Prospective buyer only gave partial information on a survey

Girthhitch

Buyer had their survey done before putting in an offer.  Survey pulled up lots of silly little things on some of the newer work, with only one slightly valid point, typical stuff for surveys I guess.

However no comments on areas where I was definitely expecting a lot more feedback compared to the newer bits. There is still some slight damage we are waiting to fix too that wasn't brought up.

Are they probably withholding information in an attempt to lower their offer at the last moment? Still seems odd. Considering their offer.

Thankyou.

EssexHebridean

Someone paying for a survey before making an offer seems quite strange in itself, to be honest. 

user1977

Though the whole point of doing so would be to have the info before agreeing the offer - I can't see legitimate grounds for chipping away further with information which they already had...

Soot2006

Girthhitch said:

Buyer had their survey done before putting in an offer.  Survey pulled up lots of silly little things on some of the newer work, with only one slightly valid point, typical stuff for surveys I guess.

However no comments on areas where I was definitely expecting a lot more feedback compared to the newer bits. There is still some slight damage we are waiting to fix too that wasn't brought up.

Are they probably withholding information in an attempt to lower their offer at the last moment? Still seems odd. Considering their offer.

Thankyou.

Maybe the buyer also saw this and was therefore not surprised by it & already had it factored into their thinking?

cymruchris

If I'd seen X, Y and Z before commissioning my survey - I'd offer based on what I saw. If the survey then highlighted other issues I didn't see, I might want to discuss those if they were significant. So it may be that everything you 'expected' them to raise, they've already priced in to their offer as they saw it just as you did. I just had a survey done last week - and it saw everything I saw - and only picked up one minor issue that I missed - but it's not enough that I'm changing my offer, and won't change my offer. The house is within my budget - there aren't any others within my budget currently available in the area I want - so I'll just be proceeding as normal until (hopeful) completion. 

It's easy to read too much into a situation sometimes, and house purchasing and selling really does have quite a few stresses along the way. If the buyer reduces the offer (which they can do) - then you have the right to say 'No'. If they've paid for a survey though, they've already invested money into the purchase, alongside no doubt the initial conveyancing fees that they'll be liable for, so you saying 'No' should it happen will likely mean they'll go ahead at the price agreed - unless there's a multitude of similar houses available for less.

Girthhitch

EssexHebridean said:

Someone paying for a survey before making an offer seems quite strange in itself, to be honest. 

Yes, especially as I just heard they are using the same estate agent as me.

propertyrental

Have they actually made an offer? If not, keep marketing till they do and then decide what to do.

If yes, and it's a reasonable one, then accept (or negotiate).

If they later try to reduce their offer based on the survey you are in a strong position to say "Well you already knew that when you made your offer, so no, I won't accept any reduction in price".