Moving house... seller taking summer house

[Charrrb]

Hi, I’m hoping to get as many opinions possible. Myself and my partner put an offer in on a house last November. The house was absolutely perfect for us. One thing that stood out hugely was the garden. It was spacious, had decking and a summer house that had been created into a bar! The sellers invited us to look round this summer house at the viewing and with the electric fire coupled with a gin bar, it was perfect! Fast forward 2 months and on the completion of the property forms, low and behold, the summer house was stated as ‘not included in the sale’ and the seller would be taking this with them. We were gutted but also, this was never included in the sale brochure and although the seller has said at the viewing that this was ‘highly likely to stay due to them down-sizing’ we didn’t really have a leg to stand on. Fast forward another month and we discover that when the summer house will be removed from the garden, this will leave a large concreted base that doesn’t match the patio of the rest of the garden. We feel a little cheated, as this isn’t the garden we saw when we viewed the house and put the offer down on. Would anyone agree it would be fair to ask the owner to rectify the huge whole that is going to be in the garden by either putting down patio that matches the rest of the garden? I don’t want to be picky but also we were looking at houses that needed as little work as possible initially and this just isn’t something we want to be forking out for! Any advice appreciated!

How much do you want the house with the concrete base as is? Is it worth what you’ve agreed to pay based on the current market?

The mistake was in not making the summer house a condition of the purchase. They said it was highly likely to stay. That didn’t mean it would. Yes, misleading and they played a good game to entice you in in IMO.

You’re not going to get a reduction in price equivalent to the cost of a new summerhouse. So be prepared to move your offer upwards a little, not to the cost of a new one though. The idea being you negotiate up a little and down a substantial amount so they think again about taking it as suggested upthread. I’d probably start with down a substantial amount and get them to come back with a counter offer. Remember the estate agent is working for them, not you.

In terms of negotiations on this, what was your offer like? Was it near to full asking price? If so, this would be another case in your favour. The market has picked up again now. You could pull out. They’ll probably get another buyer. Will you get another house like this one?

Did you manage to knock them down on the original sale price? If you did, this might be why they are taking it with them.
However, I can't really see the problem. Either offer to buy it from them, or buy your own and install it. Putting down a concrete base is messy and can be expensive, so at least you have already got that in place. I think asking them to replace the slab with a terrace is bonkers. No-one is going to do that for you.

What a disappointment.

The sellers at our previous home, said they were leaving the shed, even mentioned in the property details, it was nothing particularly special, but it would have been useful to us. Then when they filled out the form, the shed was excluded. We did query it, but they were determined that they were taking the shed, we wanted the house, bloody annoying but it wasn’t worth losing the house we wanted over a shed at the end of the day.

I did hope that it fell to bits when they tried to dismantle it, petty I know, But what meanies!

Things like sheds, pot plant, specific plants, garden furniture, lamp shades, blinds, carpets are usually extra to any house sale. The EA would have an initial discussion about what to include in the seller's details. You often negotiate an additional price for sheds etc. Otherwise you are purchasing what is agreed in the papetwork. You also need to ensure items needing removal are discussed. You need to ensure with the solicitor that if the loft needs clearing, the old trampoline or caravan removing it is a condition of sale and checked before moving.
The mortgage won't have considered the summer house either.

If I were you, I'd offer them some extra to leave the summer house. I imagine that's what they were expecting you to do.
It might be too late in the day now.
It would be very unreasonable to expect them to make good the garden after they've lifted the summer house. Most people would have a) raised this when it first became apparent they were taking the summer house and b) realised that there would be a concrete base on such a structure.

If I were you, I'd offer them some extra to leave the summer house. I imagine that's what they were expecting you to do.
It might be too late in the day now.
It would be very unreasonable to expect them to make good the garden after they've lifted the summer house. Most people would have a) raised this when it first became apparent they were taking the summer house and b) realised that there would be a concrete base on such a structure.

We moved into a house last year, where the vendor removed every single little thing that we weren't paying them extra for. We didn't think they would rip the carpet off the stairs - but they did. People are weird sometimes.
I would see if they would accept a couple of grand to leave it. It's going to be a pain for them to take it, and cost you more than that to replace it, so you might find they are amenable.

I would certainly try & buy it from them (as you are doing). If no joy, then ugly as it may be in the short term, you are actually probably better off with a decent concrete base which you can use to put your own summerhouse on in due course.

I would not be offering more money, I would knock 20k off your offer, take it or leave it and be prepared to walk away.

@MrsBrunch

I would not be offering more money, I would knock 20k off your offer, take it or leave it and be prepared to walk away.

20k for a three grand summer house? Seriously?