Buyer wants £7k off £125k asking price due to asbestos in roof & garage, is that reasonable?

[penguinflippers]

We're first time sellers so please be gentle! Our buyer put an offer in at asking price within 24 hrs of house going on the market, which we accepted.
She looked round again last week with her dad and a builder who seems to be a mate of theirs, and today they've said as there's white asbestos in the garage (which we knew about) and in the house roof tiles (which we didn't know about) they want £7k off the asking price to cover the cost of demolishing the garage and replacing the roof tiles - that seems quite high to us but we have no idea how much it actually costs?
Builder confirmed the roof has no leaks so I don't think they could say it was work that urgently needed doing.
Just wondering if anyone has had similar work done recently and how much it cost - it's a 2-bed 1920s semi in the north east.
Thanks

I had an old asbestos garage removed from the house I bought. It didn’t cost that much (and we are talking lots of rotting asbestos sheets).!

And tiles don’t need removing unless they are damaged/rotting. Asbestos is safer left alone.

Wait for the survey at the least, and also instruct your agent that it’s available to view - they sound potentially problematic as buyers.

What has your estate agent said? Presumably thy set th original asking price aware that the garage may have issues and priced accordingly. In your shoes I would say no and put it back on the market if they don't like it. Check with your EA to see if they had other viewing lined up prior to the offer to see how likely you are to get another quick offer

Thanks so much for your help everyone. Going to wait until this survey is done on Monday (although this apparently isn't a 'proper' survey it's just a mortgage valuation) and then consider our options, we're prepared to remarket the house if that seems like the best option. We'll be renting our next place so we're not in a chain that would be affected.
I've noticed all the houses on this street that have sold in recent years do have new roofs, so I'm wondering if replacing them is a standard thing that mortgage lenders are insisting on? Quote still seems high though.
Thanks again to everyone for all your advice

We have a concrete garage and after asbestos survey discovered the apex of the roof but not the tiles were asbestos. Roof quite leaky though. It's about twice the size of the one in your picture as far as I can tell. Can't remember what we paid for asbestos removal but a few hundred sounds about right. To replace the roof entirely quoted £3k. To demolish whole thing I would say c £3k - don't underestimate cost of skips etc as well as labour. I am not sure what your buyers are wanting to do? Replace whole garage or just roof? I kind of understand why they are asking as if the price if your house is the same with or without garage, then it's an additional cost and hassle for them to get it removed. So if that's the case maybe knock £3k off?

Sorry re read your post and replies. I agree with you on cost of demolishing garage but not roof tiles. In my experience all the builders / roofers "thought" they knew what was asbestos but the survey proved otherwise and it came up in surprising places instead.

I agree with the person that said they will ask for more money off after the survey.

£7k seems like a large % of the price to get off. If it's so bad they can look for another house. The garage was not hidden.

I think you should wait until after the survey and offer a token amount off.E.g. £250.

Your house and garage was not marketed as a perfect new garage etc was it? If so asking price would’ve been more.
Concrete asbestos ( often used on garage roofs) is not a big deal and google it - doesn’t need specialist contractors.

Sorry I think I've confused people by talking about two different roofs - their builder says there's asbestos in the roof of the garage (white asbestos i.e. the worst type) and also in the roof tiles of the house itself, which is 'composite slate and compound asbestos' apparently.
EA sent a copy of the quote which is £1300 to demolish and remove the garage and £5400 to completely re-tile the house roof, she says this is £7k after VAT. Just have no idea if that quote for re tiling the house roof is reasonable, we're not as concerned by the costs relating to the garage as we always knew we'd have to knock money off for that.
After the mortgage valuation on Monday I suppose we'll find out whether having the house roof redone is something

Posted too soon! Was meant to say 'whether it's something that mortgage lenders are insisting on before they lend on houses in our street'

Sorry that house re tiling quote is the wrong figure, it's £4500 not £5400 I think (crap work wi-fi won't let me download the quote email)

I'd just say no.
I may have gone ahead and replaced the garage roof if it isn't too expensive but I wouldn't give them the money to do it all.
To me I think I agree with a previous poster, they offered full asking so no one else got to see it and had no intention of paying full price.
After the survey see what they say, if they are chancers get it right back on the market.

we always knew we'd have to knock money off for that but isn’t it priced accordingly? The estate agents would have taken this into account when valuing the property.
You would usually only knock money off for things that come up on the survey that could not have been foreseen when the estate agents priced the house and even then you don’t have to take money off. You can look for another buyer or hope the current buyers still proceed (which they often do).

