Do we renegotiate?

[PeachandBee]

First time buyers, but not first time home owners. We're close to exchange on our new home, but starting to become concerned about the mounting costs.
Property was initially marketed at oiro 425, which was overpriced but we fell in love with it, offered 410 which was accepted straight away. Mortgage value at 386 but as it was a basic distance valuation, it doesn't take into consideration additional extensions and a workshop.

Since then the survey has shown that it needs new windows as some are rotten, new guttering, replacement garage roof etc. All in all about 15k of work. All annoying but not unexpected so continued with purchase. There is no fensa for the composite front door as it looks like he has had this put in by a random bloke off FB.

Then there is no gas or electric safety certificates. The seller took it upon himself to replace the boiler under his homecare scheme when asked for a safety certificate which was appreciated but as we were told the boiler was new when we put our offer in initially did raise an eyebrow. We paid for our own electric report at £250 as our solicitor had concerns. This has shown that the lights in the bathrooms arent safe and the fire alarms are 4 years out of date, so need an additional £800 of work.

Sellers have been friendly and flexible the whole time but I'm starting to think that all this work will put it way over value. However we risk losing our buyer if we pull out completely and there is absolutely nothing else of this type of house in the city! I have severe anxiety and tend to worry and overthink things so i have no idea if any of this is even normal house buying things and I have no one objective to ask.

What's the best move? Do we ask to lower the price again or just pay up?

[user1471538283]

I would try and negotiate if I were you and if not walk away. It seems like an awful lot of money to make it home

[sunshinesupermum]

Based on what the survey has shown up and the considerable extra costs you will have to pay I would definitely lower my offer. You say the house was overpriced when you offered £410K so don't let your heart lead your head.

If you don't want to lose your buyer, understandably, can you move into rented accommodation instead of buying this house? There is ALWAYS another house to buy!

[KoalasandRabbit]

I would continue to sell yours moving into rental if possible but there's no way I would pay £410k for a house valued at £386k. I would try and negiotiate a reduction.

[PeachandBee]

Thanks everyone, I suspected renegotiating might be the best thing to do but didnt want to be that dreaded buyer who chances a discount just before exchange!

I have 3 young children and rents are extortionate where I live so renting temporarily would not be an option. We have no family to stay with either, unfortunately. The size of property just doesn't come up in our budget so to pick a different house would cost significantly more for less space. (This house is priced lower than average for its size because of its proximity to an undesirable location which doesn't bother us)

[PeachandBee]

Which sounds utterly confusing actually.

House is a 5 bed with outbuildings within 2 miles of a Cat A prison. Area is lovely and quiet, with excellent schools and amenities, it just doesn't achieve the prices other areas of the city get because of this. Asking price for the house is in line with standard 4 beds in other areas of the city, but overpriced for where it is.

[sunshinesupermum]

What will you do if they won't come down to a more acceptable price OP? Is this your 'forever' home and can you afford all the work that needs doing?

[PeachandBee]

sunshinesupermum

Honestly, we don't know what to do. We hope it is our forever home and we intend to stay as long as we can but anything can happen with work and family and I want to protect ourselves if something changes in the next 5-10 years.

We can afford to do the immediately necessary work like electrics but windows and kitchen would have to wait a year or two.

DH is currently on the phone to the vendor to have a friendly chat about everything before we approach negotiations.

[bluejelly]

Good luck! I would try and get a small discount to cover electrical and boiler costs.

[purpleleotard]

I would make a list with possible costs and then use this to renegotiate.
There are too many problems for you to take a hit.
You must get a 'gas safe' engineer to inspect the boiler.

[yellowymellowy]

Definitely renegotiate. It seems very over priced from your description and the survery has shown issues which were not factored into the price from what you say.

Why did you pay for the electric safety check? That is the sellers responsibility so they should have paid and then paid to ensure safety, ie the £800 that you have quoted. They also need to provide a safety certificate for the boiler. Surely your solicitor is advising you about this.

[WoolyMammoth55]

Hi OP, we were involved (as trustees for my elderly MIL) in the sale of a house last year which was a lovely characterful fixer-upper - lots of pros to it but lots of cons too.

