Seller has completely done us over How would you play this out?

[WillowB]

This post will completely out me if anyone who knows me us reading but here goes...
We offered on a house about 6 wks ago, 5k below asking price. House is 1930s semi. Dated but looked OK otherwise. Everything was ticking along nicely until we had our survey. It showed possible damp in several places in the lounge. It wouldn't necessarily have put us off but we wanted a second opinion to see if it would be costly to sort. ( we did have an inkling that it might be damp as the vendor was a complete big mouth and was quite proud of the fact he'd replaced completely rotten woodenlounge floor boards with a load of concrete 30yrs ago pretty sure he already knew...)
We contacted the vendors EA to ask if we could send an independent damp surveyor round at our own cost.
At this point the sellers pulled out blaming us saying they were sick of questions & surveys!!! (We hadn't asked a single question, just the standard queries raised by solicitors)
We were gutted as we've spent the best part of 1k on fees, surveys etc.
Then the best part...they've put it back on the market today!!

Am I right in thinking that if we send them the survey then the EA should disclose the significant parts I.e damp to potential buyers?
I would love to a) make it as difficult as possible for them to sell & b) stop some other poor buyer going through the same thing!

Sorry I meant long stream of viewers.

I can sympathise with the vendor as you've probably come across as one of those buyers that pick over every little detail.

They had ONE survey and asked for another as the first uncovered potentially serious damp problems. How is that a "little detail"? It would cost the OP thousands to fix that!

Frankly, if you sold in 2 weeks and are still pissed off then a) you were fucking lucky and b) you sound like a bigger PITA than the OPs vendors!

Maybe. I guess if I'm spending £250k on a house (more as we were going to do it up) then I want to know what I'm getting for my money.
Our house is only 30yrs old but I was surprised that our buyers didn't have even a basic survey. I certainly wouldn't have been funny about it. Part & parcel of her house buying process.
Serious damp issues can cost £££ to fix. We had allowed for some contingency but I can't afford to write a blank cheque.
Oh well surveys can cause offence it seems, you live & learn! Good luck to them selling it to someone without a survey

Indeed Bogeyface!!!

You've dodged a bullet or, at the very least saved the survey fees. The damp WILL be picked up and they will have to reduce accordingly. In the very slim case of them selling with no questions asked they will have to fill in a sellers questionnaire and declare any known problems. If they fail to disclose damp they risk prosecution.

Annoying but ultimately the best thing. Damp is often easily sorted so I'm guessing this is a real stinker or bodies under that concrete floor.

Our house is only 30yrs old but I was surprised that our buyers didn't have even a basic survey. I certainly wouldn't have been funny about it. Part & parcel of her house buying process.
Serious damp issues can cost £££ to fix. We had allowed for some contingency but I can't afford to write a blank cheque.
Oh well surveys can cause offence it seems, you live & learn!

We're your buyers mortgage free? I didn't think any lender would go ahead without a survey. Surveys don't generally cause offence. The seller here is definitely in the minority.

Aw thank you Bogeyface yes we were very lucky, the sale is going through lovely. I'm not a PITA though, just a seller who was sick to the back teeth of everyone who made an offer wanting tens of thousands of pounds knocked off, we're ok now though we ended up with a guy that really wants it and knows that damp is easy to fix and didn't want to risk losing our house, he Ines too that we had three people in line after him who desperately wanted it, but thanks again for your kind words.

I think you are well out of it. I know it is a PITA and annoying that you have lost that money, but it sounds like there could be a lot more expense to come. We had an offer on a house - the vendor had told us that there would be no problem doing a loft conversion. We found out that, as it was in a conservation area, no dormer windows would be approved. We asked to bring a builder round to see what alternatives would be for a loft conversion and the vendor pulled out, rather than let us look into this. He said he'd sold it to a neighbour, when in fact he didn't sell it for another three years (I ended up working with the subsequent buyer). So glad we didn't get that house!

Glad it worked out for you Hippee, I'm in the everything happens for a reason camp...not sure what the reason for this is yet though?!

Alors, they're crazy. When they came to view they said they'd like to be out by beginning of Nov, this was end of sept, I laughed as u thought they were joking. Told them that 12 weeks has been standard when I've moved in the past but clearly didn't believe me!

Hi OP

Sorry to hear this, but it does sound like you have had a lucky escape!
But it's shit that you've lost almost 1k

I don't think having 5k knocked off the asking price is anything really, so I don't know what a previous poster was going on about.

Judging by their reaction, it sounds like the sellers know there is a major problem and wanted to ditch you and move on to find less savvy buyers.

Hope you don't lose your buyers completely.

Maybe move into rented in the mean time, to ensure your sale goes through? I know, much much easier said than done.

