First Time Buyer

[Redbean730]

Hello everyone! I really need your opinions to help! We are the first time buyer and target to move to our new house in the end of March/ April. We are happy about the house and the mortgage is sorted out. Our solicitor is helping us to follow up the paperworks and we have a few questions for the seller at this stage.

Firstly, the wall of the living room and the dining room has been removed, our solicitor asked the evidence but the seller side seems not want to provide anything. Do the seller usually provide something like a certificate for that?

Secondly, We understand that the furniture is negotiable, the seller only want to leave the hob oven and the dishwasher which they are going to sell us at £150... well, I meant... We are paying few hundred thousands for the house and they are asking £150 more... We think it is a bit intriguing and we are thinking to buy the new ones. What do you think?

Finally, we think this issue is one of the biggest concern, there is a really fairly crack behind a wardrobe (as shown in the picture), we asked if they can fixed that, but they rejected to do so and said they will sell it as it is. Shall we trying negotiate again? Or it is just a small issue that we should fix it by ourselves?

Thank you so much if you can share your experience!

Depends if they removed the wall or it was done sometime before they bought it. Maybe their paperwork from the purchase would indicate if it were an issue then. Appliances are often negotiable although a built in hob would normally be included as a fitting. It's up to you whether you value them or are happy to purchase your own. What did survey say about the crack? To me it looks like the boxing of the wardrobe has come away rather than it being structural. Tbh it all seems to be typical issues.

You have no idea how old the appliances or, how well they have been looked after, etc so while they fill a stop gap and could work out well, I wouldn't pay a bean and would say there was no more money in the pot if it avoids calling them cheeky! They are planning on leaving them anyway so it's just greed on their part. It's easier to try to sell them to you than dispose of them properly or sell them elsewhere.

Get what you want for you. The wardrobe just looks like it's an old DIY job and needs some attention. Not a big deal. Let your solicitor advise you on the removed wall - that's what you pay them for.

Are the oven and dishwasher integrated? If not, it's completely normal for the seller to ask if you want to buy them for an additional cost. If you don't want them just say no and don't pay the extra £150. If they are integrated I would argue that they should be included.

If it's not a structural crack and just the wardrobe coming away from the wall, fix it yourself.

Re the wall - are you sure they knocked one down? Are you buying my house? I ask because I'm having a nightmare with a first time buyer at the mo who is demanding a building certificate for the wall knocked down between kitchen and dining room. Only no such wall existed and I didn't knock one down. I can't provide a certificate for a fecking imaginary wall.

If they can't provide the proof of it being done safely they can take out an indemnity insurance for it anyway-a couple of hundred quid I think (they should pay that not you). Crack looks fine. Appliances up to you but I would be inclined to say, as pp said, that you're maxed out then buy your own. Worst case scenario, you'll have to buy your own. Best case, they'll leave them anyway. Good luck!

Thank you for all your messages! Well, i think we will say no to the appliances, hopefully they will leave them there, lol. If not, we will get the new ones.

Will definitely ask our solicitor to chase up the indemnity insurance.

I think the crack issue is our main concern is because, we try to be nice and say a lot of yes to the seller but they are quite straight with all the things. So we feel a bit annoyed. We want to phone up the estate agent to ask for their opinion if see if they can do anything. It doesn't have to be professionally done but we hope they can at least cover it or something. What do you guys think?

What do you guys think?

I think if you love the house then it's stupid to get caught up in a non structural crack you can easily sort yourselves.

Make sure you get a structural survey to check for any major issues

No! It's just a crack that looks from the picture to be cosmetic. If the structural survey says it's more that then obviously think again but if it's as innocuous as it looks then you're making a fuss over very little. That's house buying I am afraid-always ask yourself if it's worth losing the purchase over.

It really seems to be not much, also the more you faf with the property the lesslikely they are to take good care of the home. You want them to be in good terms with you. Sort the problem yourself, chances are you will be much happier with the result anyway.

What type of survey did you get - was it a full structural survey or just a basic valuation survey? If it was a structural survey and the survey didn't pick up any problems with the walls then you can sort that yourselves fairly easily. If you haven't had a structural survey then I think I would personally be a bit worried that there might be a structural issue causing the wardrobe problems - I can't quite tell from the picture if it's built into a recess or not.

We had a basic valuation survey, ahhh, do you have a builder can have a look when we ask him to come to do other work in our house?

I would get a builder to check out the crack but it looks to be minor
How old is the house? - if not a newbuild it will have minor problems that are not a deal breaker - do you really want to lose this house and have to start all over again with another?
re - appliances - I would decline the offer or try and get them included in the price you are paying. They may well leave them anyway.

am I correct that you haven't had any survey - just the basic valuation? tbh I think at the minimum you should do a homebuyers survey. that will tell you hopefully whether that crack is a big deal. buying something as expensive as a house without doing any due diligence is a bit nuts.

