To ask seller to fix this before completion?

[ElvisPawsley]

Went to a second viewing today of a house we are buying (mid way through the conveyancing).

When my husband went into the loft which we hadn't been up in at the first viewing, there was a hole in the roof with rain coming in and daylight shining through.

Would you ask the seller to fix this before completion?

We are buying for less than the asking price but not by much (it was on for 139, we agreed at 135).

Yes! Why wouldn’t you? Damage could be caused between now and you moving in.

Yeah I'm thinking so, someone I spoke to about it made me feel like it would be really cheeky though we are already paying 4k less than asking price

The survey should pick that up anyway. So yes they should sort it out. £4K off a £140 asking isn't a lot!

Yes
We couldn’t see into our loft when we were buying our house as the sellers had all of their stuff in boxes around the hatch! We discovered a few small holes, missing roof felt and cracked tiles. We ended up having to getting a new roof, our solicitor said it’s a buyer beware situation!

Thanks, it's only small about 2inches, DH thinks a slate may have slid away or something but obviously we're worried about it getting worse in the meantime/causing more damage.

Fortunately there was nothing actually in the loft so he had a really good look round and couldn't see anything else.

I would definitely be getting them to sort it or I would get a quote for the fix and renegotiate a price

If the seller wants a quick sale he should repair. I once viewed a house with my friend who is a surveyor. He could see daylight coming in from the roof which was over a hundred years old.

Seller refused to move on the price. The house was sold two weeks later at full asking price.

Haven’t you had a survey?

I’ve never asked to look in the loft of a house I’m buying, I leave that to the surveyor.
Are you getting a survey? I’d be worried what else was wrong tbh.

Don't leave identifying these things to a surveyor. Our last one missed a glaring hole in the roof, a large crack in double glazing, blatant leaks on conservatory (water marks on ceiling, floor and walls), and chimney issues.

We tried to follow this up, a second surveyor came after we had moved in and agreed these things were obvious and should have been noticed. However, we hadn't read the small print on the survey which basically excused everything. We sing bother next time!

*won't not sing!

I wouldn’t ask. It’s not worth the hassle for them, for a 2 inch gap.

Yes! Don't wait for the survey. If it's a valuation survey, they may not even go in the loft.

@LonelyGir1

I wouldn’t ask. It’s not worth the hassle for them, for a 2 inch gap.

My issue is, there is a tenant in it who isn't moving out until late October, if the weather continues to be bad it may cause damage between now and then.

If we were moving in next week I'd probably just sort it ourselves but it's going to be a while.

Was it not picked up on your survey??

I've not had a survey yet, the local surveyor had a backlog due to Covid so they haven't been yet.

don't leave anything to the surveyor as some of them know absolutely nothing.

one of our buyers had a valuation survey and the surveyor said the flat wasn't in very good condition for one built 15 years earlier and so wouldn't agree the mortgage price. it didn't help that we pointed out that she was referring to the building next door that was built 15 years back. Our flat was in a vicarage 150 years old that had been converted to flats 35 years previously. (fully documented!)

I understand. Actually had the same problem when we bought last year.

It’s tricky though because I don’t trust sellers fixing things right before sales as I presume they’ll do a shoddy job that you will have to fix later.

I’d be more worried about a sitting tenant to be honest.

But yes, get the roof fixed before you exchange contracts.

@RandyLionandDirtyDog

I’d be more worried about a sitting tenant to be honest.

But yes, get the roof fixed before you exchange contracts.

We won't be exchanging until he's left.

And I'm aware the seller may just do a 'quick fix' that we'll have to sort later on but tbh I'd rather this than it get further damaged in the meantime. At the moment it's not leaked through to the bedroom underneath but it may do by the time of completion if left.