Buyer enquiries - are these reasonable requests for me to pay for?

Flick85

But I suppose a basic question for the OP is - who paid that charge when they bought?

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So, the property was previously owned by a family member who I had been renting it from for 12 years, and it was transferred into my name a few months ago without me paying anything personally - an inheritance in advance, basically. 

I’ll check with them about how that worked when they bought it in 09, and also want happened at the point of transfer, if anything.

canaldumidi

felicityBD15 said:

So, the property was previously owned by a family member who I had been renting it from for 12 years, and it was transferred into my name a few months ago without me paying anything personally - an inheritance in advance, basically. 

Ah well, in that case your family member/ex landlord either already has an electrical test report (EICR) which you can simply send your buyer, or they were breaking the law.....

anotheruser

We asked for a gas safety and electrical safety test before completing on our house.
Seller (or rather sellers ex) said no, so the sale stalled.
Either they eventually agreed or the estate agent paid.

If I'm buying a house, I want to make sure it's safe (survey couldn't test gas or electrics).

Yes, caveat emptor and all that but it's not a huge ask and if everyone refused, I suspect many more sales would halt in their tracks.

eddddy

felicityBD15 said:

3) 'We note that there is a transfer fee payable to the Management Company on completion in the sum of 0.15% of the gross sale proceeds. Please confirm that you are happy for this amount to be paid from the sale proceeds upon completion.'

The Notice of Transfer would normally be sent by the buyer's solicitor, and the buyer would normally pay the fee. Having said that, everything is negotiable.

But on the other hand, to use the jargon, the transfer fee is an "Event Fee" and the Property Ombudsman would argue that the buyer should have been made aware of this "Event Fee" before they made the offer.


Essentially, you need to decide whether your refusal to pay the fee would make the buyer walk away, or result in bad feeling which makes the rest of the sale process more difficult.

Flick85

eddddy said:

felicityBD15 said:

3) 'We note that there is a transfer fee payable to the Management Company on completion in the sum of 0.15% of the gross sale proceeds. Please confirm that you are happy for this amount to be paid from the sale proceeds upon completion.'

The Notice of Transfer would normally be sent by the buyer's solicitor, and the buyer would normally pay the fee. Having said that, everything is negotiable.

But on the other hand, to use the jargon, the transfer fee is an "Event Fee" and the Property Ombudsman would argue that the buyer should have been made aware of this "Event Fee" before they made the offer.


Essentially, you need to decide whether your refusal to pay the fee would make the buyer walk away, or result in bad feeling which makes the rest of the sale process more difficult.

Thanks, this is super useful information.

I’ve looked at the lease again, and found the relevant paragraph. Tbh this particular fee feels like more reasonable request for me to pay given it’s written into the lease as a requirement, rather than something optional. So, I think I’ll agree to this one. 

The other requests are things that he wants, so as far as I’m concerned, I think he can pay for them!

If I wasn’t buying a new build myself, I’d be expecting to be paying for boiler service and electrical tests and wouldn’t have even asked the seller too. 

Another or his enquiries amused me though… “does the property have a balcony?”. Yes, it has 2, which he would know if he’d bothered to come and view it. But, he paid 7.5k over asking without viewing. So, I’m not feeling that flexible on additional costs tbh.

Thrugelmir

If the new boiler hasn't been serviced then this may have infringed and voided the manufacturers warranty. Cutting corners to save money can create all sorts of issues down the line. 

eidand

I would not pay for 1 & 2. the fee you might have to but for the rest if he wants a boiler service or electrical test he is welcome to organise and pay for them. That would be my position.

dimbo61

The " Investor " needs a Valid EICR and GSC in order to rent out the property !
He is also paying £7,500 over your asking price so up to you if you want to spend £50/60 for  Gas Safe Certificate and maybe another £100 for a service.
EICR for a flat should be £120/150 tops.
How keen are you to sell because if this buyer drops out the next buyer will want the same Certificates because the Mortgage Lender now asks for them.

JReacher1

I wouldn’t pay these if they has paid asking price but he’s paid £7.5k over so would agree. They’re all minor costs with the exception of three which depends how much you sold your house for. 

propertyhunter

I had to pay for a gas safety check and electrical safety check for the home I bought. You should really have your boiler serviced annually if you are living in the property to check that all is functioning correctly - you don't want a serious avoidable accident (such as carbon monoxide poisoning). Make sure you get this done wherever you move to next (if you're buying).