House needs new windows - renegotiate?

[OfUselessBooks]

We had our homebuyers survey results through and some of the window ledges are rotten, in poor condition and the double glazing has failed in some of the windows.

They looked like they needed a paint, but we didn't know the extent of the condition and really glad we got the report. This is going to cost thousands isn't it? Is this where we should renegotiate the price? We offered the top of our budget for the house, and although we have a bit over, I was hoping to spend it getting the kitchen sorted out. Trouble is there are no other suitable properties coming on the market...

Tbh something as obvious as Windows I'd have said you have to accept this needs to happen. You can try negotiating, but what will you do if they say no?

We could potentially move in with family if we had to...I'm just a bit worried about how much it's all going to cost as we don't have that sort of money at the moment! Presumably any buyer would have the same issue? We're also waiting for the report on our current house - I don't think there are any issues but if they try to negotiate down as well then I could see it all falling through.

The house isn't very old, it just hasnt been maintained well. There are a few other issues, which I think we can live with, but new windows was a huge shock!

When you say that there are no other suitable properties do you mean no other suitable properties in this price band? You need to consider not so much your budget (although obviously important) but is it cheap/ expensive for your area? Is the only reason it is cheap because it needs some money spending on it?

Depends if it was priced accordingly or not. Estate agents when valuing a house will normally take stuff like that into account. Yes, it won’t have had a formal survey but a decent agent will be thinking that it’s not upvc frames, some of glazing looks blown and the sills look ropey.

Of course negotiate. All offers given/accepted are pending survey findings so how's your chance. How much would new Windows cost for the property? Worth asking for a couple of quotes.

We had failed glass in wooden double glazed windows replaced recently and it was not expensive, about £100 per pane. Obviously the ledges would be more.

I would contact a local window repair place (not new window sales people) and ask about prices before you panic too much.

Also if the property was already a bit cheaper than others in the area I would suggest this is why. The cost to do the work was already taken off the price.

There are barely any other houses for sale at all...there was one other we looked at but discounted because of the work (and it was a little smaller than this one). It's hard to get a sense of prices because of the lack.of houses. This one is £195k. The other one I mentioned is now on for £165, but it has only one reception room.downstairs (ours has two) but it does have a conservatory. It's the same area of town, but less convenient as right up a hill.

Another house sold on the same street for 10k more, but it was detached.

All in all, we could see we would want a new kitchen and potentially in the next few years, a new boiler (house is 25 years old). I just didn't expect the windows - I assumed we would just paint them.

You can replace blown window panes quite cheaply.

The rest you can probably live with for a few years while you save to replace.

I agree that the house would have been priced to reflect its condition. Unless you buy a new build all houses will require things replacing / maintaining. Some will be urgent and others less so.

At 25 years old I would have expected windows to need replacing , depends on the size of house and windows and where you are but I guess between 4 and 8k from a local guy,

If you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

In that case it would be worth saying to the vendor you messed up when you were evaluating affordability and will have to pull out if you can't get any cash off

I'd use the money for Windows (which tend to be obvious if there are issues) and live with a dated kitchen for a while.

If the rest of the house is going to work for you for the long term it's worth it provided the house was sensibly priced.

No harm in attempting a renegotiation, but windows tend to be something that a buyer can see for themselves rather than hidden/specialist/requiring a surveyor type thing.

Like others have said a few blown window panes can be replaced fairly cheaply, but even that wont need doing immediately. It's a bit less efficient but if you can live with it really isn't that big a deal. You can save up and do them when you are ready. All houses, new and old, will need windows sorting at some point.

Its area dependent for the cost of the windows my dad had a three bed semi done for just over three thousand pounds in the Midlands

E replaced the blown windows Units gradually Over a few years as we did rooms up. Used a one man band who just does that. He also knew a joiner who fixed up the window sills, mostly just needed cut out and filling. It wasn’t that expensive.

I’m not sure you can use it to reduce price.

Just to add, blown windows are a minor issue. It's not something that must immediately be repaired. For a 25yo house, I would budget to replace the boiler first, and assume you had already taken that into account when you out your offer in.

I don’t think you will be successful in getting a price reduction for new windows as this is something which is quite visible when viewing.

Windows depending on the style really aren't that expensive - you can usually get them for around £5k and pay over 5 years on a finance deal with larger companies

You can try and negotiate- it's always worth attempting to but be prepared to be told the price reflected the work that needs doing so if you really like it then you'll have to swallow it

Also changing windows really isn't that hard or messy or disruptive a job. Usually done in a day or two and the good companies leave hardly any mess/damage to walls etc to be repaired afterwards?

We paid roughly £4.5k this year to replace 8 windows and 2 external doors. Windows were a mixture of sizes, the smallest ones cost around £200 (about 0.5m wide, 1.2m long) the largest windows about £500, which was the same length but over 1.5m wide.

The costs do add up, but worst case scenario you could always do them room by room depending on priority.

I agree with a pp, it depends if the house has been priced to reflect the work needed.

Assuming they have good enough insulating performance, wooden windows can be repaired and panes replaced, just as would happen if you broke one. Then if you keep up with maintenance in a suitable paint/coating they should last fine. It's mainly the sills that need painting every couple of years as they catch the weather. There are some very good non peeling paints, Sikkens etc.

