sale just fell through this afternoon- unbelievable EA

daveyliver

iyiarz wrote: »

Sorry first time buyer... If you were my buyer, i'd do the same!
To expect perfection in any house is being picky. Take on board the recomendations from the report. Get some advice on how serious they are and decide if they are of significant risk. Some regs are just over the top.

If the house needed complete re-wiring, it would be different. If its simple 'that shower switch doesn't meet current standards' , I really wouldn't let a sale fall through over something thats never caused a problem before.

Didnt the OP say that 2 urgent jobs were flagged by the report? Arent electrical regulations law? I dont know thats why I ask.

I wouldnt want "joe taxi driver by day" messing with electrics of the house I was to buy. If I want to paint my house I can do that, If I want my gas cooker replaced I get a professional in.

To be honest if the seller is gonna let a house sale go west in this climate for a few hundred quid then lots of luck.

But on the other hand if you love the house is it worth losing over a few hundred quid?

I havent started viewing houses yet and wont till next year, So when I do and if I find the EA rude or unhelpful in any way I think I will pop a note through the sellers house saying "sorry I was going to view your house but your estate agent's attitude has put me of dealing with him/her"

Doc_N

Interesting situation, but I wouldn't mind betting that the whole thing is a bluff. Only an idiot would back out of a sale for this amount of money in a fast falling market. You could compromise, and split the cost if you really want the house, but to be honest you'd probably be better off walking away and waiting for prices to fall some more. There's very little point buying a house that's almost certain to be worth a fair bit less in a few months time.

ixwood

So you instantly threatened them to discount or else, they come back with a compromise and you took the hump cos you don't respond kindly to threats?

Well done.

Luckily, as it happens, now's the worse time to buy in a decade, so your childish tantrums could work out nicely.

jamtart6

i can see both sides of the argument here. the one i dont agree with it saying you dont respond to threats but you said to them "sort it or the deal is off"..which is kind of a threat. The EA sounds naff I'll give you that. As another poster said, for the money on which you will lose in fees, cant you put that towards the electrics and meet the vendors half way. It is frustrating for you I know, but you probably should have negotiated than demanded really. You will have to pay over £1k in fees on the next house...if you want that house that much, put that £1k towards the house.

Alternatively wait a year and see if the market has calmed down. £2.5k off a £90k house is not the best reduction either. I'd be offering about £70k for it!

brit1234

clutton wrote: »

you and the seller have both been acting like childish kids - for the sake of a few hundred quid both of you have lost the house(s) you both want

how silly .....

the house-buying-selling scenario is 3rd or 4th on the list of lifes stressful events - you have clearly let it get to you -

go back and offer what they want and move into the house that you want

building regs for electrics are a fairly recent bit of tom-foolery - folks have been buying houses for decades without this and seem to have got on alright

I say the opposite, stick to your guns, it is a buyers market after all.

Property is well overvalued and falling fast. The sellers should of given in, it was a reasonable offer. Many people are putting offers of 20-30% less, £700 is small in comparison and clearly justified.

epz_2

frankly the way to play it would have been to make the sale conditional on the jobs being done by an approved professional with written proof.

not only do they not think you are trying to gouge them but you avoid any hassle/mess when you moved in and its pretty hard to argue that you dont want to sell a house with safe electrics.


forget emotional blackmail, your sellers dont care buyers emotion or they would have sold to the most worthy rather than for the highest price they could get

tomstickland

I don't see huge grounds for complaint TBH. They could have said "either pay the asking price or don't buy it." They eventually offered a 50-50. OP said "no sale", so there wasn't one.

dopester

first_time_buyer_X wrote: »

and the suggestion that the 2 jobs had been done by the husband of the couple.

If it is poor workmanship like the survey indicates, and if the husband did the electrical work himself as suggested, and they are prepared to risk losing a sale for £100... I'd be tempted to think they are struggling financially and need to get the price they want because of their financial circumstances.

If so, just because they have the mindset of "needing" to get their price, it would make them very vulnerable to the reality of how the market is going. People like this are going to be ripped apart when next door, or across the road, cut their asking price by £20,000 to try and shift their place.

And the EA sounds like he's treating you like a mug punter - don't know how you've kept your patience.

Nenen

It's a difficult and emotional situation for everyone involved (even the EA could be fraught if his business is one of the ones going under or he's under threat of redundancy). Maybe, if they'd borrowed up to the max on their new house, in what is now a falling market, the vendors just couldn't afford £700 at the last minute. Perhaps you could let things cool down for a couple of days and then have a rethink. How much did you really want the house?

dopester

Nenen wrote: »

(even the EA could be fraught if his business is one of the ones going under or he's under threat of redundancy).

I say let him burn if he thinks he can prolong his business and income by treating a FTB like a total sap.