Homebuying survey on a house purchase - negotiate a lower price?

Hemisha1985

Hi All,

In the middle of purchasing a home - and I have just had a detailed homebuyer survey report done.

I'm not someone who is going to request that everything such as the rewiring etc must be taken off the agreed price now - as I can imagine a lot of this is the surveyor covering themselves, and many houses would have a report saying there is "a need to rewire".

I have included a pic of the following in the conclusion part of the report. My concern is that the windows do not fully open for fire escape in the bedrooms. And to be honest I would be uncomfortable moving in until that fire escape was there.

What would you do in my position if you received the following report? Is it worth asking for a certain amount off? or even opening the conversation?

Any help is appreciated.

user1977

Hemisha1985 said:

My concern is that the windows do not fully open for fire escape in the bedrooms. And to be honest I would be uncomfortable moving in until that fire escape was there.

That's the sort of thing you could have figured out for yourself, and I wouldn't say it makes any difference to the market value of the property. Without knowing more about the layout etc I'm not sure how much of a concern it ought to be anyway.

alleycat`

Is the property in a similar state / have a similar asking price to the area and does it otherwise tick your boxes?

Were the windows intended as "fire escape" windows? Not all of them are intended to be so.

Some of the suggestions sound like betterment v's energy guidance or modernization than things that are actually "wrong".

It doesn't say:- windows are rotten and falling out, flat roof is 20 years old and in serious need of replacement, etc.

I'm not sure what the survey was meant to tell you but these seem quite "generic" and not the sort of detail I'd expect.

Chandler85

So a bathroom window doesn't open enough, but your quote is for all windows and doors, so even the ones that are fine.
Get the wiring tested properly if you are worried, a surveyor saying they didn't test it and still declare it needs rewiring wouldn't fill me with confidence!
Insulation, personal choice, there is no requirement, though it is sensible.
Flat roof and decking is the trickiest in there, is it leaking and needs replacing?

Richiem1987

The only one there is if the flat roof is leaking. Are there any wet patches, or evidence of the ceiling being recently painted? You will need a flat roof specialist to check for leaks, bit difficult at the moment with it being dry. If it is leaking, then that would be the only bit I would re-negotiate on. If it is not leaking, then it should be factored in as part of ongoing property maintenance. 

Exodi

I'd generally take the view that if it could be noticed while viewing, it's not reasonable to re-negotiate it on receipt of the survey.

The windows were something you could have noticed yourself, likewise if I had a pound for everytime a survey said a house needed a complete rewire ... as you say, some of these things are also just covering the surveyors back (e.g. knotweed survey, drainage survey, etc).

Is the roof leaking? Seems excessive to recommend replacing it with thermowood for the sake of it.

TheJP

The last house i sold (built circa 1990) didn't have fire escape windows, survey picked this up and the buyer asked for a contribution of £1000 to have one installed. There is no legal requirement and i declined, they bought the house and from what my old neighbours tell me she didn't have any new windows fitted, that was 2 years ago. If its for your piece of mind then its your costs to pay.

As others have said i would want to check that the flat roof isn't leaking as that's where id want to negotiate if it was. 

Hemisha1985

Thanks for all the responses for far. Most people only go through this once with the crazy prices out there atm. The comments have been really helpful in the through process of this very expensive purchase. 

dimbo61

With another 0.25/0.5% BOE base rate rise due next month getting the best mortgage deal and securing the property should be your number one priority.
However are you overpaying for the perfect house ?
I have recently completely rewired a terraced house that was empty and fitted new uPVC fire escape windows and new front door and rear patio doors.
I don't like flat roofs so would look at the option of putting a normal roof on the Extension ?
This all costs Money and time, effort and mess if your living in the property.

chanz4

Not all windows are fire escapes, in honesty if I was the seller none of them would lower my price

Sarah1Mitty2

user1977 said:

Hemisha1985 said:

My concern is that the windows do not fully open for fire escape in the bedrooms. And to be honest I would be uncomfortable moving in until that fire escape was there.

That's the sort of thing you could have figured out for yourself, and I wouldn't say it makes any difference to the market value of the property. Without knowing more about the layout etc I'm not sure how much of a concern it ought to be anyway.

Doesn`t really matter if they could figure it out or not, they are within their rights to review their price any time they wish, usually small niggles like this as the sale proceeds are symptoms of larger doubts about price/area/house etc. anyway.