Would you share your survey report with the vendor's EA?

[PogoBob]

Had a homebuyers report done on the house we had offered on - a variety of issues identified leading to us deciding to pull out of the purchase (had always been clear that the offer was subject to survey).

Told EA today, they asked why and if there was anyway to rescue the sale. Explained that there isn't really as even with a price drop it won't ease the financial impact of the necesssary work. They then went on to ask if we would be willing to let them have a copy of the report so they can make the vendor aware of the issues.

My initial feeling is to let thm have a copy - yes we paid for the survey and the vendor will be benefiting from our expense (survey was actually pretty cheap really as part of a special offer) but as far as I am concerned it has done it's job for us so what's to be gained from refusing to share it.

I'm just wondering if there is something I'm not thinking of or if I'm being a little naive in letting them have a copy.

No answer but I'm bumping for you.
Instinct says yes, is the work recommended obvious?

I would be more inclined to pop it into the post to the vendors directly.

We were advised not to tbh, but you could offer to sell it on to the vendors at a cut price, to recoup some of your wasted costs!

But to be fair, I am a mercenary

Thanks all.

From what the EA said when we were discussing offers I suspect the work may come as a bit of a surprise to the vendor to be honest, even though the main issue is pretty obvious to anyone who looks at the front of the building for more than 5 minutes!!

Haven't had any dealing with the vendor at all so would feel a little odd posting it to them.

HanSolo were you given a reason as to why not to? Don't think the vendor would be interested in paying to see that survey, suspect we're just going to be seen as making a fuss about nothing as the inside of the house looks immaculate - it's a case of the fundermental maintenance has been forgotten about!

The reports often have some statement on them about only being for the named people (who commissioned the survey) and not transferable. If that's the case, you could just give the EA a summary of the main issues.

I would be happy to share the key findings with the agent, but not sure if I would give them a copy - just wouldn't like handing it over for free if I had paid a lot of money for it. They could give it to another potential buyer who could benefit. Perhaps I'm being mean.

Hadn't thought about that arnitrary, will have a look at the report and maybe just email a summary of the key points though to the EA as you suggest.

Thanks

x-post majesticwhine, not mean at all, a good point!!

Some reports are 2K, so you're giving away your hard spent cash!

And yes- arbitrary is correct that you need to check the small print, as the surveyor may have a clause in the terms and conditions that you may not pass the survey report on (except to your mortgage company).

We only paid £175 for a combined valuation and homebuyers report but admit I would treating the report like a long lost relative if it had cost me £2k.

The T&C's on the report simly say it is produced for my/our use and the surveyor cannot accept any liability if it is used by anyone else. Will see how I feel in the more and either summarise it or copy it.

Thanks again for all the advice

If you have already walked away from this sale and have no intention of returning even with a significant price cut, send one short email with a bullet pointed list of the key findings and leave it at that. This is really only to maintain a good working relationship with the estate agent, just in case the perfect house comes on with them tomorrow. Do not squander your time, it's a finite resource with a value.

At the end of the email, say how much you have paid for the survey and that you would be happy to sell it on to the vendor for their information, or to a new potential buyer. You won't get your money back but I've seen people get £200 or so back and every little helps.

When we sell, we commission our own surveys. No surprises that way, no arguing down on price, no stupid price conversations with agents. When we're interested in a property that has previously fallen through, we always ask if there's been an earlier survey and offer to pay to see it. (This can save you time and money, even when you later commission your own survey because the surveyor has a precedent to work with).

If you want to negotiate, sit down with the estate agent and a copy of the survey, but never have a unilateral exchange of documents until you are well down the road and trust has been established between you and a vendor.

If a £175 report is so bad it makes you walk away, this house is fooked.

We're about to sell. Hadn't thought of getting own survey. How much would that cost?

We have an arrangement with a local surveyor who does us a mini (10 pages or so) structural survey and valuation. We pay £400 for houses and half that for flats.

As others have said, I'd share the findings. I think it's in the interest of the EA too because if this pattern were to continue (I.e, sales falling through) it can impact them - and in an ideal world all parties would be honest up front. Or am I away with the fairies?

