House survey- unexpected issues

[helloimnew123]

We are trying to buy a house. We had a RICS level 3 done last week.

The house is a doer upper for sure (previously rented/ empty for months) but things have come up on the survey that we hadn't accounted for. We did get £25k off the asking price but we didn't budget for some of the issues. It had been on the market for 4 months before we offered.

For example:

We had accounted for:

• new render to the front, as it's visually damaged

-new kitchen & bathroom as not useable -new floors as floorboards etc. -decorating

We had not accounted for:
-4 of the windows are so broken that they don't open. They looked fine.
-the back door, the leaf door is soo broken it doesn't open. The agent only opened 1 door when we viewed.
-the lock on the font door is misaligned and hard to open & shut. The agent opened/ shut when we weren't around.
-the left boundary fence is beyond repair and needs replacing. Can't be seen behind bushes.
-the boiler is only a few years old has been tested and is in bad repair/ not working well.

Do you think we should suck it up as part of the refurbishments? Or should we try and negotiate as we didn't expect these costs?

Thanks

We renegotiated after the survey as it picked up some problems we weren't aware of. We got quotes, and the seller agreed to reduce the price accordingly. It was all very civilised!

Definitely negotiate the price, however, be realistic with your demands. Issue like fencing and the sticky door would go under wear and tear. Again, you have nothing to lose if you ask.

I've found some good tips here https://trustedsurveyors.org.uk/surveying/how-to-negotiate-house-price-after-survey/

This sounds great. I wonder if our seller will be as reasonable.
At what point did you negotiate? Were you close to exchanging?

We are still stuck on a few queries currently

All we can do is ask and hope they are keen to get it across the line too.

In our situation I would argue that the fence and windows aren't wear and tear. They have been very poorly (or not) maintained and any repairs have been cheap bodge jobs which has made them beyond repair now. For example they have stuck draft excluders across a window which now means the window can't ever be opened again.

It was rented for the last 20 years and I'd say he's spent £0 on maintenance of the property in that time. He's run it as a business so I don't expect him to have the same emotional reaction that some people do

@AndyTrustedSurveyors
Thanks for the link, that's helpful

Your agent doesn't care

@helloimnew123 you can share the survey, you paid for it, you commissioned it. I wouldn't share it with the seller though, unless necessary.

Your bank is likely to stick to the same price you've agreed to pay for it.

The compost heap - you can ask, doesn't mean they will do it.

Remember the majority of the stuff was viable when you viewed and put in an offer. Expect to spend money on the house.

Definitely negotiate some further discount. Look at the sellers position - the property has been a business for them (not their home) and they will be expecting further negotiations after a survey. It's also been empty for some time and is only costing them money at the moment. They know you seriously want it and can proceed because you have financially committed with your thorough survey. A deal for them is within reach during a period of market uncertainty - they know this and will be preparing to make further concessions if necessary. You hold the cards here, don't loose sight of that.

For all those saying, oh what if the seller gets in a strop and walks away- this is a £750k house which sounds like it's in need of repair throughout.

In all honesty, most people with £750k to spend on a house won't be looking for a fixer upper- especially as it sounds like it's not somewhere people could move in to instantly.

If anything, the seller is lucky they have found OP, who's husband is able to do the most expensive bits (kitchen/bathroom) more cheaply.

I would definitely negotiate. WRT the oven, I'd also call his bluff. You're planning to redo the kitchen anyway- do you need the oven? Say you don't need it, so won't buy it, and then he'll have the hassle of having to remove (and presumably dispose of?) an integrated oven?

Most surveys, if you read them and your contract with the surveyor, do not permit you to 'share' them with anyone without permission. Unfortunately, house agents and vendors often 'demand' to see them- they should be told to do one if they make such a demand. You paid for it, it's yours, if they want a survey, they should pay for their own. Check your survey carefully for what you are allowed to do with it, and if you wish to quote any part of one to support an argument (and I'd keep any such part very small) check with your surveyor first. If they say yes, you're in the clear.
I still think that none of the things you quote are things I'd ask or allow reduction for, though. The windows are the closest to the borderline on that, as you couldn't know they wouldn't open just by looking at them- and it also seems odd to me that so many are so bad- are they all on one elevation, and if so are there any cracks in the walls?

Well I checked the ones we've had, and it was clear we couldn't.
Just because you pay for something it does not mean you can do anything you like with it. The op needs to check the fine print, or ring their surveyor. The surveyor may well not be bothered, or may have restricted it but give permission, but if you ask, then you know you are safe.

In other words, pretty much all things you could see on a viewing?

@helloimnew123 just wondering how you were getting on, particularly about the windows that don’t open? We’ve just had a survey back that says some of the windows in the house don’t open and I want to ask that these are repaired before we move in as it doesn’t feel safe to me. We knew the windows would need replacing at some point but didn’t expect to have to repair/replace any of them straight away. I’m hoping the vendor thinks it’s a reasonable ask (it’s a BTL he’s selling so he may not be aware).

The survey has other matters but they are expected for the age of the property so this is the only thing we want to negotiate on. Interested to hear whether your sellers have been accommodating on the windows?

Sorry for the slow update, everything took longer than I expected.

After some digging it turned out the damaged fence isn't our boundary! The neighbours to the right confirmed that our seller had maintained the right boundary which has a new fence. (We have no idea how the seller didn't know that) So looks like we'l have to negotiate with the left hand neighbours about fixing the damaged boundary when we want to.

The boiler was serviced and the issue fixed.

After getting a quote we ended up asking for £10k to replace the windows. They originally said no, but after they visited the property themselves and seeing the condition of the windows they offered to pay half.

We are happy that we'l get some contribution.

Hopefully we'l exchange next week 🤞🏼

Thanks for everyone that gave constructive advice

You offered on a doer upper. That's what you're getting.