Getting vendors to complete repairs

[LopsidedWombat]

Hi all,

Just wondered if it is common (or advisable) to get the vendors to complete repairs highlighted in survey (some of which are quite major). Vendor is a builder if that makes a difference.

Looks like this is how we are going to proceed for one reason and another but now second guessing myself!

Wouldn't trust them not to bodge it to save money. Negotiate on the price you have offered instead

I would negotiate on price by preference unless your mortgage company want a large retention which would be unmanageable without the vendor doing the work.

If the house has a reasonableness amount of interest or is priced reflecting the work already you probably won’t succeed in either getting a price reduction or work done. Also consider the potential cost of missing the end of the stamp duty holiday if works take time to complete.

Were the repairs required visible at viewing?

I’d tell you to sod off if I was the vendor! And my husband is a builder.

You buy a house "as is". If there is a major defect such as half the roof collapsing, you ask for a discount though you might not get it.
I wouldn't start doing repairs and would walk away if a buyer insisted on it.

Hi OP, I'm no expert but I believe it's neither common nor advisable.

All surveys highlight conservative levels of works needed, that's so that the surveyor is covered down the line. As the buyer you have to take a view as to what is really required vs 'advised' - our vendor allowed us to send trades over to quote and mostly the advice was to do less than the survey indicated.

Around here the excellent tradespeople are booked up well in advance. The problem with making the sale contingent on the vendor completing repairs is that they will want to get things done both quickly and cheaply, neither of which is going to do you any favours.

Negotiate the price if you can but do the repairs yourselves would be my advice. And decide in advance at what price you will go ahead and when you'll walk away. In my experience most fixer-upper properties are priced realistically, so that renegotiating late in the day can lose you at least the vendor's goodwill, and at worst can lose you the purchase.

@SaveWaterDrinkGin It is their suggestion!

@DianaT1969 No, it has come as a surprise. We paid asking price based on the fact it didn't need anything major doing.

I didn't know this was an option until the vendor suggested it. I assumed they did so as they are builders and could probably sort it themselves cheaper than getting quotes. If they did, would there not be paperwork required to provide a guarantee?

@WoolyMammoth55 it is not a fixer upper. This came as a surprise and we would not have offered asking price had we known about it beforehand. The fact that it is not a fixer upper was the initial attraction actually. This development, although disappointing, is not a deal breaker and hopefully we can reach a solution which is satisfactory for all parties.

What kind of repairs is it? New roof, damp course?

@NewHouseNewMe Yes, a new roof. Water ingress is already apparent.

@LopsidedWombat, That's interesting info.

Our recent building works (on our fixer upper purchase!) are certified by local building regs who have visited throughout the works to check and have issued a certificate now that works are complete. They have inspected at various stages to ensure e.g. foundations, insulation, RSJs are to standard and comply with all regulations.

Without knowing what works need doing, I'd suggest that you want to ensure that some independent 3rd party will sign off the works in this way, for your peace of mind and for any future purchasers when you come to sell. Best of luck.

If they are builders doing it themselves there's unlikely to automatically be paperwork, no. I would tread carefully.

It is difficult to comment further without knowing what these major issues are. Is it something along the lines of them not having building regs?

It’s not a fixer upper but needs a new roof? Wow that’s quite..... unusual. Does it really need a new roof or are there tiles missing/ a problem with the flashing? What I’m saying is it actually the whole roof that needs to come off which is a major job and not going to be quick (depending on the size the whole thing could need scaffolding). That could take time because getting a big job like that scheduled in won’t be easy. It’s also NOT the time of year to be replacing a roof. We did it a couple of years ago in August and that was bad enough.

It might be that they can complete some repairs which will do for now and then it can be replaced fully - if really needed - next year. I suspect either you might be walking away or they’ll be pulling it off the market.

PS I didn’t think there are any guarantees as such with a roof- we certainly didn’t have any for ours. Top quality builder and that was about 3 /4 years ago.

And building control (regs) not involved for replacing the roof, assuming you’re replacing like with like and not making structural changes.

I wouldn't want them doing the work, in case of issues with the quality of work.

And no time guarantee would ever be likely to be met, leading to many problems with the purchase.

Its not the ideal time of year to re-roof a house. I would get another roofing company to look at the roof and give advice and quote for how much work needs doing. It might not need a whole new roof and if they were to do the work it could add 2-3 months to the buying process. I would be suspicious as to why they havent done the work already if they are builders.

I would also check over the house more, with them out of the property if you can as builders are very good at ‘tarting up’ properties but doing a cheap and cheerful job - so it may not be as well done as you think first time round.

By the way you might need building regs if you are having the whole roof replaced rather than repairing sections. We moved house 18 months ago and had to supply indemnity insurance because we had the whole roof re-tiled.

@Daisydoesnt Yes, this is why we were surprised. They have done loads to the place and it looks lovely, they have done a great job but obviously did everything except the roof. We asked when viewing if there were any issues with the roof, they said no although we thought it looked like it might need a bit of attention, we assumed some minor repairs. However it cannot be repaired due to a process carried out many years ago and so replacement is the only option.

We wanted to get a roofer to provide quotes and confirm the urgency thinking we could get a few thousand knocked off the price and get it sorted in summer. Vendors came back suggesting they sort it out. So just a bit confused at this point. We had a full building survey done so don't think they are trying to hide anything.

Good luck!

I had similar issues - made an offer on a house subject to contract and survey - was clear on that to the estate agent, and as it’s a 1980s property, clearly got a survey done.

Survey highlighted a lot of issues, like old fuse board/inadequate electrics, roof issues, damp to front as gulleys inadequate, poor insulation of pipes in loft, and a fair few other minor points. I got quotes for the two major issues - roof and electrics - and then negotiated via the agent an allowance towards repairs. So not a price reduction, I still paid the same offer price, but basically got £4k held back by solicitor which was paid to me after completion, net of solicitors fees I was due to pay anyway.

Electrics were done within a week thank god, as I managed to blow the whole top floor just changing a bulb, and roofer will do work In the spring. The rest is minor repairs, and I did expect that in a nearly 40 year old house to have to do and pay for some work myself.

I wouldn't do the work if I was selling, you'd be better negotiating on price if the house is worth less without the work being done.

We've had roofers to quote recently and the quotes really vary - but it can be fairly expensive!! Now knowing more about roofing than I wanted to last month (!), would you be happy that the seller would use decent quality felt, properly make sure that the joists weren't overloaded etc? If it's not done properly it's expensive to re-do and expensive if you get another leak and have to redecorate the rooms below.

For something like that, I'd want a quote from someone I would be happy to use. If it was a question of fixing wonky doors on kitchen cabinets, I'd feel very differently.

Please dont tell me they had the roof sprayed inside? If so i imagine that will be a huge job getting all the tiles off. How big is the roof - can you post a link? New roofs are not cheap, easily £10-30k depending on the size and where you are located.

@PicpoulDeMeNay Oh that is interesting, I've not heard of this but it sounds like a good solution and maybe one I can ask about. Like you, we have allowed for minor repairs but not for £10k worth.

@GU24Mum These are the sorts of concerns I was having. The whole thing has caused a bit of a dilemma all round really!

@bilbodog Well I have been wondering that myself. Why do so much (including an extension) then leave the roof? We had a full building survey done so the place has been quite thoroughly checked out.

@bilbodog Not sprayed inside but coated with bitumen. Apparently this was once considered a decent solution to force a few more years out of a roof at the end of its life. The surveyor guesses that this predates the current vendors. He has estimated £8k give or take for the roof alone.