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Original poster

Sellers won't budge on price post survey

50 replies

VacheEspanol · 12/08/2015 21:45

We made an offer on a house on the basis that it needed some work. Survey has brought up a whole host of issues that we couldn't have known when we made the offer.

We made a reduced offer based on the cost of the most serious elements. New offer is £20k less - under 10% of original offer.

The vendors won't budge. We've given them a copy of the survey, details of quotes, reconfirmed that we can move quickly. I've said we're open to negotiations.

They are obsessed with a house up the road that has apparently sold for £25k more than our original offer. But this other house is worth that - new roof, new bathroom, kitchen, garden landscaped etc.

They've also said they can't negotiate on the property they are buying.

I feel completely stuck. I can't buy a house with the amount of work that is required. But there doesn't seem to be anything else on the market.

Should we just walk away?

OP posts:
SunnySomer · 12/08/2015 21:49

Yes. If you can't afford it you can't afford it. and if don't buy theirs maybe they can't afford their dream house, so by calling their bluff you may find they chase you.
But ultimately - something else will come up.

mrschatty · 12/08/2015 21:51

I have a family member in the position of the seller...but I sympathise with you, the buyer. Survey has found issues like damp and rotten wood etc so buyers have adjusted their offer to suit. Seller won't budge because they have already borrowed money off family members to make up what she needs for the new home they want and reduced sale from the house means less money.
However I have told seller time and time again a house is only worth what someone will pay for it and as they have not kept on top of maintenance you can't expect to get the same price as a neighbour who did...
Stick to your guns. Do you really want to buy a house for an inflated price then have to spend a sum again getting it close to its 'worth'? If you can afford to leave it and find a better place or more negotiable sellers I say do it...

DinosaursRoar · 12/08/2015 21:52

Start looking for something else, this isn't the house for you. Ideally book to view some others with the same estate agent, they might stress to the vendors they are going to lose you and any other buyer will face the same after survey.

MoreBeta · 12/08/2015 21:53

Yes walk away. The vendors are being unrealistic and trying to sell their house for an amount of money they need in order to buy the house they want to buy - not what their house is worth.

Agents encourage this sort of unrealistic vendor by finding out what they want to buy and then telling them their house is worth £ xx which is what they will need to buy their next house. Agents do not 'value' houses at all. They just try and get people to put their house on sale with them and will name any price that makes them go with that agent.

YeOldeTrout · 12/08/2015 21:54

yeah, walk away. they're a nightmare to work with, there's always another house you could buy that's just about as good.

Original poster
VacheEspanol · 12/08/2015 21:57

mrschatty that sounds like a very familiar story. They aren't in South London are they!?

OP posts:
Hellionandfriends · 12/08/2015 21:59

How much is the house?

Pre survey what did you think needed doing?

Post survey, what was added to the to do list?

Original poster
VacheEspanol · 12/08/2015 22:04

morebeta agree with you about the agent and valuation.

The only thing in our favour is that the house was on the market for weeks before we made the offer so it's unlikely to be snapped up. Plus any other survey will pick up the same issues. I might email the agent with that tonight.

I know I should walk away but there are so many things that are right. But if we can't afford to make it watertight as a minimum we should walk away.

OP posts:
Original poster
VacheEspanol · 12/08/2015 22:13

hellion its £415. Revised offer is 395 - our aim is to get to 400/05.

Before the survey we thought it was mostly comestic with some medium term work to windows and roof ie in the next 5 years. Other things like new boiler or fence didn't overly worry us.

Post survey - the things that we thought were passable are now urgent. New roof and windows needed immediately replacing. Chimney repointing, guttering replaced, leadwork. Repair work caused by a leak - potentially new shower unit depending on exploratory works to leak. dpc. Repair work to staircase - likely to have been caused by leak.

OP posts:
Hellionandfriends · 12/08/2015 22:17

What did the surveys valuation come back as?

Hellionandfriends · 12/08/2015 22:21

The other finished house went for 440?

Hellionandfriends · 12/08/2015 22:24

How much will all the work cost you to complete? Ball park.

I'm thinking 400 could be a reasonable amount

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 12/08/2015 22:27

You said you'd already made your original offer based on the fact the house needed work doing to it though?

So do the vendors think that they have already made concessions to you in accepting a reduced offer in the first place?

We just replaced all of the windows on the house we bought in January - half of the double glazing had blown and you couldn't see out of any of them. Actually though, we could have kept them as they were for another few years, they just looked terrible - old style mahogany wood and probably not very efficient. This was obvious when we looked round though, so for it only to come up on the survey would be a surprise to the vendors probably.

