Seller Unhappy with Offer - Survey Requested

emploee_77

Hi All,

I have a bid on a property, it's £30k under the asking price, however, I suspect there are issues with the house that need addressed. A sale was previously agreed with the property but fell through due to the survey results. The property needs some work done and given its age, we suspect it has asbestos within it.

My bid has now been on for two weeks and we're the only bidders. The Estate Agent suggested that we get a survey done (penned for Tuesday) and the vendor will pay 50% of the costs and from that they'll decide if they want more than what we've bid.

Has anyone else been in a situation like this and if so have you any advice?

eddddy

emploee_77 said:

A sale was previously agreed with the property but fell through due to the survey results. The property needs some work done and given its age, we suspect it has asbestos within it.

You should ask the estate agent why the previous sale fell through.

If it was because of a problem with the property, that's almost certainly 'material information'. So the estate agent is breaking the law if they don't tell you.

emploee_77 said:

The Estate Agent suggested that we get a survey done (penned for Tuesday) and the vendor will pay 50% of the costs and from that they'll decide if they want more than what we've bid.

That sounds like a weird approach. My guess is that it's the idea of a desperate Estate Agent, who's trying to get a a seller and buyer to start negotiating and/or compromising.

gazfocus

Personally, I wouldn’t be spending money on a survey if the seller hasn’t even accepted my offer. Why should you be out of pocket so that the seller can find out the potential issues with their house?

Obviously, if you absolutely love the house and are desperate to buy it, that can change your approach but being realistic, you could pay 50% of a survey (a few hundred pounds), and then the seller could decide to play hardball and you’re out of luck. 

Hoenir

What's the property listed at sale for?  £30k needs to be in context.  If neither party is willing to move then there'll never be a satisfactory agreement. 

propertyrental

"£30k under the asking price," so £70K instead of £100K? Or £970K instead of  £1m?

No way I'd spend a penny (excuse the expression!) on legal fees, survey. Searches or anything until the seller has accepted my offer (or negotiated/agreed a different offer you're happy with).

But yes, pi the EA down on why the previous deal fell through and 0if necessary remind them of the TPOS or Property Redress Scheme (as appropriate) guidelines.

Herzlos

Can you buy a copy of the survey from the previous bidder? I'm assuming it'll be recent enough to give you an idea of what's going on.

Is the estate agent referring the surveyor? Are they doing it to get a commission?

emploee_77

Herzlos said:

Can you buy a copy of the survey from the previous bidder? I'm assuming it'll be recent enough to give you an idea of what's going on.

Is the estate agent referring the surveyor? Are they doing it to get a commission?

I've located the previous survey at a cost of £300.

The EA claims he wasn't told why the original buyer withdrew, only that they flagged issues with the survey.

ThisIsWeird

Get every such conversation with the EA recorded in some manner.
Almost certainly they are lying through their teeth.
It's possible that the vendor is intentionally holding back such pertinent info from the EA, but - really - why would they?! And how can the EA not know, as they've been dealing directly with the interested parties. 
They didn't ask why they pulled out?! The buyer refused to say?!
BS.
Who offered you the old survey for £300? Presumably the previous interested party, via the EA? 
Bear in mind that the old survey won't come with any 'warranty'. 

This 50:50 survey idea is unusual, but might have potential provided some caveats are met. For instance, it would need to be a mutually-agreed surveyor and survey level. It should also primarily be 'yours', in that you are covered should you proceed, and the surveyor got it wrong. The vendor's rights would, I think, need to be limited to 'fyi' only. Not that there's much more they could do with it anyway.
Perhaps not to be dismissed out of hand?
(Just an opinion)

eddddy

emploee_77 said:

The EA claims he wasn't told why the original buyer withdrew, only that they flagged issues with the survey.

The EA should absolutely definitely have asked the seller why the previous buyer withdrew, and what the issues were with the survey.

Is the EA saying they asked the seller, but the seller refused to tell the EA?

If so, maybe that should ring alarm bells?


And I'd suggest that is 'material information' in itself, so the EA should have volunteered that information to you - for example, "There were issues with a previous survey that caused a previous buyer to withdraw, but the seller will not tell us what those issues were."

emploee_77

I emailed a number of surveyors and one responded to say that they'd recently done a survey on the property and I could have it for a reduced fee and it would be adjusted to include my name etc. The surveyor who carried out the inspection left a voicemail advising "the original survey discovered issues but nothing overly concerning". I'll know on Tuesday exactly what the report says.

housebuyer143

emploee_77 said:

I emailed a number of surveyors and one responded to say that they'd recently done a survey on the property and I could have it for a reduced fee and it would be adjusted to include my name etc. The surveyor who carried out the inspection left a voicemail advising "the original survey discovered issues but nothing overly concerning". I'll know in Tuesday exactly what the report says.

Some people just get spooked by anything bad in the survey. You might be perfectly happy with the contents and might be able to wangle that reduced price on the back of it.