The problem with most surveys is that, after pages of doom and gloom, they then very often conclude with a valuation that matches the negotiated price down to the last penny.

This isn't a reflection on the actual cost of the repairs and refurb, but on your financial ability to proceed. Down-valuations are very rare for buyers with 50% deposits, because the bank wants you to have a mortgage. That's how they make money. If you've overpaid, that's your problem, and your deposit is a nice cushion against risk for the bank.

Surveys significantly underestimate the cost of improvements in terms of labour costs. Builders in London, for example, price according to what market forces will bear, not the cost of the labour itself. An extension that costs £30k in Manchester will cost literally five times that in London W8.

Surveys also don't price in the time or stress involved in a refurbishment, or the cost of alternative accommodation during the build.

So you present the survey's findings without the survey itself when you make your own revised offer. Because it's not the surveyor who pays the mortgage.

Also surveyors reports IME tend to highlight a lot of issues that are just general maintenance that you would expect, particularly on an old house. £175 is pretty cheap - what did the report say that has put you off so much? Usually a negotiation of sale price would be enough to cover anything that needs doing?

I think if you are being naive at all, it's in expecting a survey to come back without a list of any work that needs doing.

(Unless it's that a previous extension was done so badly that it is falling away from the original house, or that the front wall is falling off!)

What 1605 says & has the surveyor gone through the report with you? Pages of things to check/get looked at etc are pretty standard for the surveyor to cover themselves.

Otherwise, bullet points to the EA.

For those commenting on the cheapness of the report, it was supposed to be £375 (house is less then £175k) but was reduced as part of an incentive package linked to the mortgage so I'm not worried about it being sub-standard because it's cheap.

We weren't aive enough to expect a completely clear report and a lot of the issues in there are potential problems which I know homebuyers reports are bound to include. Our issue is the number of immediate issues then we don't want to deal with with a toddler and a newborn due in 2 months.

Thanks for all the advice and taking the time to respond.

What I would suggest is send your solicitor the survey report and your thoughts about whether you want to pull out of the purchase or not. They are acting for you and will act on your instructions. The estate agent is acting for the vendor and if a copy for the survey report is requested then the estate agent can discuss with your solicitor ( after they have discussed with you ) Don't send a copy to either the estate agent or vendor yourself

No! Don't give the EAs or the vendor a copy. All you need to do is give them the page with the valuation. You have paid a lot of money for the survey and the information is private. If the vendor wants a survey they need to pay for it. There are so many reasons why you shouldn't share the information on it.

If I were you I'd take the report apart and scan/fax that page separately for IT security reasons.

I am going to go against the grain here and say I don't see why you wouldn't pass a copy of the survey on, especially if you have decided you aren't interested in proceeding with the purchase. It's not as though it is now worth anything to you after all - you've incurred the cost regardless. I also wouldn't offer to sell it to the vendor or anyone else. It's not worth anything to them in real terms - they can't rely on it in any way because it wasn't prepared for them (the surveyor's duty of care is to you only, which is what the statement in the survey about it being for you is all about). The only benefit to the vendors is that it allows them to see why they might not be able to sell their house and to do something about it if they want to. If the survey expressly contains an obligation of confidentiality, however, then the position is different and you should ignore the above!

If you don't want to pass the survey on, why don't you just let the vendors know what the issues are? If you are now pulling out of the sale the vendors are likely to be pretty devasted so isn't it good manners to tell them why?

PogoBob If you do give away the survey for free as mycat suggests, you'll also be giving away any opportunity to recoup some of the cost.

At least this way, someone - vendor or prospective buyer - might yet come back to you and offer to contribute towards the cost of the survey.

Housebuying is expensive, if you can get back even half of what you paid, that's money towards another report.

Mycat If the vendor's house is, as Pogo has said, superficially immaculate, but they've ignored an obvious building defect, I'd be pretty bloody sure they were well aware of the fault long before she came on the scene. Karma, eh?

There is also another aspect of sharing your report with the EA and vendor. If hes dodgy, he could use that to bodge up some of the problems found.

My friend is buying a house and paid for an independent survey as shes only borrowing a small amount. Her mortgage broker got a copy and sent it to the EA without her knowledge. I have never heard of this before and wondered if this is legal practice ?