We accepted a low offer (as it sounds like your vendors have too) and trusted that the buyers were being realistic about what they were taking on.

They strung us along for ages and then tried to seriously reneg the price right before exchange, and we told them to fuck off. We honestly would have re-listed it had it not been for my MIL's involvement, as she needed the situation to be resolved.

Since there are a lot of pros to this house - including the extension which the distance val didn't take into account - I'd tread really warily and wouldn't reneg any further than the electrics costs, if I were you.

Things like windows come up now and again with any property - it's not like you're buying a new build and expect everything to be immaculate? You can live with them (as the vendors evidently have) and the garage roof, and front door is your call to live with or not but not going to break the bank if you do replace. The guttering you may have to sort soon, since that can lead to other problems with damp, but that should not be £££.

Personally if you want to go ahead with this purchase I'd just advise that it's a balancing act - ultimately both sides can decide to walk away at any point and if you don't want that outcome then be mindful of how you'd feel if the situation was reversed.

Best of luck!

[Porridgeoat]

Renegotiate to cover the cost of the work. 386 sounds sensible and state that it’s because of the work that needs to be undertaken and the valuation.

[PeachandBee]

Well, that did not go well!

We contacted him directly as we've had a good, friendly relationship up until now and just chatted about the reports, the cost of the work etc. We asked if he would consider a 10k reduction to cover some of the works. He refused, we said we understood and would have a chat and a think. All very casual and light but 2 hours after our call he's now considering pulling out and remarketing at a higher price.

Disappointing, but thems the breaks I guess.

For posters that I cant link to because I now have mush for brains;

-We do now have a gas safety certificate, it's a new boiler.
-He was being difficult to pin down about the electric report and we were advised by solicitor to just get one ourselves to keep the peace.
-we've not held up anything and completed all checks and paperwork weeks ago, we are currently waiting on them so hope we dont come across as difficult buyers!

[Notyetthere]

Looking at the issues raised about the electrics, our buyers had a EIRC completed on our house as part of their survey. The report raised some issues about some parts needing updating to current standards. We politely told our buyers to upgrade these items themselves if they so wish. I understand that electrical codes update regularly making work that was done even a couple of years ago obsolete, but not dangerous. The bathroom light thing was also brought up in ours, that they weren't fire regulated downlights. We pushed back on this one as fire regulated is only required if the room above it is occupied. We have loft storage there so need. Basically we are only fixing C2s and C1s. C3 were recommended as improvement required, not dangerous so our buyers could get these done at their own leisure. However, I dont anticipate and of these things will actually cost them that much to do anyway. The house we are buying will definitely need rewiring but we aren't asking for a discount on it.

[Yellowbutterfly1]

I’ve never been aware of anybody in a private home needing gas or electric certification.
Do the things such as the flat roof and guttering actually need replacing?
The survey on my own home said the gutters needed to be replaced, 20 years later and they still work perfectly and never been replaced.
A neighbour had similar about their garage flat roof when they had their survey, many years later the roof has still not been replaced because there was nothing wrong with it.

[sunshinesupermum]

How long has he been marketing the property Notyetthere?

Has he had offers before you? So sorry he's not prepared to renegotiate, even to a lower amount than £10K. Raising the asking price sounds very strange under the circumstances.

[sunshinesupermum]

Sorry my post should have been addressed to PeachandBee!!!!

[NC4Now]

Where is the estate agent in all this? Surely it’s their job to manage any negotiations?

[sergeilavrov]

Pulling out may well be a bluff. Hold your nerve, if you’ve been good buyers until now - get the documents ready that identify where you see the problems (electricity report, mortgage valuation) and provide an alternative solutions eg he fixes the electrics with a certified provider that you agree on, the price doesn’t change, and you sort the doors and windows out at your own cost between exchange and completion such that it’s safe when you move in.

If he does pull out, he’s going into an uncertain economy with a house near somewhere undesirable. You could always simply tell the agent a new offer (slightly lower than you would give now) and allow the man to come back to you and negotiate from there. It’s harder than people think to turn your back on a sale when everything is ready, this is especially true if your house sells and you’re a cash buyer.