Presumably the estate agents know the area well and would have priced it higher if it had a brand new roof. Maybe ask them re:mortgage companies making the roof a condition, they should know.

If you are renting after this, you will be in a really strong position selling as not going into a chain. I would tell your agent to take some viewings, you may get some over the weekend. If you get any offers, it gives puts you in a better position to refuse to take money off.

If they aren't having a full survey done then will it show up any potential effect of the asbestos? If they are not paying for a homebuyers survey then why would you knock any money off? If you're concerned then perhaps get a specialist asbestos survey done to cover all the options, ie check that it is safe to be left as it is and if not what would be involved in removing it all making it safe. As a buyer I wouldn't expect to get money off if I hadn't bothered to get a proper survey done. If an asbestos survey showed that the roof and the garage were not a danger then I wouldn't offer any money off because if they choose to knock the garage down that's their personal choice. They can see what condition it's in as it was when they viewed it. If it was unsafe then I would get a quote for the removal of the garage et cetera and then consider how much money to knock off. I would certainly never agree to a quote figure provided by the buyer.

Thanks everyone - Kardashianlove when the EA looked round and valued it at £125k we did suggest reducing it because of the garage and he said 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it' If we have to re-market it we'll insist it's priced to reflect the garage.
EA thinks the roof replacement is 'possibly' a mortgage condition.
I don't think we can instruct agent to take more viewings until we've formally pulled out of the sale with this buyer, their offer was conditional on stopping all viewings and marketing of the house (is that normal? Again we have no idea)
MotherCupboard Haven't heard anything about a homebuyers survey yet, just the mortgage valuation, will ring EA on Monday and ask if they've mentioned it.
But as well as the builder the buyers also had an electrician look round on another day last week - so we were wondering at the time if that was because they were trying to avoid paying for a homebuyers survey by just getting some of their mates to look round and flag up any problems

A homebuyers survey generally picks up likely problems but can't go into detail - nor can they go in roofs or see behind walls. If the buyers have the contacts to bring specialists in, it's good for them knowing exactly what they are buying. We had to get a full rewire in our house and it is a big deal!! So you need to be prepared to take this on board if you are buying. With our current house we got homebuyers , electrical survey and drain survey. (And asbestos survey after we bought and structural survey on a small concerning part that building control couldn't help with).

I think your buyers are going to try and take the piss. Like everyone else i think they offered full asking to get the house off the market so they could negotiate with you later. Id wait for the survey and see what happens then.

You agreed not to take any more viewings on the basis they were paying the asking price though. Now they have changed this, you are within you rights to say to your estate agent that you want to re-market.

When they put forward the £7K reduction, the estate agents should have said to them ‘we’ll put it forward to the seller but we’ll also have to consider other viewings/offers as your asking price offer no longer stands’.

They sound like nightmare buyers to be honest.

If you wait until the survey is done Monday it could be days/a week after that before the buyers receive the report then they will have to contact EA, etc.
You could end up losing this weekend and next for more viewings, then it’s nearly Christmas.

It depends if you’re in a rush to sell though.

You cannot tell if you have asbestos just by looking at it. Absolutely impossible to be sure. Their builder is completely out of order suggesting he can. You have to have a sample sent off for testing.

Either they are pulling a fast one or the builder thinks he has magic asbestos divining powers. Sounds like her dad and his mate thought they'd chance their arm and try to shaft you once they realised you are inexperienced.

If you had an offer in the first 24 hours you'll get another one. Personally I'd tell them to fuck off and put it back on the market. and maybe get a sample of both materials tested. Here's a useful guide on how to get it done: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/managing/sampling.htm