In the Meantime

MovingForwards

Is negotiate a bit on the price rather than have the seller do repairs.
But, you have already got a reduced price based on your viewing so they may decline as aside from the bath, unless it's on fancy legs, everything else would have been noticeable.
As for the rubbish that must be cleared.

jwil

You can always ask for the work to be done but they might just say no. The other thing they might do is bodge it, so I would probably just get it done myself so I had control over how it was done. You could get quotes and negotiate the price but again they might say no. Is any of it a dealbreaker for you?  

scrooge2008

Hi DIA, 

I have read your diaries for many years and think you are an amazing and inspirational person.  In the last four years I have bought four properties and rented them out and each had their own issues but I do not regret any of the purchases and combined they have increased in value by £200.000 and I have excellent tenants.  If I was to have taken very seriously the renting boards on MSE I would not have made any of the purchases.

My point is sometimes the leap of faith brings amazing results and if this is the property that sings to your heart then just go for it and everything will fall into place.  Faint heart never won fair lady.  Get it concluded as soon as possible, move in and start the new exciting chapter in your life.  All will be fine xx.

doingitanyway

Skint_yet_Again said:

You are doing really well dia. 

All rubbish should be removed on completion. Maybe point it out to EA especially if vendor doesn’t live there. For repairs I got people in for quotes before exchange & got the vendor to reduce purchase price accordingly via EA, so I think it’s up to you whether you want the work done before you exchange. 

Worth asking about the stopcock via EA. I didn’t have one inside my old property & had to turn off in the street but that wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. There may be isolator valves on taps/washing machine inlet & worth asking at same time. 

Thanks SYA  I will go via the EA to get the rubbish cleared. I will also ask EA about various stopcocks
I think I will probably leave repairs as they are not major and to be fair I did have a price reduction.

redofromstart said:

I only ever got the solicitor to deal with anything legal (it really depends if you are on a fixed price quote or 6 minute dings for every interaction) and I made the estate agent work for their fees otherwise.  'Prior to exchange I will want to have a final inspection of the property and will not be able to proceed if 'the rubbish is still there/etc'

urgent works are a bit different, something politely worded via the estate agent to say that the survey has identified three points that require immediate action, and that they must be completed before exchange? The risk is they say 'No, we allowed for this in our pricing, and when we accepted your offer below asking',  but that is the same via your solicitor. We took an offer on our last house but made it very very clear there would be no negotiating if the survey identified anything minor and we would have let the chain collapse before we had moved any further. 

Thanks Redo, that makes sense. I wasn't sure before, but it makes sense use the EA. That is a useful sentence and I will use it. Thinking about it the points requiring urgent action, I'm ok to do once in. I had a reduction and I'm happy with that. I'll leave the solicitor to concentrate on boundaries, building regs, liabilities etc...

MovingForwards said:

Is negotiate a bit on the price rather than have the seller do repairs.
But, you have already got a reduced price based on your viewing so they may decline as aside from the bath, unless it's on fancy legs, everything else would have been noticeable.
As for the rubbish that must be cleared.

jwil said:

You can always ask for the work to be done but they might just say no. The other thing they might do is bodge it, so I would probably just get it done myself so I had control over how it was done. You could get quotes and negotiate the price but again they might say no. Is any of it a dealbreaker for you?  

Thanks both  You are right about the potential for the repairs to be bodged @jwil and none of it is a deal breaker.
@MovingForwards I will definitely push for the rubbish to be cleared

scrooge2008 said:

Hi DIA, 

I have read your diaries for many years and think you are an amazing and inspirational person.  In the last four years I have bought four properties and rented them out and each had their own issues but I do not regret any of the purchases and combined they have increased in value by £200.000 and I have excellent tenants.  If I was to have taken very seriously the renting boards on MSE I would not have made any of the purchases.

My point is sometimes the leap of faith brings amazing results and if this is the property that sings to your heart then just go for it and everything will fall into place.  Faint heart never won fair lady.  Get it concluded as soon as possible, move in and start the new exciting chapter in your life.  All will be fine xx.

Thank you @scrooge2008 for such an affirming, lovely post. I appreciate you sharing your experience of buying properties. I will get conclude as quickly as I can. I am ready for the next chapter to begin. xx

doingitanyway

I am feeling less nervy today. The comments helped and now I can email my solicitor the issues that are 100% legal. 

So, I will leave any repairs. I would want to ensure they are done well and the vendors may well offer to put the issues right at a lower standard than I would like. Also, the comments about the price already being reduced are right. There are no deal breakers. I will however contact the EA to ensure the rubbish is removed, the stopcocks are identified.

I need to check whether there is a telephone line is in the property? Apparently obtaining new lines are costly...

I need to check if BB services can be obtained. 

Yesterday I spent time with an old friend. I had been disappointed in her for a while, but decided to make contact as we have known each other for a long time. She apologised. I accepted her apology. We moved forward 

I hope everyone is enjoying their day 

jwil

Glad you are feeling better, and lovely to reconcile with an old friend.

doingitanyway

jwil said:

Glad you are feeling better, and lovely to reconcile with an old friend.

Thank you  It was lovely to reconcile. Life is far too short to hold on to past slights 

doingitanyway

Argh good news, so I should be pleased but annoyed

Good: I emailed the EA to ensure the rubbish is cleared and the stopcocks are identified. The EA has contacted the vendors who agreed to clear the rubbish before my final viewing, and I now know where the stopcocks/isolator valves are

Annoying (but also good if they are correct) my final search is back. Annoying because the EA is advising me about searches I have paid for. Surely the solicitor should let me know as I am the client! 

jwil

That is annoying but also hopefully true

savingholmes

Glad things are going better. All the best