We bought 1930s house whose sale had fallen through after the survey showed too much for previous interested party (who bought a new build eventually). Seller bought their survey and showed us so we knew up front. We agreed with them on getting some work done before we bought (DH did some of the manual stuff) and made our offer based on this. Our lender also accepted this survey as we got the original surveyor to reissue his report to us. so you may be able to sell your survey if you let the EA know you have it.

IsMy you are very welcome :)

But the fact is that you cannot compare someone who offers£10's++k under the asking price because there are not enough plug sockets in the lounge for example, to the OP. Everyone offers below the asking price for a start, and serious damp problems are not a little details as you implied. They were definite serious buyers with money on the table, not chancers who wasted the vendors time by making silly offers.

Why would you even try to compare the two?

Aaargh how annoying. I also think the system is unfair whereby you can spend loads of money on surveys and things and then the seller just pulls out. I agree with other posters that this seller knows that there is a more serious underlying problem which is why he keeps putting the house back on the market. Any normal seller would have no problem with the request of a damp survey. When I had my survey done, the surveyor recommended a damp survey so obviously I am not going to ignore the advice of a professional.

Hope you find something better.

Sorry you've had this upheaval for what was a very very normal and reasonable request. It does sound like a lucky escape though, i would be wondering what they are hiding.

The seller sounds as dodgy as hell, and I agree its unreasonable.
We were in a similar position years ago. Our mortgage offer was withdrawn as the survey 'revealed' the foundations had been underpinned! It was the seller that had the work done so it wasnt like he didnt know.

You can get a £40 insurance that covers all your legal bills in the event of the sale falling through. It helps offset costs but I don't think it covers surveys.

Oooh wish I'd know that happy, will definitely look into it for next time.

I pulled out of a sale because the buyer pissed me off. I was selling vacant possession, I'd already moved out and I had a new baby. Buyer treated me with mistrust and suspicion as if I were trying to cheat them. Offered low, which I accepted for a quick and easy sale but then they wanted more off, wanted another survey, wanted "work done". No, no, no. And I wasn't trying to cheat them! I just didn't like the attitude and foresaw an unpleasant transaction.

I pulled out. Found another buyer quickly. Got a better price and a quick, smooth sale.

Bogeyface I was being sacrcastic with the tens of thousands comment, sometimes it can feel like that when a vendor is chipping away, although we pre emoted and offered five grand off our price and he was happy with that so even when the surveyor picked the damp problem out and a few other niggles, the buyer was still happy to go through as like I say he really wanted it. I wasn't comparing just giving my experience that as a recent vendor, I can understand what it feels like, you're selling a house it should really just be, do you want it and do the jobs with a few bob knocks off or walk away, I know many times it's not that simple but when you're selling, there's a lot of intrusion that you just want over, I dare say the vendor was disappointed too thinking that they had a buyer and would be going through in a matter of weeks rather than months and months, anyway, I'm not getting into a heated debate so I'll leave at that.

OP I'd be concerned about the EAs in your area and their communications - why did yours go back to your buyers and tell them your purchase had fallen through without a contingency plan? They should have been smoothing the waters and trying to keep them for you. Mind you, who buys a house and gives notice on one they are renting before contracts have been exchanged?

^On what basis did they accept your offer? Was it without any caveat (i. e. Did you make it subject to survey?).

All offers are subject to satisfactory survey and searches aren't they? I don't understand what you're getting at here.^

Offers can be made, and accepted, on any terms - its all part of the negotiation. There are no "standard" or binding terms until contracts are exchanged.

So, when we last sold, we accepted an offer about 2% below the asking price (had priced house realistically, only bought 3 yrs previously so knew there were no issues etc etc) but made it clear there would be no further negotiation on price (regardless of what the survey said). Of course the buyers would have been entitled to pull out if they weren't happy, but we were absolutely clear we would not have budged on the price. So of course the buyers were at liberty to get reports / surveys done for their own peace of mind, but if there had been any suggestion that they were being obtained as a means of reducing the price, and going against what had been agreed, we'd have put it back on the market. The buyers knew the basis of the acceptance of the offer before they shelled out for surveys / solicitors fees etc.

UPDATE
Our buyers have officially pulled out today.
Spoke to our solicitor to tie up all of the loose ends. He said that if we send an email to the vendors EA with a copy of our survey which outlines the defects then they are legally obliged to make prospective purchasers aware of possible major problems that have been identified, at least verbally.
Might at least save someone else the hassle, expense & upset we've been through

Sorry WillowB re buyers

I don't think thats true OP - the survey has revealed possible damp in a 1930s house (almost 100 years old). That does not mean there are "defects" or that there are possible "major problems". EAs are obliged to pass on facts that they know about - so a development at the end of the garden, or all of a row of terraces have been underpinned etc.

I'd also check the wording of the report too before you email it - some will say it is for your use only and cannot be disclosed to a 3rd party (including an estate agent) without the surveyor's permission.