Negotiations advice needed urgently - Price agreed but seller misled us!

Bluebell1000

For me the solar panels would be the main worry. Personally I'd want the lease on the panels bought out as a condition of sale, so they become fully yours, and you receive the feed in tariff income. 

Our previous house had the council permission covenant and we never had any issues with getting permission (and at no cost). I appreciate this may vary with different councils. However if anything has been done without permission then you'd need to look into either the sellers getting permission before you buy, or possibly indemnity insurance?

gwynlas

40% affordable housing is a misleading statement to most people as interpretations vary whereas it generally means that renters pay as much as 80% of local market rent so if family homes rented for £1000pcm they would pay £800pcm. Given that this is an ex LA house is this new build development an extension of an estate? It might transpire that the whole development becomes the peoperty of a Housing Association and remaining hpuses let at social housing rent levels. 
An ex LA house where others are still rented tends to sell for less than where all others are now in private ownership. All these factors feed into what you should be offerring in a buyers market. Whilst many ex LA houses are solidly built and well maintained with genorous room sizes other might be of non standard construction. The sellers might not have considered the new build deveopment as affecting them as it lies behind the houses opposite so out of sight.

Slinky

Have you looked at other houses in the area to see if they have been altered? It's not a given that if they got permission to do something, you'll get the same, but it does indicate that it hasn't been a blanket no to changes in the past. Do you actually intend to make changes the council will need to agree to, or is it just the principle of having to get their OK which is your issue?

cramac90

Slinky said:

Have you looked at other houses in the area to see if they have been altered? It's not a given that if they got permission to do something, you'll get the same, but it does indicate that it hasn't been a blanket no to changes in the past. Do you actually intend to make changes the council will need to agree to, or is it just the principle of having to get their OK which is your issue?

Thanks for your comment.

One of the houses on the road has had a loft conversion.

Regarding your other point, it is a bit of both.  When we have children together, my partner and I may need to extend etc, but also, it could be a deterrent to future buyers when we sell the house.

diystarter7

Bluebell1000 said:

For me the solar panels would be the main worry. Personally I'd want the lease on the panels bought out as a condition of sale, so they become fully yours, and you receive the feed in tariff income. 

Our previous house had the council permission covenant and we never had any issues with getting permission (and at no cost). I appreciate this may vary with different councils. However if anything has been done without permission then you'd need to look into either the sellers getting permission before you buy, or possibly indemnity insurance?

Great post but hopefully solictor will look into that. 
For us, I'd run 50 miles from a property that had those or if any could be seen from the property we were buying.
I cannot stand the site of them and those installed a while ago as I know of someone, piegons used to get stuck under them and died and had to be removed, not sure what they have done to stop that. Then there is getting a roof leak repair and if you dont like paying over the odds for a roof repair, try one when you have these solar things on your roof.

Thanks

MorningcoffeeIV

diystarter7 said:

Bluebell1000 said:

For me the solar panels would be the main worry. Personally I'd want the lease on the panels bought out as a condition of sale, so they become fully yours, and you receive the feed in tariff income. 

Our previous house had the council permission covenant and we never had any issues with getting permission (and at no cost). I appreciate this may vary with different councils. However if anything has been done without permission then you'd need to look into either the sellers getting permission before you buy, or possibly indemnity insurance?

I cannot stand the site of them

I'm not sure where else you would site solar panels.

TheJP

diystarter7 said:

Bluebell1000 said:

For me the solar panels would be the main worry. Personally I'd want the lease on the panels bought out as a condition of sale, so they become fully yours, and you receive the feed in tariff income. 

Our previous house had the council permission covenant and we never had any issues with getting permission (and at no cost). I appreciate this may vary with different councils. However if anything has been done without permission then you'd need to look into either the sellers getting permission before you buy, or possibly indemnity insurance?

Great post but hopefully solictor will look into that. 
For us, I'd run 50 miles from a property that had those or if any could be seen from the property we were buying.
I cannot stand the site of them and those installed a while ago as I know of someone, piegons used to get stuck under them and died and had to be removed, not sure what they have done to stop that. Then there is getting a roof leak repair and if you dont like paying over the odds for a roof repair, try one when you have these solar things on your roof.

Thanks

So why on earth did you offer over asking on a property that sounds like you hate. Perhaps pull out and start agin?

RelievedSheff

29 houses is not by any stretch of the imagination a large development.

It may well be that the vendor was/is unaware of the development due to be built. Leaflets are usually only distributed to the properties which will be immediately adjacent the new development. It doesn't sound as though this house is adjacent too it. I'm not quite sure why you feel that a small development some way from this property will affect it?

Our last house was ex local authority and that had a very long list of covenants attached to the sale. It didn't stop us buying and it didn't stop it reselling. It sold within 3 days of going onto the market.

The leased solar panels would be more of a sticking point and I would want to be reading the terms of the lease at great length before signing up for the property.

As for the market changing since your offer was accepted. That may well be. But had the market still been rising would you have been happy to offer the vendor more money for the time taken so far. You were clearly happy with the price you offered. Nothing material has changed since then.

GixerKate

I don't see that the seller has misled you.  You've now got the results of your investigations and now need to make a decision.  Is this house still right for you?  If yes then proceed, if no then pull out.

mi-key

It does come across a bit like you think you offered too much, and now you have seen other nearby houses coming on the market cheaper you expect your seller to reduce the price you agreed and are looking for reasons to justify it?  

The development is very small by modern standards, and not sure what bearing it having affordable housing has on anything? All sorts of respectable people buy affordable housing these days. You could have bought the house, moved in, and a year later the council give permission for a 500 house estate right behind you.

Really it is up to you. You can pull out now and lose the money you have spent so far, try and get one of the cheaper houses ( which you may or may not get depending on all the variables ) or you can make the seller an offer, although I dont think any of your reasons would make them significantly reduce the price.