Reducing house offer

[Curious2468]

Hi,
We are in the process of purchasing a house and we are wondering if renegotiation is acceptable? When we offered we went in 5k over the asking price on the basis that we were given time to secure a buyer on our home. We weren't given this and they were adamant they would only accept our offer once we sold which meant we also ended up accepting an offer on our property below the asking price. We were ok with this initially as we love the home. It has turned out since that some things were listed inaccurately. The garden was listed as 80ft but is actually 50. The house is classed as end of terrace/semi detached but we have since discovered that the neighbours have extended behind the property and whilst it is not attached the our potential home the extension is only a gate width apart from 2 of the downstairs rooms (this couldn't be seen from the front of the house because of where the extension has been done). The survey has also flagged that the boiler could be condemned due to its location within the loft and that the soffits are in need of replacement. Other than this the house is in reasonable condition aside from a few minor things like upstairs windows being older than 10 years etc. The survey has however stated that the house is top end of valuation for a house of its type and that they wouldn't expect it to resell at our purchase price.

We have flagged this with our sellers estate agent who are being quite abrupt but awaiting our response on what we want to do.

Is it unreasonable to lower our offer at this point? I don't want to be unfair to the sellers but at the same time I am using inheritance from when my mum passed away to purchase the property and don't want to essentially throw away my mums hard work. That said it has taken us a long time to find a house that will suit us and internally I love everything about it. I do have concerns over how overlooked the back garden is though for the purchase price but it has been the best compromise we have managed to find and my children are getting older so the garden won't be used as much as it would have when they were younger.

Aibu to ask for a small reduction? We were thinking back to the original asking price.

Could you rent if they refuse your lower offer? If the market is slowing you could get a better deal later.

I'm trying to see the 5k as the equivalent of rent had we sold and then rented while we found somewhere (which locally is often what people do to stand a better chance of having offers accepted). Renting wouldn't have been an option for us as I have 2 children on the autistic spectrum and one move is going to be stressful enough.

I will try and get a quote for the soffits but we are having issues getting someone to check the boiler. I would hazard a guess of around 2k for the soffits as we had ours done more than 10 years ago for £1k

We had buyers do this to us the day before we were due to exchange. To be honest it was really stressful, not just for us but for our vendors (an elderly couple desperate to move because they needed to downsize for health reasons), as it delayed the whole process.

Yes :( I don't want to be that person that messes things up for everyone either. Hmm will do some more thinking. We still need to decide what bits we want from the fixtures and fittings too as they want to charge £50 for each blind and more for curtains/curtain rails. The whole thing feels so stressful

More than reasonable to submit a revision based on tangible corrective works highlighted by the survey. Boiler isvoften in the loft in bungalows but there may be fire risk assessment needed. Garden smaller, soffits yes but extension situation, no. Work out costs and resubmit. If you lose it you lose it. There will be something else out there for you

Weigh up feeling pissed off at being ripped off and being relieved and happy at having your dream home.

Possibly the boiler can stay in the loft indefinitely even if it's not recommended nowadays. But the soffits - how long until repairs are needed, do you have the money for the repairs?
If you lowered your offer by, say 2,000 due to soffits, then they will probably not quibble as it's not much. And you still have your house.
If it's a long time buy ie you don't plan to move again just pay imo.

If it's your dream and you're going to stay for some time I would not want to risk it.

Reduce your offer by how much it would cost to replace boiler and soffit, and don't pay anything for curtain poles and blinds, you could buy them new quite cheaply if the windows are standard size and cheap enough even if you have to order them, rather than paying over the odds for someone else's choice of blinds.

My dream would have a better garden... but also likely then a higher price tag 😂

As it stands the house is the perfect size and layout for us and just feels 'right' iykwim. I worry about the sheer number of neighbours (houses bordering all 3 sides of the garden) but it is in a nice area and 'good' catchment for secondary schools which def adds value.

We could find better value houses for sure but they would need work (2 autistic kids and house renovations does not sound fun). If this house was on the end of a road with neighbours just one side I would have no wobbles at all. The resale value is likely effected by all these things that would bother people at the price iyswim esp if the size factor was less important to them. We really wanted to gain more living space which this house manages really well!

Ideally I don't want to have to spend extra money fixing things when we move so the soffits being covered by the vendor would make a massive difference. I also feel a tad annoyed at paying over the asking price and then being charged for curtain rails/blinds and bathroom cupboards (they aren't anything fancy).

I would be gutted to loose the house, I think finding something to suit us better would be tricky, but I still feel a bit worried at the sheer amount of money we are spending iyswim

If you are willing to risk losing it ask to renegotiate. I'd probably list and price up the reasons for wanting to lower offer. We had this and at that far down the line it's in their interests to give you the discount for their mistakes/ errors. Shift blame onto the estate agents for misleading if you like, but unless you think there's a chance the sellers will pull out it's worth asking. However, you may want to line up viewings of other potential houses you'd be willing to settle for instead if they did pull out.

I would put my property back on the market if buyers started trying to renegotiate that amount for the things you have mentioned.

You actually saw the garden (even if it is described in correctly). It is not as though they suddenly out a fence up cutting off 30 ft. The house is as described even if an extension is close by

There will always be some maintenance issues on properties eg. soffits. The boiler isn't an issue until you need a new one!

As regards the blinds etc say no and they may just leave them anyway if they don't fit the new place.

It sounds as though you are just having jitters.

If you don't want it pull out now before you let people down more and put them all to more expense (lawyers etc)

If you do decide to offer lower then be prepared for them to be pissed off and walk away from you - or maybe they'll accept.

