Been asked to chip in extra cash

Sparky200004

Hi, in a chain of 5 buyers, one person has found they need to do extra work on their new house after a survey. The estate agent phoned and said would we mind chipping in £1000

saajan_12

Sparky200004 said:

Hi, in a chain of 5 buyers, one person has found they need to do extra work on their new house after a survey. The estate agent phoned and said would we mind chipping in £1000

Okay, whats your question? 
You can say yes, no, or lets negotiate for say a lower amount or somehting else less tangible to suit you 

JosephK

Initial thought, their problem not yours. I'd want, at the very least, to know why you or anyone else should pay towards their costs

mebu60

That's between this person and the sellers of the house requiring the extra work surely? Why isn't the former able to get a reduction from the latter? 

Sparky200004

Hi, my father-in-law is part of a chain of 5 buyers. One buyer needs extra work on their new house after a survey, and the estate agent called asking if we’d chip in £1,000 — apparently everyone in the chain is being asked. He claimed this is common practice. Is that true? It doesn’t sound right.

sheramber

JosephK said:

Initial thought, their problem not yours. I'd want, at the very least, to know why you or anyone else should pay towards their costs

To avoid the sale  falling through and  the chain collapsing.

Many years ago an acquaintance was in a chain where the top of the chain needed a few thousand to go ahead with sale. I don’t remember the reason.

All parties in the chain split the extra  and paid up to allow the sale go ahead. 

david29dpo

Typical agent, try anything to make sure they get there fee!

ReadySteadyPop

Sparky200004 said:

Hi, in a chain of 5 buyers, one person has found they need to do extra work on their new house after a survey. The estate agent phoned and said would we mind chipping in £1000

What happens if the chain collapses anyway for another reason? You won`t get the money back, just ignore the EA and let the seller sort their own problem, their buyer could just drop their offer a bit to cover the work?

user1977

Do you even know what the cost is for? £1000 doesn't sound like something so serious that the buyer must sort it out immediately. If it's some trivial "defect" which the surveyor has pointed out and can be dealt with in the fullness of time, the answer is definitely no.

(and I'd also have doubts about the chain if the other relevant parties can't scrape together/negotiate £1000 away by themselves!)

Sparky200004

sheramber said:

JosephK said:

Initial thought, their problem not yours. I'd want, at the very least, to know why you or anyone else should pay towards their costs

To avoid the sale  falling through and  the chain collapsing.

Many years ago an acquaintance was in a chain where the top of the chain needed a few thousand to go ahead with sale. I don’t remember the reason.

All parties in the chain split the extra  and paid up to allow the sale go ahead. 

This appears to be what's being asked for, thanks, glad to here someone else has seen this.

Sparky200004

user1977 said:

Do you even know what the cost is for? £1000 doesn't sound like something so serious that the buyer must sort it out immediately. If it's some trivial "defect" which the surveyor has pointed out and can be dealt with in the fullness of time, the answer is definitely no.

(and I'd also have doubts about the chain if the other relevant parties can't scrape together/negotiate £1000 away by themselves!)

Good points! I'll forward this to him.