Do you think these are reasons to get money off house price?

[Elllie]

Just when I thought it was going well......
We have the results of our structural survey on the house we are buying. It's not totally bad, but there are a couple of bigger points that don't sit comfortably.
We payed a very high asking price for this house BTW, and while I really don't want to mess the seller around at all, I just wondered what you thought.

1. one of the windows has cracking in brickwork above it. The surveyor thinks there is a missing lintel, and the bricks are resting on the PVC window, causing distortion. I'm panicking on this one as this would be our DS bedroom. Doesn't sound safe, does it? He recommended a quote on fixing this with a steel lintel.
   
2. the drains are 'insufficient' and could fail at any time (to paraphrase) and he recommended getting a quote 'before negotiations'. Eeeeeek.
   We are speaking to him tomorrow for more details, but am I being unreasonable in thinking it is 'money off' time? Have you ever asked for money off the house price and for what?

[Elllie]

Hope that doesn't make me sound mean, it's just that it sounds like fairly signficant work on a house that looked in tip top condition.

[Earlybird]

What does your estate agent advise?

Fwiw, I would think you have more leverage if the house has been on the market for a bit and/or the sellers are anxious for the sale to go through.

[Elllie]

Hmmm...yes, I know what you mean. However, we were the desperate ones as we need a base to come back to from abroad, and the house ticks all of the right boxes. We offered them the asking price on the first day of marketing to have it taken off the market, and it is quite a competitive area because of the schools. But the agent we are buying through is known to over value a little too.
I'm just nervous about taking on a can of worms when we are already taking on a considerable mortgage. I guess I just don't know what sort of things people come across that would be a legit reason for reducing their offer.

[Earlybird]

Do you have any idea how houses have been selling in the area (how long on market, % off asking price, etc.).

How long have you been away, and how well do you know the area you're moving to?

Wondering if it is an option to rent so you have a chance to look at leisure, instead of forcing something that is very expensive and may not be right for you/your family.

Again - ask the estate agent what they advise wrt the survey results. Also, get a general estimate of what it will cost to have the issues put right.

[BeenBeta]

All you can do is get a quote or rectifying work and ask or that price reduction.

This sounds to me like the house has been extended by a bodging builder who did not put in a lintel or a proper drain.

If it is an extension, has it got planning permission and compliant with building regs? I cannot believe the house was originally built that way.

[DitaVonCheese]

What is the age of the house? Our house has no lintels because they didn't put them in when it was built (50s) and all was fine until the windows were replaced with uPVC (will also need doing at some point apparently but the surveyor didn't seem too worried).

With our last flat, we did the same and put in an asking price offer on the day it went on the market to get it taken off (on EA's advice - EA then didn't take it off for the whole of a bank holiday weekend ) then knocked £7,000 off following the survey. Imo half the point of getting a survey done is to get money knocked off!

I'd get some quotes done and then take it from there - if it's not much then you might want to suck it up if you're really keen on the house.

[noddyholder]

Surveys always sound scary!How old is the house lintels foundations etc are often not present in old houses which have been standing years.How does the surveyor kn ow the drains are faulty?Did he do a drain survey with rods and cameras?I doubt it he is probably covering his ass as any drains cold fail at any time.Ask what this is based on.If there is hard and fast evidence then re negotiate putting in a lintel is not a huge expense but what about all the other windows in the house!

[scaryteacher]

Surveyors also get bees in their bonnets - when we remortgaged we had to have one done and the surveyor insisted on a mundic survey for a house built in 1835 and which had had two previous surveys (one when we bought it, one when we extended the mortgage), and neither previous surveyor had even raised this as a concern. We bought in 1992 and had the last survey done in 2006.

No mundic problem obviously!

Ask for more details as Noddy says, and check what he bases this on.

[Elllie]

Thanks guys - I am speaking to the surveyor this afternoon. The house is 1960s, but it looks like the windows may have been replaced in 2001 when they did a big extension. The strange thing is that this is an upstairs window, yet all of the downstairs windows seemed to be fine. In fact he even refers to the building style as having concealed lintels. Unless this one has failed in some way.
I was wondering if he was just being a bit picky on the drains. I can't imagine that most houses have had a thorough investigation with probes into their drainage.
I hate surveys - I always feel like I'm getting into some sort of money pit.

[Fiddledee]

get a drains survey, check about the lintel. are the one buying in the bourne, farnham? Unless you are right next to the primary svhool i.e. within 400 yards I wouldn't pay a premium, there seems to be quite a turnover in the area unlike say busbridge (ignore if you are not that ellie). It seems you might have a good position to negotiate the price down.

Surveys are meant to freak you out.

[HaveToWearHeels]

I would definately ask for money off or get the seller to repair before you exchange.

[Elllie]

Spoke with the surveyor - as clear as mud. Reckons the lintel prob will cost 2-3k to make right. Wouldn't be drawn in on whether it was likely to get worse, and said we could just leave it and monitor - but it would need to be done. As for the drains, I can't help but feel he is covering his back because he can't see anything. Has recommended we get a specialist company out to CCTV it to find out the condition. That is 300 pounds. Worthwhile? Aren't they going to find some problem anyway? Grrrrr..... Why can't this all be easy!
Fiddledeedee - yes this is me! The house is 0.3 miles away from the school and the turnover isn't that good actually. One has just come on after about 8 weeks. The problem is how much work they need - a lot of the props are older peoples houses. We grabbed this one because it didn't seem to need much done to it. And we'll need plenty of time for school applications too, so I'm looking to hang onto this one. It's just so difficult to decide whether the surveyor is making us skittish with his nit picking!

[noddyholder]

What drains does he mean?Is it a terrace?Do the neighbouring properties have drain issues?You could knock and ask

[thisisyesterday]

i would def want money off for the lintels. not sure about the drains, good idea about asking neighbours tho