So, our buyer just visited with a builder

[BauerTime]

And the builder was hilarious, ramping issues up and I could hear him telling the buyer to ask for a price reduction. The main issue is 'we need a new roof'. Our roof is quite old and not felt lined, but it's not defective or leaking etc. I know that ideally it would be re-done to more modern standards but do you think that the buyer would be cheeky to ask for a price reduction in this point? AFAIK his valuation survey has agreed his mortgage as we have had contract through for signature. I personally think that if the surveyor thinks it's worth the price and the roof is not defective then a new roof is an improvement and something that the buyer would have to foot the cost of if he wanted it done. Does that sound fair?

Also, the builder asked how old the felt roof on the extension was as it looked like it was quite new. I told him it was done before we moved in 4 years ago but I believe it to be around 8 years old. Then he changed his tune and said it was nearing the end of its life so needed to be replaced. Again i know that the life span of a felt roof is quite short and maybe around 10 years but again, if it's in good condition then again if he wants that done then thats on him right?

You don't buy a house expecting no niggles or things that need to be replaced/updated as a matter of course. If you want trouble and cost free then you buy a new build.

I 100% don't mind him coming round as many times as he wants to make sure he is happy before exchange of contracts, and if they find any actual problems (I.e. damp, leaks) then we would expect to have to put right or re-negotiate but this just seems like a builder who is looking to talk things up to get himself more work.

We will obviously have to wait and see what happens next but I'm a bit irritated by this builder!

[BauerTime]

violet yes I think that's probably the case. He only had a valuation so it wouldn't have said much and fair play he wanted to get it checked out by a tradesman.

[BauerTime]

No, when we bought this house I never thought to ask for anything like that tbh. My dad is a flat felt roofer by trade and had a look at it before we bought and said it was only a few years old and was a good job, and the neighbours have since told me when it was done.

I'm happy for the buyer to do all the checks he wants but The guy he brought round didn't even look at it from an upstairs window, only from the ground so I'm not entirely convinced he gave it a proper inspection.

In regards to the main roof, he doesn't need to take my word for it. His builder never actually said that it was defective, just old and non-energy efficient.

[ouryve]

If the roof was so new, weren't there any certificates or warranties passed onto you as a buyer?

Can't you understand why a potential buyer isn't going to blindly accept your word on a roof that doesn't appear to match up to current standards?

[VioletMoon4683]

I suspect his survey mentioned the age of the roof tiles and that they might need replacing in a certain number of years. Ours did.

[Fluffycloudland77]

What a fuck around though.

[BauerTime]

Just thought I'd come back and update. The EA called earlier and said that based on what the builder told the buyer, he was looking at £10k work on the house and so wanted to know if there was any way we could reflect in the cost. I said no based on what I wrote above, that they were improvements not vital work and that he would have to foot the bill if he wanted them. She also confirmed that the surveyor had valued the house at the agreed price in its current condition and said that she had already explained this to the buyer and told him to expect this answer. He has said OK so is happy to proceed to exchange.

[BauerTime]

Also, the guy he brought round was a roofer AND builder and to me that means 'jack of all trades, master of none' and I wouldn't reduce the price of my house on his say so, especy as it goes against what an actual surveyor has said.

[BauerTime]

wow my dad is a flat felt roofer by trade and when we bought the house he said it looked a year or 2 old and had been done well. So I'm not concerned about the condition of it tbh and I'd strongly counter any claim that it was on its last legs.

It's the main roof that I think he was pointing out as the main thing but as I said before it may be old and not to the current standard spec but it's not dangerous, illegal or defective so any modernisations they may want to make should be at their own expense IMO.

If he doesn't think the house is now worth what he has offered then fine, we'll find another buyer. The prices seem to have risen on similar houses round here since the stamp duty changes came in and I'd point that out to him if I need to. At the agreed price he is getting a good deal in the current market and his surveyor appears to have agreed based on the fact he has had his formal mortgage offer. Just because the survey pointed things out doesn't mean it's now worth less.

[wowfudge]

A decent flat roof has about a 20 yr lifespan IIRC.

Wait and see what happens. We got a quote for replacing the roof on our house before we bought it - sounds very much like yours. Five years later it doesn't need replacing.

[BauerTime]

He definitely wasn't a friend doing him a favour, they didn't even know each other, so I doubt the guy would have come with him if he didn't want the work.

Fair enough he may have just wanted an opinion on what he needed to do once he was in. I guess. I hope so. He was going through points raised in the valuation by the look of it.

[DarylDixonsDarlin]

Builder not necessarily looking for work - we plan to take builder BIL with us for a once over of any home we're seriously interested in buying, he'd give us his opinion privately tho rather than in front of a vendor. Doesn't mean BIL will get any work out of it, he's swamped as it is so we'd be lucky to pin him down to do the work anyway.

[PestoSnowissimos]

Maybe they brought the builder round to see how much expenditure they were potentially letting themselves in for, once they'd bought the property though...