I think the garden size is the biggest issue but I have seen on these threads people who say that 5k isn't worth losing a house over when you think of it in terms of the lifetime of a mortgage. We feel that we paid about £10k over the odds for our house too, under similar circumstances in a busy market with houses disappearing overnight but it is what it is and it is our home now.

I would go 10k lower based on all the red flags!

Yes def jitters. I'm hugely risk adverse and an over thinker (may possibly be where my kids get their ASD from).

I think we will list the valid concerns (garden size, potential boiler issue and soffits) and ask if the vendors will be willing to cover the cost of the soffits by way of a small reduction in the sale price. The garden is the agents fault and whilst we viewed the property it is still misleading.

It's an unusual property and the classic 'best on the street' they warn you to avoid but ultimately paying 20k over would be worth avoiding 10k works and the hassle that comes with it for example. It is also decorated throughout very much to our tastes so we could pretty much move in and do nothing.

I wonder if asking for 2.5k off the price and seeing if they could include the curtain rails etc might be a reasonable middle ground? They said they were leaving them in our current home and then stripped them all out which was a hassle to sort when we moved in so would be keen to avoid that!

Urgh house moves are so stressful aren't they!! 😬

Hope you get it sorted OP, it's horribly stressful moving. I agree that you are probably pushing it if you ask for money because of the length of the garden or the extension, especially if you are close to exchange. All of the estate agents particulars I have seen have been clear they are a guide only and it's up to the buyer to check details.
The boiler may not an issue if it's just the location.

Surveys are there to find fault, surveyors are cautious about value and if I've read it right the report isn't saying it's overpriced but that it's near the top end of its value?

It's normal to have jitters but you have to remember you can only buy what's on the market within your price/location range. It sounds like you've thought it through carefully and the reasons why you went for it are sound.

I would say only ask for a reduction at this stage if it's something you didn't know about that has just come up in the survey and it's something you need to fix straight away.

i think your concerns are certainly worth putting to the vendors and asking for a reduction as their original description on which you based your offer misrepresented their property.

Be prepared for them to refuse to reduce.

The buyers of my house wanted to reduce their offer by £10,000 quite a way into the process - I refused (because their concerns were unreasonable) but we continued with the sale at the original offer - i didn't blame them for trying - no harm done.

But to be perfectly honest (and I know you have said you don;t want to lose the house) don't let your heart rule your head. With the things you have mentioned that concern you, I would personally withdraw from the purchase.

You could say that given what has come back on the survey and the issue with the garden being 30ft shorter than in the details, you will maintain your price but would like them to include curtains, blnds and any other things they were going to negotiate over and would like the price of the sofits either removed or the sofits replaced by the vendor.

We've just been through a similar process (only our issues were things like damp, rot and faulty electrics!). Renegotiating based on things you couldn't see for yourself is reasonable. Renegotiating for things you failed to notice is not. Simple as that, really. Though of course nothing is stopping you making a lower offer but you run the risk of losing the house.

You can offer a lower price, we did it when we bought our house. HOWEVER, it's technically known as gazumping, so we had to then change to a new solicitor!

Gazumping is when your offer is accepted and then the vendor accepts a higher offer from someone else.

Gazundering is when you lower your offer once the legal process has started. However some negotiation following the results of a survey is extremely common. The length of garden could well be a typo? 5 and 8 are next to each other especially when you have acrylic nails

I can't see why you would have to change solicitor at all (pp).

Nothing has been identified that is worrying, damp, subsidence, anything like that so I am not seeing the red flags that everyone else is talking about. But no harm in asking for a small reduction if on reflection you think the offer is too high. Just be prepared for them to say no.

Yes I def don't think there are any red flags, the survey says the house in general is in good condition. It is in very good decorative order too. Just the garden, soffits and boiler in the loft. My biggest worry is paying over the odds for it but I guess over a life time the amount is minimal really isn't it. It's the first house in over 2 years that all the members of my house loved which has to say something, overlooked garden or not.

Am I right in thinking if it was massively off price wise the survey would have to put a lower valuation on it? They have valued it at the purchase price but noted it's top end of valuation for a property of its sort and then the bit about resell. Is it likely it's out just by a small amount? I have this total worry/paranoia that it's worth massively less than we are paying 😬 It's likely irrational as the house is much larger than average and in good condition (usually either the houses we've looked at have been nice but small or big but needing a lot of work).

It doesn't really have a correct 'price'. If you love it and want to stay a long time, pay as much as you feel is right.

Get someone in to check the boiler. You don't know if it's OK or not. The solicitor flagged it up as a possibility.

The garden is a misrepresentation but you saw the space before you offered.

It also sounds like the house is detached still.

Interesting that the surveyor said you were buying at top price. You could try getting the price down based on the fact he thought it wouldn't resell at that price.

However you knowingly offered 5k more to secure the property. You weren't in a position to proceed though and so they didn't accept your initial offer. This is the norm.

Curious How long are you planning on staying in the house? If this is your 'forever home' (or at least for the foreseeable future) it doesn't matter even if you ARE paying a little bit over the odds. But if you're buying it as an investment to sell on in five years it's more important to make sure you got a bargain.

It sounds like it needs VERY limited work. The average cost of remedial work when moving to a new house is £5k so I think you're getting off pretty lightly.

The surveyor is saying the house is overpriced if they think the house wouldn't sell to anyone else! Please phone the surveyor tomorrow and discuss the price and a rough estimate of the costs of the soffit and what the likelihood of needing a new boiler is.
Surveyor should be happy to talk to you about this on the phone. Once you have this info, you'll be in a better position to decide what to do.
I paid over £3k to replace a boiler in a one bedroom flat about two years old-they are expensive!