IsItMeOrIsItHotInHere · 12/08/2015 22:35

Then you will have to pull out. You can't force them to drop their price. Maybe they need that first amount in order to move to what they want or they would rather not bother moving at all.

You may be right about the true value but this isn't about right or wrong, fair or unfair. It's the vendor's choice even if they are being completely deluded about the value of their house. I have always found that internal condition makes very little difference to the value in the end and a tatty, dated house that needs a fair bit of work can go for almost as much as an immaculate one if all the other conditions are comparable (location, plot size, school catchment etc.)

Just grit your teeth and call their bluff by pulling out, but let the agent know there is still time for them to change their mind up until you find somewhere else, but after that there will be no going back.

mrschatty · 12/08/2015 22:51

vache sounds like this issue is countrywide....we're north west

mrschatty · 12/08/2015 22:52

**of England I should state not London!

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 12/08/2015 23:02

Did the house with work done go for £440k or £420k?

If it was £440k I'd possibly go up to £410k if I loved the house. If it was £420k I wouldn't go any higher than your £395k offer.

MadameJulienBaptiste · 12/08/2015 23:03

We're in the north west and living next door to a house that's been empty for 2 years because the seller is deluded on price. It needs new windows, kitchen, bathroom and roof. It's a tiny 2 bed.

Vendor is spitting because house 3 doors up sold in 3 weeks for 10k more than he wants, when it's been fully refurbished with evetything brand new, and a loft room added!

MadameJulienBaptiste · 12/08/2015 23:05

Some buyers are just deluded and you can't reason with them. Just walk away.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 12/08/2015 23:09

I was in the seller's position and refused to drop the agreed price post-survey - the buyer bought at the asking price anyway - they were just trying it on. If it's a period property a full structural survey is always going to read like a horror show.

You can't force someone to drop the price as PPs have said. If they need that price before they sell, they are willing to take the risk of holding and the market is on their side at the moment.

coffeeisnectar · 12/08/2015 23:12

I just sold my place in Scotland where the system is,completely different.

I paid for the survey and had that available to would be purchasers. They could then see a)the valuation and b) any work/issues needing sorted.

Once the buyer made an offer to my solicitor in writing and I accepted, it was binding. If either party pulls out then financial compensation has to be paid to the other party.

We are looking to buy in the south of England and its a worry that until contracts are exchanged either party can pull out of the agreement.

Millymollymama · 12/08/2015 23:30

I am surprised you did not notice all the windows need replacing when you looked at the property. How bad are they? How much work is needed to the roof? My gut reaction is to go to £400k but it already is at a reduced price to reflect the condition if a similar one went for £440,000. If that was extended and this one is not, I would definitely stick to £400k. It can't be a fantastic deal or it would have been snapped up already. Your survey sounds over pessimistic - they often are.

Original poster
VacheEspanol · 12/08/2015 23:31

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I'll try to answer the questions.

The house up the road went for £440. It is in near perfect condition. It doesn't seem to need anything doing to it. Whereas the one we want to buy needs so much. Some of them were visible and our original offer reflected that. The survey has uncovered more. And these are more serious than we could have known.

Yes we can't make the seller's negotiate. But it just irks that the property was advertised as being in very good condition and lovingly maintained when it hadn't been.

The point about other factors schools, location, plot etc is really valid.

I think I have to grit my teeth and get on with it. And just hope it doesn't become a money pit!

OP posts:
MadameJulienBaptiste · 12/08/2015 23:47

Whoops!! My 2nd post above should have said some SELLERS are deluded lol not the lovely op trying to buy!

Etak15 · 12/08/2015 23:49

We were in the exact same position when buying ours our survey showed about £20,000 worth of worth we had already agreed on 10k les than asking price due to the work we could see needed doing, survey valued it at £5000 less than we'd offered so vendor we tried drop offer by another 20,000 - knowing that she wouldn't accept this but hoping to meet in the middle we managed in the end to get her to drop it by another 8000 that took a lot of negotiating on my part - I ended up phoning vendor and discussing things with her myself as was sick of to-ing and fri-ing with estate agent - and playing call my bluff - which we did for a month or two! Neither of us were in a chain so we were both as stubborn as each other - I think maybe if I held out a bit longer we could have got maybe a bit more off but just wanted to get on with it!
Also the builder that did us a quote pointed out that - the survey has to point out every single little tiny thing and so a lot of the things (even some of the urgents) don't have to be done as urgently as it seems!
As long as you don't pay more than it's worth Only you know how you feel about the house, I looked at it like if someone else bought it how would I feel - relieved because I wasn't sure what to do or devastated because it's yours!!