors don't really do negotiation.

How did you make your offer in the first place? Did you speak to somebody at Purple Bricks or did you just submit it as a message through their platform? Probably submit your revised offer in the same way.

user1977

If the issues aren't major and were to be expected, in what way do they "need to be resolved"?

thankmyluckystars

user1977 said:

If the issues aren't major and were to be expected, in what way do they "need to be resolved"?

'some' were to be expected

canaldumidi

Purplebrick - though my understanding is that 'negotiations' are not their forte. Cut price agency, so cut price service.

What are the unexpected minor issues? And by 'need to be resolved' are you suggesting pre or post purchase?

[Deleted User]

As a recent purchaser of a victorian house, a long list of non critical flaws is par for the course. With no major flaws, not sure id bother but your choice.

TheJP

Firstly did the survey give you a valuation based on what they saw? Secondly maybe contact the relevant trades for a estimate on how much the works will be. Thirdly you make a revised offer and ask Purple Bricks to send across to their client. There is no negotiation just you revising your offer based on the survey and what you feel is acceptable to rectify. The seller either agrees or states how much they are willing to accept or they pullout of the sale and relist the property.

EndlessStruggle

Where does your offer sit with any valuation?

How much are the repairs going to be?

I've got a very long list of minor repairs/maintenance to be done at the house I'm completing on shortly, around 5-10k of work, depending on how I tackle it.

Valuation was much higher than offer (25-31k) so I didn't want to risk them pulling out on me and relisting when I was in such a good position.

I will crack on with them over the next year or two.

canaldumidi

We see this time and again here.

Buyers, esp FTB, see the survey as serving two puposes: 1) to warn them of a serious issue and not to buy, or 2) to list issues to use as the basis for renegotiation of price.

Sure, it can and sometimes does fulfill those purposes. But more generally it is a way to get to understand the property you are buying: how it is constructed and what ongoing maintenance it will require. And additionally it provides a (sometimes long) list of 'to do' actions. These can usually be divided into short, medium and long term actions, and may simply be potential improvements rather than essential changes.

A decent survey tells a new owner a lot about their new home, much (most?) of it for information only rather than as relevant to either 1) or 2) above.

Phil4432

thankmyluckystars said:

We have received the surveyors report for a house we are buying and it has lots of issues that will need to be resolved. They are nothing major and as its an older house it was reasonable that some would be expected. We want to negotiate some of the cost with the buyer so do we contact their estate agent (Purplebricks) or our solicitor? Any advice would be welcome.

Work out how much the repairs will cost, then present a revised offer based on the work that need doing, to the estate agent.  If you feel that you should have money off, of course.

thankmyluckystars

Thanks for all the helpful information. The reason I asked the question about 'who' do we approach to negotiate some of the cost is because we have only ever bought new houses before so this is new territory. The house has been left empty and one of the issues are signs of rodent activity in the loft so that is one of the unexpected issues we would like to be resolved before we move in.