Surveyor report

jxm_2

Hi all 

We have had an offer accepted on a house and have had a surveyor report. Our surveyor has raised a few issues. No issues are fundamental but there are a few issues that I would like the vendor to fix or reduce the selling price. The problem is that the surveyor agreed with the price negotiated. 

How do you go about this? I assume the estate agent will ask for a copy of the report and just say the surveyor agrees with the price you have already agreed on and will not repair these issues or reduce the price.

Appreciate any advice. 

user1977

Given the price is correct - why do you want the vendor to fix the items in question? What are they?

propertyrental

Impossible to respond helpfully unless you tell us what issues the survey raised.

All houses (yes even New Builds!) need maintenance, improvements etc. The issues in question might be things the vendor should take responsibility for, or might have been included in the report so that you are made aware of maintenance/repairs / improvements that you might want to address.

[Deleted User]

You should get independent quotes for the work required, otherwise how will you know what you're negotiating?

You don't need to send the survey in its entirety to the agent (and in fact you shouldn't)- but you can copy relevant parts and send those.

Schwarzwald

just share the sections that the surveyor recommends fixing and dont share the price.

or alternatively, ask the surveyor to remove the price from the survey and share the entire survey. you paid for the survey so no problem to ask for the price secion to be removed.

jxm_2

Thanks all for your responses.

We are buying a house up north which has been fully renovated in the last 5 years. We were happy to pay extra for a fully renovated house and believed this was reflected in the asking price.

Our surveyor has pointed out that there is some cracking in various rooms that are not serious from a structural point of view but repairs will be necessary. We didn't notice any of these on viewing so my issue is that I feel like I am going to have pay more to be happy with the condition of the house and the price I originally negotiated is more than I would have wanted to negotiate if I knew repairs were necessary. 

user1977

Cracking of what? If it's just decorative (i.e. the plasterwork), and it's so trivial you didn't even see it, it's not really a reasonable thing to start haggling about. Even brand new properties are going to have minor stuff like this.

Doozergirl

user1977 said:

Cracking of what? If it's just decorative (i.e. the plasterwork), and it's so trivial you didn't even see it, it's not really a reasonable thing to start haggling about. Even brand new properties are going to have minor stuff like this.

I'd go further.  Brand new or newly renovated properties are particularly likely to have minor issues like this! 

Plaster shrinkage is inevitable around stress points and some filling and repainting is almost always necessary after a year or so.  

It's not a lot of work though and it's certainly not something to renegotiate the price over.   Asking them to sort it, perhaps but after 5 years I'd probably want to redecorate anyway?  It won't look mint once the furniture is out and people usually want to put their own stamp on things.  

FreeBear

jxm_2 said: Our surveyor has raised a few issues. No issues are fundamental but there are a few issues that I would like the vendor to fix or reduce the selling price.

If the vendor does the repair, it will be the cheapest job possible, with no guarantee that it will last. If the issues are nothing more than a few hairline cracks, I wouldn't bother trying to negotiate or ask for a repair. Best done yourself.

Albermarle

Buy a tube of Polyfilla !

propertyrental

Albermarle said:

Buy a tube of Polyfilla !

The tubs are better value, buy be sure to seal them properly if you want the filler to keep.