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Original poster

Estate agent suddenly saying sold as seen

75 replies

Ellsiedodah · 02/12/2020 16:46

What do you make of the following situation? We have an offer on a property which was on at 475 and we offered 490 to secure it. It was a highly competitive market in the present bubble. We only did our second viewing after making the offer. And it's now after a third viewing and a survey were going in for specialist surveys. Estate agent is being extremely passive aggressive about the fact we've asked for all windows to be looked at when sellers have offered to repair 3 of them. Survey said windows are old and need an overhaul and we know no fensa certificates are available. Agent is questioning and saying the property is sold as seen. Weve also seen the bathrooms need a major overhaul, with both floors tiles cracked at the grout, bath tap broken, extractors not working and surveyor saying new mat required. So bathrooms are something where we feel a bit of mo ey off may be appropriate. No electrical certificate provided in spite of having been done 5 years ago. No certificate available for gas boiler serviced last year. Isn't it fair to look into these things? Is the agent just doing his best to put us off a renegotiation but knows we're well within whats standard and reasonable to get specialists to look at things?

OP posts:

knittingaddict · 02/12/2020 19:21

All houses are sold as seen. As a buyer you decide what you want to pay for it and offer that. The seller can either accept or turn you down. If you find something in the survey that means it's not worth it to you then you either offer less or walk away. The buyer can decide whether they will accept your lower offer. That's all you need to know.

hgaj · 02/12/2020 19:59

@VinylDetective

Gas - no, you'll just have to take their word it was serviced or get your own checks

This is wrong. When I sold my parents’ house I had to have the boiler serviced and provide the certificate before exchange.

The buyer may have requested the boiler to be serviced but you didn't have to do it (though doing one is likely to aid a sale). Like electricity if it's newly installed then you'd expect a certificate from installation.

www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/gas-safety-in-the-home/buying-a-new-home/

PresentingPercy · 02/12/2020 20:23

Never have a manhole in the house. They can flood and obviously must open for inspection purposes. Just plain frugly as well. This should have been moved and new drainage agreed with the water authority and built with the manhole outside.

Honestly - this isn’t a great property for you. Didn’t the vendors cover up the manhole?

Viviennemary · 02/12/2020 20:30

I do think it's a bit cheeky to put an offer in over the asking price and once your offer's been accepted you want money off for things that were quite obviously past their sell by date. You can only renegotiate if the survey shows up issues that you weren't aware of or are much worse than they appeared.

Smallgoon · 02/12/2020 20:31

@kazzer2867

We've also seen the bathrooms need a major overhaul, with both floors tiles cracked at the grout, bath tap broken, extractors not working.

You sound like one of those nightmare buyers. If I was the seller, I'd be putting the property back on the market.

Doubtful since they've managed to get £15k above asking (which in itself is crazy in this market). But I guess you just wanted to aggressively get an opinion across...

Daphnise · 02/12/2020 20:33

You offered £490 to secure it.

Why do that and then start quibbling.

I'd dislike (to put it mildly) having you as a buyer, and would probably call the deal off if you carried on in this irritating way.

Smallgoon · 02/12/2020 20:36

@Findahouse21

I would not agree to knock money off for anything which was visible or declared at viewing because you've offered a price having seen the bathrooms etc. Things which flag up on a survey or weren't known at point of your offer might be more negotiable.

Agreed. The flat I purchased had huge cracks in the bedroom and living room windows. I knew I was going offer under asking in any case, but when I viewed, it was obvious to me that entire flat needed updating. My offer was then based on this. You can't make an offer upon viewing the place (3 times in your case) and then demand further money off because there's a crack on the bathroom floor.

KitKat1985 · 02/12/2020 20:42

All properties are 'sold as seen'.

You have grounds for renegotiation if a survey reveals something significant that would not be immediately obvious to a lay person on a viewing, but you can't renegotiate price on the basis that bathrooms etc need replacing, as that should be fairly obvious from the outset.

Bluntness100 · 02/12/2020 20:43

Are you a ftb op? I’m assuming so. Maybe you should have taken someone with you both to view to help you both out if it was going ro be so difficult for you both?

Anyway, I am sure they have other buyers they can revert to, so if you find you’ve made a mistake as you didn’t understand the location, didn’t look around you properly when viewing, didn’t understand the windows etc, then you can possibly pull out if you now feel you can’t afford to do the work and pay what you offered them. Just explain you didn’t know what you were doing and shouldn’t have made the offer.

Then next time take someone with you to help you out.

Pikachubaby · 02/12/2020 20:45

Ah, so you came in high and are now quibbling about details.

So the EA decision makes sense

Are you a fab?

NovemberR · 02/12/2020 20:47

I cannot understand people that do this - although accept the OP is probably a bit naive.

Ignoring the drip feed of info - why would anyone accept an offer and then be happy at buyers saying, well we'd need to put a new kitchen in. Or new bathroom in and that will cost us x amount so we're reducing offer, etc?

