To not know what to do.

[fancybiccies]

Long story short, we bought a house a year ago. Needed some work, but ultimate plan was to do it up, make some money and move back to near family.
We have bought the house, gutted it and done everything. New kitchens, bathrooms, carpets, decoration, landscape gardens etc.
We had a survey (just regular home buyers survey) when we were buying and everything came back fine. No issues with structural/damp/anything.
We have a buyer and are due to exchange in a week.
They have just paid a surveyor to go over the entire property over the course of 3.5 hours. It was the most comprehensive survey you can buy.
They have come back with so so many things they are saying is wrong.
They say that the garden is sinking and needs digging up and re landscaping, the loft is apparently covered in mold, the garden walls around all 4 sides are twisting and need knocking down and rebuilding, the drains are blocked. They want to knock £50,000 off the purchase price a week before exchange.
Our survey done a year ago shows none of this. Just garden and walls satisfactory, they have moved slightly when settling but this is deemed as old and the property is now 20 years old.
Builder friend says that items in the loft often get covered in mold. The items up there aren’t even ours, I think they’ve been there 20 years. It’s a few old Santa sacks and a box of cuddly toys.
What would you do?

Argh so stressful OP. I think you just say no and it's up to them to prove otherwise.

Er...no would be my response

How frustrating and stressful. I suppose at the end of the day there's not much you can do which in some ways is a blessing, you can't afford their offer which would result in pulling out of your house and if they say no and they pull out you'd have to pull out of your new house as well. So all you can do is stand firm and cross your fingers. Definitely don't do anything until you've seen the report, extremely fishy that it's been done so close to exchange.

I swear I am never moving again.
The chain has collapsed and been rectified twice already, I’ve comfort eaten about 2 stone worth of crap and I feel like emigrating!

FizzyGreenWater

I’ve comfort eaten about 2 stone worth of crap

Now that's a good excuse!

'I'm sorry, we are taking the house off the market because I'm too fat to move out of it'

''SURVEY MESSERS TURNED ME INTO A 'SHUT-IN' CLAIMS AGONISED 35 STONE MUM'

No one has seen the survey

In that case there's really nothing to discuss until you have, is there?

And I can almost guarantee it won't be anything like as bad as they're claiming ...

They’ve said with Christmas that the report won’t be ready for a few weeks. So annoying.

Have you told them no? What did they say?

Did they have a mortgage valuation and are the lenders happy to lend at the agreed price? If so, house is worth what they are paying for it so they can jog on. 2nd hand houses need work you cost that into your buying considerations. Say thanks but you'll stick it back on the market.

So annoying.

Why?

You won't be giving in to their blackmail, so you don't even need to see the report. The answer is no. It doesn't matter what the survey says. You won't be accepting a reduction, let them know now so you can get the house on the market if they want to pull out. Be brisk. No, I won't need to see the survey, there'll be no discussion on price. Do you want to exchange next week or not?

Don't let them fuck you around. So the survey won't be ready until after Xmas, so you're just supposed to hang around in a situation which potentially messses up the chain? Don't. Think. So.

My first buyer did this. They offered 10k below the asking price at first offer, we said no and they offered the asking price as we had another offer of the asking price. The first person had a "survey" and suddenly there was 10k worth of repairs! We said no and offered to the other buyer. They had a survey - no issues.

They've paid for an expensive survey... they won't want it to be wasted money. Stand firm and say that it will go back on the market on Monday if they are unhappy to proceed at the agreed price.

They’ve said with Christmas that the report won’t be ready for a few weeks

So they expect you to believe that the solicitors can get everything prepared within the next week, but the surveyor mysteriously can't?

It's nonsense of course and you might be better off forgetting them altogether, but for now I agree with Fizzy: they go ahead as planned or you pull the sale and re-market the house

Yeah told them no this afternoon. Not heard anything back since. Funnily enough we did have 2 other offers so we are going back to those tomorrow to see if they’re still looking.
It’s just annoying as I think we are going to lose the house we are buying. They’re already not happy that’s it’s dragged as the chain has collapsed twice already and if we need to go back to the beginning then it will be another 12 weeks I expect.
It’s an inheritance property that we are buying and it’s empty. So the longer it’s empty the more annoyed they get.

Emptied the loft. Found goodies!!!

And no mold!

Oh my word, are you selling my old house?! I had that blue bear on the end of my cot

God knows how old they are! Perhaps I could make the £50,000 back by selling them!

Cheeky tossers.

No, Cheeky fucking chancers.

Lol yes where is the mould?! That looks good for being in the loft for so long

Wow! The cheek of some people!! Hope this backfires on them massively!!

In the surveyors defence the soft toys were wrapped in a white carrier bag which had black mold on, and there was another plastic carrier back with Santa sacks in, and that carrier back had mold on. But not a single item inside was mouldy, and those 50 year old teddy bear stickers aren’t mouldy.
Plus the actual cardboard box that the items were in wasn’t mouldy. Just 2 carriers bags in the whole loft.