EA using our survey

[Nocoffeetodayrosie]

Had a survey on the house we're hoping to buy which came back with a few urgent issues to look at and the surveyor had also valued the house at 30k below our offer. We approached agent with a view to renegotiate price slightly to take into account the issues. We are also concerned about the fact that a house in the same village has sold with double the square footage, similar size plot, but at a price which seems to confirm surveyor's opinion that it's overpriced. Vendors won't budge on price at all. The EA asked to see the survey. We have forwarded it to the agent (with consent from surveyor). Now the EA is saying that now he has sight of it he is legally obliged to disclose its contents (including down value) to potential other purchasers but still thinks he can get a higher price. Is it correct that he must disclose? To be fair we're not looking for anything much off the price due to down value as we will be staying there, but they squeezed us on our offer which means that we really won't be able to afford work on it unless they concede slightly. I'm confused!

He has to disclose its contents if asked directly. So if another person makes an offer and says: "Did the previous buyer's survey throw up any issues? What were these? Did the surveyor downvalue the property?" the EA would have to fess up. If the buyer said, "Why did the previous buyer pull out?" the EA could fudge it more and say that the buyer had tried to reduce her offer and the vendor wouldn't renegotiate.

Good luck - vendors often think there is a better buyer round the corner but it's rarely the case.

Ah okay, so only if asked. Do people pay much attention to Zoopla estimates? That's coming up with a similar figure to the one given by the surveyor. When we first viewed the house the EA admitted that it was over priced.

Are there any estate agents on here who could tell me what they would do on this situation? And whether it can be easy to sell a house for more than it's been valued for by a surveyor?

I've been advised that zoopla estimates aren't reliable, and met one estate agent who doesn't actually use zoopla for this very reason. It's something with how they calculate it not based on seeing the property, it's based on something like recent sales in the area.

We paraphrased our survey with the ea, because we didn't want it being shared with the seller, but ended up pulling out as we couldn't afford to do the amount of work that was urgent. Decide what you would be happy spending, and walk away if necessary.

No the EA doesn't have to disclose the details of the survey you paid for. It is personal and confidential to you. You rightly asked the surveyor's permission to disclose to the EA. If any other potential buyers ask if any other surveys have thrown up any issues, the EA does not have to, cannot and should not disclose your survey. It is for each buyer to instruct their own survey.