Get a builder to check the crack if you are worried but as others have said doesn't look like a problem to me.
Integrated hob is part of the kitchen and same for integrated dishwasher stand alone units can be taken/paid for but I would insist an integrated hob was part of the kitchen and the purchase price.
The wall is a quite common thing for solicitors to flag up. If it wasn't structural then no certificate is or was necessary. I have just sold a house to a first time buyer and his solicitor asked for the certificate I simply said no one isn't needed when you remove a lathe and plaster wall, if they'd asked for indemnity ins I would have said no it's not necessary. But my house sold in two days so I would have had no problem putting it back on the market. Solicitors ask for everything you don't HAVE to get it.
If I loved this house I would ignore the crack, check if it was a structural wall/how long it's been done and quietly say no to the £150 and ask my solicitor to confirm that the hob is part of the kitchen.

When you say 'hob oven', do you mean it's a freestanding item with one or two oven doors (maybe a grill) and a hob on top? Or do you mean a job inset into the work surface like a sink, and an oven underneath the work surface, and/or built into a run of units?

If the first, it's freestanding and therefore considered as furniture; if the second it's integrated and should be considered under fixtures and fittings. F&F should be left at no extra charge, furniture's the owner's property rather than being attached to the house. Same for dishwashers, fridges, etc.

As for the crack, I wouldn't be concerned about that - looks like the 'wardrobe' is ply or MDF or something and hasn't been properly attached to the wall. I'd be more bothered about the state of the wall behind. Looks like it might be plasterboard and a chunk has been cut out. It may be that plasterboard was put up to make the corner look neater and the wardrobe integrated, in which case my instinct would be to rip out the whole structure and do a better job. Or it may be that there's something in that corner behind the cupboard door, e.g. pipes or a boiler or something; cheapest fix would be to screw a batten to the wall inside the cupboard, attach the cupboard side to the batten, and then use decorator's caulk to neaten the gap between the wall and cupboard side on the outside. It'd cost less than a tenner... Impossible to tell the state of the inside and the structure of the wall from your photo though!

Honestly, you shouldn't get them to do any work for you, their heart won't be in it and they might not check the quality.
You are better off negotiating off the price and doing it yourself if this is really a deal breaker for you.

If the wall taken down was supporting then there should be evidence of building regs approval in the dark recesses of the local council offices. But if it was done before they owned the house they won't have a copy, but can provide an indemnity. You can go down the route of insisting they find the paperwork but they won't want to. You probably need to assess whether you are concerned about it or not. I've bought 2 houses where the 2 reception rooms have been knocked through and neither have been able to provide the certificates. They had been done 20&30+ years ago and looked sound so we took a chance as they hadn't fallen down yet! If it wasn't structural then it doesn't really matter.

Kitchen appliances - if integrated they shouldn't really be taking them. If not, just say no and buy your own unless they are quite new and expensive models, and you actually want them.

The pic just looks like a poorly built in cupboard. Nothing to worry about and certainly shouldn't be a sticking point in whether or not you buy this house!

Also, if you think they are being awkward, they are not. I understand your concerns as first time buyers but honestly you are buying what they are selling, not an 'improved to your standard' version of what they are selling. Houses are sold as seen and in his market they don't have to keep you sweet and bow to your demands. If you don't want it in the condition it's in, someone else will. If it's a good price and these are the main issues then just buy it!

When you are spending thousands and thousands on a house it is never worth skimping on the survey in my view. Valuation involves very little.

I would have got a full survey in your shoes.

Don't quibble about anything under £500. Just do it yourself.

It is a Victorian House so we are concerning about the wall. The agent said we should just go for a basic valuation survey when we borrowed the mortgage and we did. Does anyone go for a more detailed survey with the 3rd party?

Now our solicitor asked for the indemnity insurance from the vendor, is it a must-have? or it is up to the vendor to have it or not?

The appliance are freestanding and they are the mid-range brands, so I guess we won't pay for them.

I would have thought the vendor will just get the indemnity insurance-in the great scheme of things the cost is quite small and if the need it for this sale they'll need it for any sale so it shouldn't be a deal breaker but yes, you need to make sure it's in place as it will protect you once you own the house.

On the subject of survey, as I said, valuation surveys are IMHO a false economy. They simply protect the bank in that they are looking to see if the amount they are lending you is reasonable for the property you are buying. They look at nothing other than what they need to for their own purposes. Full surveys will take into consideration most aspects of the building, pre-empting any work (I.e. Potential costs) that you should expect once you own the house. If you speak to the surveyor you can point out the crack and ask for an opinion on that specifically. Of course, most people that only get a valuation survey will not run into any problems at all with their house but you don't want to be the exception that proves the rule....

Who does the agent work for? That's right, the seller. So why on earth would you do what they tell you to when you are the buyer? Get a proper survey then you'll have a better of idea of potential issues and things to plan and save for.

We've been told we need an indemnity for a replacement window in the house we're buying because the mortgage lender insists on it. It might not be an over-zealous solicitor asking for an indemnity in respect of the missing wall.

What of survey should I consider? I'm a bit confused now. What are the differences between home buyer's report and a full survey? Thank you!

I suggest you do some research and see what you can afford and would be comfortable with in terms of survey. The RICS website would be a good place to start.