That's your decision/problem. Whatever you want to spend doing up the house and making it to your taste/spec comes out of your own money. You can't expect the seller to drop their price so that you can afford to do what you want.

sunsalutations · 02/12/2020 20:56

The manhole cover is a massive issue. Is it in an extension? There's no way a building certificate would have been issued by the LA with that there. You could have problems selling this house on when you wish to leave. Please look into this issue in depth before you complete. The E A is possibly being arsey because he knows this and wants it off his books ASAP

BecomeStronger · 02/12/2020 20:57

Surely if the bathrooms need replacing that's obvious on viewing, you don't need a survey to tell you that, so the fact that new bathrooms are needed is already factored into the asking/offer price.

If something unforeseen comes up on survey that might justify money off but not something you already knew about.

Saz12 · 02/12/2020 20:57

OP, it sounds like you “impulse bought” a house. That’s insane.

You need to decide immediately if you’re going to proceed (properly, not quibbling or pulling out over minor things), or not, and tell the poor bloody vendor, so they can relish and get on with their lives.

Original poster

Ellsiedodah · 02/12/2020 21:02

Thanks very much everyone for your feedback. And thanks to the people who pointed out that it's unnecessary to put one's point across aggressively. I think we can all leave it there, given the points have been made several times over.

OP posts:

baubling · 02/12/2020 21:03

Ex-H was an estate agent and I got used to the lingo.

Sold as seen = the agent knows full well that there are a shitload of problems with it.

Smallgoon · 02/12/2020 21:08

The agent had been so hard selling and we were 3 hours from where we live so we felt we had little choice but to put the offer in after first viewing.

You have been naive. If you knew you lived 3 hours away and couldn't easily revisit the property soon after first viewing, your first viewing should have been a focussed one. I would have been viewing every nook and cranny and really taken my time. It also seems as though you felt pressured to offer after first viewing which shows more naivety. Yes EAs are twats and will create stories to pressure you. They're sales people. You should never give in.

Smallgoon · 02/12/2020 21:10

@Ellsiedodah You don't have to go through with the purchase if you don't feel certain about it. If you feel you're over-paying, given you'll have to fork out on renovation too, just pull out.

PurBal · 02/12/2020 21:16

So playing devil's advocate... when I put in an offer I would always say "subject to survey". Generally I wouldn't use the results of a survey for renegotiation unless we're talking tens of thousands of unexpected work (rising damp, collapsing roof) I don't know what the windows look like, but is this not something you identified at the viewing? Same with the bathrooms. As I say, I'm being devil's advocate here.

TheLadyOfShallnott · 02/12/2020 21:17

No one was overly aggressive OP.

On the strength of your original OP then I think most responses were remarkably restrained.

Given that you had another thread asking about the manhole - which is more of a concern than broken tiles or old windows - I’m surprised that you didn’t mention it. As I said above, the responses you got may have been different.

By your other thread, which popped up on active threads, you love the area and the house and you don’t want to pull out.

Which makes your OP on this thread look like you are being a bit of a chancer to try and negotiate a discount on faults that should have been noticed.

PurBal · 02/12/2020 21:17

And if you still need to renegotiate you always do that through the solicitor, estate agent's job is done.

namechangealerttt · 02/12/2020 21:47

I would withdraw based on the manhole cover alone.

No certificates for 5 year old electrical work is a red flag about the care the current owners have towards the property. It was either not done legit, or done for notes, hence no certificate, or they couldn't be bothered to file it away. Most electricians would have records from 5 years ago and if they sent a polite email could likely get it replaced.

The bathroom stuff and even windows, educate yourself and take a better look at viewings of other houses you go to. If you annoy every estate agent in the neighbourhood you want to buy, you will never secure a purchase.

DiesalFive · 02/12/2020 21:53

@Ellsiedodah

Wow, today feels like mumsnet is just great place to vent at people. I don't know why people can't speak nicely?!

You have had a bit of a pile on!

With the issues and flood risk, do you think you'll proceed, OP?

It's all a learning experience, albeit a stressful one!

Bluntness100 · 02/12/2020 23:15

Yes this one is a bit weird. Your other threads op make it sound like you and your partner were very clear on what you were buying and what renovation was involved.

Which does indeed make you look like a bit of a chancer trying to get some money off and you only offered to secure it, never intending to pay that. And not the clueless ftb who couldn’t even look down in the bathroom being portrayed here,

Daisydoesnt · 03/12/2020 07:22

I would withdraw based on the manhole cover alone

Me too! I wouldn’t be worrying about whether we could knock something off the price for new windows, bathroom or anything else. I’d be thinking hard about that manhole cover and whether we wanted to go ahead with the purchase. The problem is; it’s not something that you can resolve by knocking money off the price; I just wouldn’t want it in the house.

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