Repairs higher than expected. Renegotiate?

[Applesapple]

Hi. I had an offer accepted at 5% (16k over asking). The report came back as requiring 12k total repairs and a valuation lower than asking. The estate agent was really pushing me for a response regarding the survey results so I just used the surveyors estimates to reduce the price. I really like the house and asked to negotiate only on the big things (roof and window repairs 6k, not the valuation value. 6k off was was accepted. I’ve just had the roof quote and it’s about 2k more than the surveyor estimated.

i don’t want the vendor to think I’m just constantly trying to shave the price. But I can’t really afford the extra repairs. If you were the vendor would asking for more off seem reasonable?

Without building regs sign-off I doubt you would be able to get buildings insurance cover to payout if the work became defective.
I'd throw outback to the vendors to organise sign off with the council before you proceed further.
It sounds like a bit of a hot potato legally.

@saleorbouy thanks. Lots to think about there. I’ll see what the solicitors come back with.

We’re pretty sure the house we’re buying has no building regs sign off or planning permission for the garage attached to it and a kitchen extension. We’re just waiting for our solicitors to confirm. The garage and extension have been there for well over 10 years so planning permission isn’t really a concern but the building regs isn’t ideal.

Our seller is in his late 80s and has been there for 45 years, I think he did a lot of the work himself and I doubt he considered stuff like this.

We love the house and location and we’re in a v high demand area so we’re just goIng to live with it. We’re going to request indemnity insurance as part of our sale and try to figure out regularisation/sorting it at a later point.

It really depends how old the extension is. Building regs weren't about during most of the 80s, so it's common for older extensions not to have them. I have a double storey extension without regs, as it's that old. I got indemnity insurance (paid for by vendor) as it has no planning permission either, but that was strictly to satisfy the mortgage provider as it was built well before the period when the council could take any action.

@rrrrrreatt doesn’t your indemnity become invalid if you apply for regularisation?

@CellophaneFlower did you have any problems getting insurance for the house if the extension didn’t have building regs approval?

You might accept an indemnity policy against the lack of Building Regs certificate but that doesn't mean any future buyer would accept it. Why take on someone else's legal problem? Provided the work wasn't done before Building Regs were required, I'd make sure it stays the vendor's problem to resolve. Otherwise the property is only worth the value of the house minus the extension.

@PragmaticWench when did building regulations start?

it’s so annoying and sneaky that this information isn’t available upfront. Had the vendor and estate agent disclosed this with the initial asking price or at least at the renegotiation, we wouldn’t have a situation that could be perceived as gazundering

I presume it depends when the extension was built but The Building Regulations 2010 should apply to anything built since that date?

Personally I would be concerned about standards of what has been built (is it crap/unsafe/poor quality) and also what happens if you then tried to sell the property.

No problems at all regarding insurance. I also recently sold my dad's house. He built the large extension on it in 1985. It had planning permission, but no regs... I assume they weren't needed then. The buyers didn't mention anything at all. They had a full survey done and were happy.

@PragmaticWench the extension looks like it was in place in 2008 (can’t go beyond that on Google Earth). So it predates 2010. Which is why my partner thinks it’s fine if it’s still standing now.

I’m just less certain about paying over valuation when the financial risks are higher because of repairs and lack of building regs.

Yep, if we approach them to for regularisation the indemnity insurance is invalid which is why we’ll try and figure it out at a later date. We’d need to be sure we could afford to do further work if needed or even remove them before we made our approach.

We’d also like to do a kitchen extension much further down the line (5+ years) so at that stage it’s no longer really an issue if they’re happy with the old one or not, leaving just the garage to sort.

@rrrrrreatt that sounds like a sensible plan. I think if I wasn’t paying so much over the valuation price and for the repairs, I’d be more comfortable with a similar stance to yours.

You're not paying much over the asking price and tbh, if there's only 8k of work you're doing well imo.

I think that you may need to temper your expectations.

@ChoiceMummy 8k is the immediate things- external cracks and roof replacement.

I think the total repairs recommended came to about twice that. And that’s not including any redecoration which we’ve decided to live with/do ourselves. All of the wallpaper stripping, painting, laminate flooring, we’ll do ourselves and wasn’t counted in the total repairs.

my partner just wants to move and get on with it. He thinks the difference in what we’re paying and what it’s worth is quite marginal. But I think he’s also thinking the building regs isn’t a problem because we’ll be able to sell it to buyers like him, who are really relaxed about these things

I'm presuming that you're a ftb. I really do think that level of repairs and remedial work you're referring to is minimal. I fully get the values don't seem that in the context of everyday life, but they are in the context of houses.

I can't comment on the regs side. But think that you're at least getting a full picture on the home whereas you cannot guarantee for lots of reasons that if you opted for another that you'd get informed of the issues, perhaps as couldn't see etc.

I'm presuming that you're a ftb. I really do think that level of repairs and remedial work you're referring to is minimal. I fully get the values don't seem that in the context of everyday life, but they are in the context of houses.

@ChoiceMummy I am. I think it’s the level of repairs on top of paying over the valuation, and potential loss later if it becomes harder to sell because of the building regs. All the things individually don’t bother me and I already discounted a lot on the survey as the surveyor covering their own backs. I know the stereotype of FTBs panicking over every bit of the survey. But the combination feels like a lot more than I initially thought I was signing up for. I’ve spoken to so many people (not FTB) and got such a range of opinions.

can't comment on the regs side. But think that you're at least getting a full picture on the home whereas you cannot guarantee for lots of reasons that if you opted for another that you'd get informed of the issues, perhaps as couldn't see etc.

sorry, I don’t understand what you mean here.

What I mean is that you're being told from the outset the potential issues.

Many people have full surveys that don't reveal way worse issues. I've suffered from that!

So though you're comparing to other properties, you can't really compare as have no idea what they'd reveal...

If you don't like the house and are getting cold feet cut your losses. But beware that prices may not fall for some time. Are you prepared to sit out and not buy in the interim in case of negative equity? Is this a home you intend to be in for the next decade or more where house prices presumably would recover if they did drop?

I really think as the extension pre-dates the building regs it’s a non- issue. However you don’t sound that keen on the house, which is enough of a reason to change your mind.

Thanks. That’s a really good point. Houses that are comparably prices can’t really be compared now because I don’t have the same level of information. I want to be in the house for at least 5years. It’s ‘future-proofed’ in terms of size and location that we could stay for longer if required.

I’ve emailed the surveyor again for his opinion on the state of the extension. And we’ve arranged another viewing this week. It’s been so long since we saw it and we were only in for 10mins that I probably just need to see it again.

Every purchase carries risk. Even new builds.

I believe you can get retrospective building regs approval but you'd need things like foundations checked (they dig a hole) and checking steel supports are in the right place.

If you are going to redecorate the extension it's not so bad. If it would involve dismantling half the kitchen then maybe not.