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Surveys are not a shopping list. Houses are priced according to what is on offer. A fixer upper is cheaper than the house next door which has had work done. It does not automatically mean that the cost to fix something should come off the price.
If you sell a 3 year old new build you should expect to fix anything that comes up. If you sell a Victorian terrace then it will inevitably have issues that need fixing due to age and a buyer should expect that.
I own a 49 year old house. I bought a nearly 48 year old house. I knew the roof and windows were old. If I had come along with my survey and said there is £40k of work to be done I would have been laughed out of the house - it was priced as a 48 year old house with work to do.
In other words without knowing the house you are looking at nobody can tell you what to do. It’s a negotiation.
100%. My buyer wanted money off because they didn’t like the paint colour in the bathroom. The estate agent sent one or two ‘requests’ for reduction through for us to bat away but laughed with us at most of the list.
How you navigate it is entirely up to you, it’s a scale of how attached to the sale you are.
Some people would ask for the price dropped for the value of the work,
Some would keep the price the same on the guarantee that the work is done before you complete,
Some would walk if they don’t get the outcome they want.
The survey is to make you aware of the state of the property and if the property has been valued as being in a good state of repair and it’s not then the price should be reflective of that.
Edit: Survey comment very poorly worded. So ignore that :)
Unless it's falling down or causing damp problems it's not urgent, it's just surveyor lingo. I wouldn't agree to a price reduction for that. Would a reduction even give you the capital in the bank to get the work done straight away?
Tbh, anything less than £20k should be considered normal expense imo. Survey should be less a negotiating tool, and more is the house about to cave in test.
As a first time buyer I think you are in the stronger position by default than your vendor. They’ve got a place to buy (presumably) and paying 2 lots of solicitor fees (one for the sale and one for the purchase) on top of usual house buying fees.
I think it depends on the amount of interest the property that you are buying received and the purchase price. If they had 15 offers on the table they are unlikely to accept price reduction. Also, 2k off 150 is not the same as 2k off 800.
I would ask the question. It doesn’t cost you anything to ask for a price reduction and the worst thing is they will just say no and you will continue with the process.
I’d be amazed if they pulled out because you ask the question. But I’d also be amazed if they agreed to it because it’s not the strongest argument for renegotiating.
Shoot your shot. They’ll probably say no but they might say yes. I don’t think they’ll pull out.
My current attempt to buy a property ran into a similar issue. The general survey found some damp so I asked to carry out a damp survey. They then claimed that they had done work and had a damp guarantee before threatening to pull out if I went ahead, eventually they cooled down and I finally got one done. Quickly became evident they hadn’t had the work done and didn’t have a guarantee so I asked if we could factor in a damp allowance of a £1k which was half the cost of the cheapest option to address the issue.
They then pulled out and refused to continue even after I offered to drop it. I realise £1k seems a small amount but I’m putting effectively my entire savings in so…. It would have helped. Eventually someone talked them round and we are going ahead but damn it was frustrating (plenty of other issues cropped up along the way). Prolonged the process by around 2 months for no reason.
No real point to the story I was just moaning 😂
What I will say is that no one ever pulls out simply because you try to go back in the price. They aren't going to go back to square 1. Worst case they just say no and call your bluff.
Negotiate from a position of power, only attempt it if you’re willing to lose the property or are confident enough to make it seem like you’re willing to. Don’t waste your time otherwise, will give the seller a bad impression of you and make them more likely to walk away leaving you out of pocket.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Surveys are not a shopping list. Houses are priced according to what is on offer. A fixer upper is cheaper than the house next door which has had work done. It does not automatically mean that the cost to fix something should come off the price. If you sell a 3 year old new build you should expect to fix anything that comes up. If you sell a Victorian terrace then it will inevitably have issues that need fixing due to age and a buyer should expect that. I own a 49 year old house. I bought a nearly 48 year old house. I knew the roof and windows were old. If I had come along with my survey and said there is £40k of work to be done I would have been laughed out of the house - it was priced as a 48 year old house with work to do. In other words without knowing the house you are looking at nobody can tell you what to do. It’s a negotiation.
I hope this sub never changes
Thats is Gen Z (or similar) for ya
100%. My buyer wanted money off because they didn’t like the paint colour in the bathroom. The estate agent sent one or two ‘requests’ for reduction through for us to bat away but laughed with us at most of the list.
At first I thought this was a shitpost.
How you navigate it is entirely up to you, it’s a scale of how attached to the sale you are. Some people would ask for the price dropped for the value of the work, Some would keep the price the same on the guarantee that the work is done before you complete, Some would walk if they don’t get the outcome they want. The survey is to make you aware of the state of the property and if the property has been valued as being in a good state of repair and it’s not then the price should be reflective of that. Edit: Survey comment very poorly worded. So ignore that :)
Did the value on the survey still reflect the price you agreed? Or was it lower?
Right demand to make if you pay as for new built. If not, can you explain to yourself why you think it wasn't already reflected in the price?
Unless it's falling down or causing damp problems it's not urgent, it's just surveyor lingo. I wouldn't agree to a price reduction for that. Would a reduction even give you the capital in the bank to get the work done straight away?
Tbh, anything less than £20k should be considered normal expense imo. Survey should be less a negotiating tool, and more is the house about to cave in test.
As a first time buyer I think you are in the stronger position by default than your vendor. They’ve got a place to buy (presumably) and paying 2 lots of solicitor fees (one for the sale and one for the purchase) on top of usual house buying fees. I think it depends on the amount of interest the property that you are buying received and the purchase price. If they had 15 offers on the table they are unlikely to accept price reduction. Also, 2k off 150 is not the same as 2k off 800. I would ask the question. It doesn’t cost you anything to ask for a price reduction and the worst thing is they will just say no and you will continue with the process.
I’d be amazed if they pulled out because you ask the question. But I’d also be amazed if they agreed to it because it’s not the strongest argument for renegotiating. Shoot your shot. They’ll probably say no but they might say yes. I don’t think they’ll pull out.
My current attempt to buy a property ran into a similar issue. The general survey found some damp so I asked to carry out a damp survey. They then claimed that they had done work and had a damp guarantee before threatening to pull out if I went ahead, eventually they cooled down and I finally got one done. Quickly became evident they hadn’t had the work done and didn’t have a guarantee so I asked if we could factor in a damp allowance of a £1k which was half the cost of the cheapest option to address the issue. They then pulled out and refused to continue even after I offered to drop it. I realise £1k seems a small amount but I’m putting effectively my entire savings in so…. It would have helped. Eventually someone talked them round and we are going ahead but damn it was frustrating (plenty of other issues cropped up along the way). Prolonged the process by around 2 months for no reason. No real point to the story I was just moaning 😂
They walk among us.
Urgently needed means it will probably last another 5 years.
What I will say is that no one ever pulls out simply because you try to go back in the price. They aren't going to go back to square 1. Worst case they just say no and call your bluff.
Negotiate from a position of power, only attempt it if you’re willing to lose the property or are confident enough to make it seem like you’re willing to. Don’t waste your time otherwise, will give the seller a bad impression of you and make them more likely to walk away leaving you out of pocket.