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[WhispersAnonymous]

Hi! I need some advice.

I am in the process of purchasing a property, the asking price was £300k they accepted my offer of £285k. The mortgage valuation came back as £285k. The property was sold as having a garage en bloc. But it has now turned out that the garage isn't owned and you have to rent it off the council and there is a waiting list. I want to reduce our offer as the seller was clearly trying to get away with us not finding out about the garage. How much do you think I should reduce? Without the garage there is not much parking and it is all on the road. Thanks in advance!

Can you look at recent local sold prices of properties without a garage?

Tbh I'd pull out if it were me..

They don't very often come up for sale around there so I have no comparison. We really like the house, plus we are weeks away from completing on our sale.

Tbh I'd pull out if it were me

This

Presumably the mortgage valuation was done without the garage? So that's the value, now it matters what it's worth to you.

Is there room to build a garage on the plot? If so I'd reduce the offer by the costs of building one.

If there isn't I'd walk away. Parking arguments are something you don't need and coming home from work to have to fight for a space will quickly become very tiresome.

The mortgage valuation was done on the basis of there being a garage

The mortgage company should be able to do a revised desktop valuation, so I’d see what they say

I’d struggle to buy from someone who actively tried to deceive me and essentially scam me out of £000s

I’d agree about getting a valuation done on the correct property minus the garage.

I am struggling tbh we love the house etc and it will mess up our sale if we pull out but I am leaning more towards that. ItS taken us 5 months to get to this point and I am just so angry about it

Talk to your mortgage provider as they are lending against something that doesn't exist in part and your solicitor as to what to do next
Your mortgage provider will need to recalculate the valuation as pp has said

Remember - it's not just about the change to the value, it's about how easy it will be to sell the house in the future. Is it the kind of property that you'd generally expect to come with ample parking and/or a garage? Would you have been interested if you'd known from the outset that it didn't?

We will eventually be putting a driveway on the property, If we even get it. But no I wouldn't of considered the property at all if I had known it had no parking. It's the reason we was drawn to it as our current property is permit parking. It's hard to know what to do, I was tempted to go back with £10k off.. but everyone is just saying to pull out

Can you put a driveway in for £10k? If so, reduce by that and get it done asap.
Check the costs of dropped kerbs in your area first though, they can vary wildly.

Offer less money, if they turn it down pull out.

If they have misled you about that, what else have they misled you about?

I'd try for knocking £15K off, depending on where you are.

I am going to try the route of less money, then If they reject that we will pull out. The estate agent is avoiding me like the plague as they are complicit in the lie.

Have you notified the mortgage company?

Not yet, I'm in contact with my financial advisor over it. So he will take it back to them and get in contact with the valuer

Round here garages are c. £20k of value. I'd be knocking that off. But you do have to inform mortgage company, so will be interesting to see what they value it as now.

Yes will be informing mortgage company, feel like this process will of aged me by 10 years. Didn't realize I was buying from such shits tbh

Buyer beware and all that.

Did the wording actually say the price included a garage, or was it worded to imply that there was a garage in a block?

I'd be tempted to pull out.

Firstly, as much as I loathe Estate Agents, saying they are complicit in the lie. isn't really right - they have listed the particulars in good faith based on what the vendor has told them - Estate Agents do not look at property deeds at any point.

Did you buy the property because you wanted a garage? If so, I would pull out. If the garage was a nice bonus I would offer £15k less, moving to £10k less then walking away.

I am looking at the property pack/ brochure they always give to you and it states garage on its features. It is the responsibility of the estate agent to check though.

It probably isn't the EA's place to check.
Presumably the seller is in a chain.

They are CFs.

It's a probate property so no chain fortunately but the estate agents refuse to pick the phone up to us as they know we will be dropping the offer. They keep fobbing us off saying they are waiting for the manager 🙄

If you want the house and you can live without the garage, yes, try and reduce your offer.

I wouldn't immediately pull out through spite.

The fact the seller has lied would annoy me but not enough to pull out if I really wanted the house.