I'm another who thinks the price reflected the state of repair most likely. If you can compare to one with pristine windows at the same price, you have more of a case.
You can ask whatever you like but I'd reject this as a seller because it is not like rotten beams or rising damp that is invisible to the naked eye.

I don't think this is likely to be successful for negotiation. It isn't actually something that must be done immediately. Yes, it will cost you further down the line but you don't need the money for that right now and can wait a couple of years if you have to.

As you say, it's priced right for you....probably reflecting the condition.

I guess that really you've stretched yourself too far or don't love the house enough for its price. When you move, there will always be some things you need to spend on that you didn't spot....this house will have some others too that you don't even know about yet...it's just the reality of moving and you do need to leave yourself a bit of cash for those things that can't wait.

I think you've just decided you've stretched yourself too much for what it is. You don't like the kitchen or the windows and won't have enough left to cover both of those. Of course you can still buy it at the price which reflected Windows and kitchen and just wait a couple of years for kitchen and/or Windows ...doesn't sound too much if a hardship, but perhaps you aren't willing to do that and what you need is a house that is 'done' although you know that's not in your budget.

I'd decide if I was willing to pay the price I'd agreed with the 2 issues of Windows and kitchen. Either way I might tell the vendor I hadn't realised the window issue was so serious and that I'd stretched to my max and now wouldn't have anything left for Windows so need to walk away or have a £3-5k reduction. See what happens. If they say no, you still have the option to pay the full price. They might well say no, so you need to decide if you will pay the full price if they refuse. They probably will be keen not to lose you as buyer so might meet you half way and give you a couple of £K off. Again, you'll have to decide. But I do wonder if you just don't want to do the work as well as pay the price. Think about that too.

Also I would beware if you want ‘done’ homes. You often uncover bodge jobs under nice decoration. Always have money left in kitty for things that need replacing. Or be sure you can live with them a few years. We lived with a hideous kitchen and decoration not to our taste while we replaced ancient windows, boiler (and bodged plumbing), windows, fascias and many other things. The house price didn’t reflect this but was a sellers market, so. 15 years on its worth 3 times what we paid for it so they’re always a good investment if you can stay put for some years.

Thank you for the replies. Not what I wanted to hear but it's good to know the reality!

Buying was a head decision and not a heart as we have a limited budget and no jobs at the moment...I suppose it just seems a little bit less sensible now we have more money to fork out. We realised with a few things there would be work to do - especially with the kitchen, boiler, garden etc., but the windows have just added something expensive on top of what we had expected. You learn every time I suppose!

We will see what happens. We just really need to navigate a sale and move and we can deal with any issues in the future once we're settled. We also need to see if our buyers are going to negotiate with us as we dont want to end up paying for both ends.

We could probably fix and maintain them, but in the long run new windows will help us to sell when we move, so we will try to negotiate, see what alternatives we have, then make a decision on what to do. Thank you all

@OfUselessBooks

Thank you for the replies. Not what I wanted to hear but it's good to know the reality!

Buying was a head decision and not a heart as we have a limited budget and no jobs at the moment...I suppose it just seems a little bit less sensible now we have more money to fork out. We realised with a few things there would be work to do - especially with the kitchen, boiler, garden etc., but the windows have just added something expensive on top of what we had expected. You learn every time I suppose!

We will see what happens. We just really need to navigate a sale and move and we can deal with any issues in the future once we're settled. We also need to see if our buyers are going to negotiate with us as we dont want to end up paying for both ends.

We could probably fix and maintain them, but in the long run new windows will help us to sell when we move, so we will try to negotiate, see what alternatives we have, then make a decision on what to do. Thank you all

It’s always hard at the beginning but in the long term (provided you live in a desirable area) you benefit from buying at the top of your budget. Windows can be filled and fixed, I know loads of houses that still have original windows. Maybe get the kitchen done as that will make you feel good about the house. You can get decent kitchens done cheaply these days.

So the boiler of this house was 35 years old ! when we moved in. With terrible plumbing. We lived with it for 15 years. I’m very glad now to have a new boiler and the plumbing sorted now but it was liveable. The electrics were the worst to replace, all the damage to the walls and no obvious benefit.

@IheartNiles

Also I would beware if you want ‘done’ homes. You often uncover bodge jobs under nice decoration. Always have money left in kitty for things that need replacing. Or be sure you can live with them a few years. We lived with a hideous kitchen and decoration not to our taste while we replaced ancient windows, boiler (and bodged plumbing), windows, fascias and many other things. The house price didn’t reflect this but was a sellers market, so. 15 years on its worth 3 times what we paid for it so they’re always a good investment if you can stay put for some years.

This!

We've recently moved in to a "freshly renovated" home thinking we'd only need to repaint the living and main bedroom to our taste and take our time with the rest but discovered that the apparent fresh renovation throughout is a cheap cosmetic cover up which was just well hidden and dressed for viewing. We've no doubt paid a premium for the apparent renovation and have since had to spend a fair bit fixing all sorts of dodgy work before we even get to doing the work we had planned. We don't mind as it's a forever house but all very unexpected so hadn't factored in to the budget. Bit frustrating.