Asbestos I’m I being unreasonable?

[Deleted User]

Hi, Very long story cut short (hopefully). We are purchasing a house which is in need of cosmetic updating.  We have purchased the house as a walk in condition house, so we have paid over the odds, but the house suits us snd we’ve been looking a long time, so we didn’t mind paying at bit extra, we plan on living there for a while. We have duly had our survey which brought up the possibility of asbestos.  We had an asbestos survey/testing done which confirmed Amosite asbestos. As all the boards (ceilings) it is in are quite badly damaged especially in the garage it needs removing (the surveyor also confirmed in his report that if it was asbestos that it would need immediate removal due to the damage). Its a big house there is lots of it.  The cost to remove it and reinstate new boards is £23k (fall off your chair). So we have gone back to the sellers with all the information lab results/quotes etc. We waited 10 days for them to tell us they would get there own surveys done. We responded no problem but your survey you do the work, if you want us to do the work we’ll still do it off our quote, and you can reduce the price accordingly. 
We then got a response back saying that the house was “sold as seen”, and that it was habitual as we could close the doors on the effected rooms.  I’m I being completely unreasonable expecting the sellers to reduce the price just for this cost? There are also many other unexpected problems with the house and also the £23k does not include us finding alternative accommodation/storing furniture whilst the work is being done.  Opinions would be grateful received.  With Many Thanks 

user1977

How many competing quotes have you obtained?

theoretica

Unreasonable seems the wrong question to ask.  If you don't want the house except at £23k less than your original offer then you don't want the house at that price and tell the sellers so.  They either accept, or you walk away.  You can't make them agree to sell for less.  Problem comes if you want the house enough that you are just bluffing and not really going to walk away.

[Deleted User]

user1977 said:

How many competing quotes have you obtained?

2 for the removal but only 1 lot of testing as its £300 a pop. 

Chandler85

23k to remove asbestos.  I think you need to get more quotes for the actual work not just from a surveyor, from a company who would actually do it then go from there.

Then the further question has to be which bit needs immediate removal, which I would argue you can say you want the money off if it's dangerous, but none damaged board that doesn't need removing is different (though I understand why you want it gone).

Section62

[Deleted User] said:

There are also many other unexpected problems with the house and also the £23k does not include us finding alternative accommodation/storing furniture whilst the work is being done.  Opinions would be grateful received.  With Many Thanks 

Sounds like this isn't the right property for you.

If the vendors are pushing back on any reduction then its unlikely you'd get them to pay for storage and temporary accommodation on top of the cost of asbestos removal (and making good).

If you need a mortgage you may find the lender has concerns with a significant presence of amosite - it may end up going to a cash buyer or even to auction.

Niv

Price reduction aside, based on your description, this is not a house that needs cosmetic updating, it needs a refurb. I would not be moving into this house until the AIB is removed, all carpets removed and disposed of and the whole place deep cleaned. 

I am not one to overreact when I hear the word asbestos but brown asbestos is not nice stuff and if the boards are as badly damaged as you and the surveyor say and if the existing owners are using those rooms, there is a real possibility that fibres will be in every room.

The £23k doesn't phase me at all, I worked in the industry for a number of years and know full well how quickly the costs can escalate. Does that cost take into account the potential contamination of the whole house? Replacement of carpets etc?

Personally, I wouldn't go for this house unless it was the plan to not move in right away but to refurb first.

saajan_12

Fragglekid38 said:

Hi, Very long story cut short (hopefully). We are purchasing a house which is in need of cosmetic updating.  We have purchased the house as a walk in condition house, so we have paid over the odds, but the house suits us snd we’ve been looking a long time, so we didn’t mind paying at bit extra, we plan on living there for a while. We have duly had our survey which brought up the possibility of asbestos.  We had an asbestos survey/testing done which confirmed Amosite asbestos. As all the boards (ceilings) it is in are quite badly damaged especially in the garage it needs removing (the surveyor also confirmed in his report that if it was asbestos that it would need immediate removal due to the damage).
Its a big house there is lots of it.  The cost to remove it and reinstate new boards is £23k (fall off your chair). - to clarify, are we still at 'IF there is asbestos' or confirmed asbestos? You seem to switch between the two and at that cost, it'll need to be confirmed before even entertaining a price reduction. 
So we have gone back to the sellers with all the information lab results/quotes etc. We waited 10 days for them to tell us they would get there own surveys done. We responded no problem but your survey you do the work, if you want us to do the work we’ll still do it off our quote, and you can reduce the price accordingly. - why? How do you know they'll do the work to a good standard? Also from their perspective, they might not want to do the house before exchange, not knowing whether you'll pull out and the next buyer wants to gut the place anyway so its wasted. 
We then got a response back saying that the house was “sold as seen”, and that it was habitual as we could close the doors on the effected rooms.  I’m I being completely unreasonable expecting the sellers to reduce the price just for this cost? - untimately its irrelevant who is more reasonable.. the sellers want £X and you want to pay £x - 23k. Now that everyone knows the condition of the house, its a straight negotiation and if you can't agree then ultimately you look elsewhere. 
There are also many other unexpected problems with the house and also the £23k does not include us finding alternative accommodation/storing furniture whilst the work is being done.  Opinions would be grateful received.  With Many Thanks 

Reasonable or not, you and the seller no longer have an agreed sale price. Unless you can meet at one level, all you can do is look elsewhere. 

Section62

Chandler85 said:

Then the further question has to be which bit needs immediate removal, which I would argue you can say you want the money off if it's dangerous, but none damaged board that doesn't need removing is different (though I understand why you want it gone).

Not really practical to just remove damaged boards.  Realistically the whole lot needs stripping out whilst the property is empty.

TheCuriousSausage

I don't think you are being unreasonable. If "sold as seen" meant you were made aware that a significant amount of work was necessary when you made the offer then fine, but to find this out after the offer I would expect a negotiation heavily in your favour (e.g. at least £20k off). I would see the answer they gave as a red flag to the type of seller and walk away, especially as you are already paying over the odds.

theoretica

Section62 said:

Chandler85 said:

Then the further question has to be which bit needs immediate removal, which I would argue you can say you want the money off if it's dangerous, but none damaged board that doesn't need removing is different (though I understand why you want it gone).

Not really practical to just remove damaged boards.  Realistically the whole lot needs stripping out whilst the property is empty.

And asbestos is a case where two half jobs often works out much more expensive than doing it all at once.