Renegotiating Price

[lineandsinker]

Hi,

I had an offer accepted on a property 4 months ago. It was in a fire last year but not serious - largely smoke damage and worse of damage confided to small area of property. The cause of the fire had been repaired and rest of property stripped of carpets, wallpaper, paint, etc. due to smoke damage. The property was priced on this basis but maybe £20k less than similar properties with full decoration. I had an offer accepted £5k below asking. Had a full survey but nothing major flagged up.

The legal process has been slow as the property wasn’t registered and the deeds had been lost by a previous solicitor. Anyway, the property has finally been registered as of last week and I’ve started doing things like getting building quotes, etc. now I know that things are moving at long last.

The building quotes have uncovered much more work needed than I originally thought; things that the survey hasn’t taken into account. One was from a trusted family friend and another from a firm recommended by a colleague. In total they are saying the house will need around £40k - £50k of remedial work. With all of this knowledge at hand, I’m realising that perhaps I am paying over the odds for this property.

Would I be in a position to renegotiate the price at this stage based on the builders’ quotes? I’m not looking for a significant reduction, perhaps around £8k (2% of total price).

I live in SE and there’s not much on market in my ballpark (around £350k).

I’m fully aware that I’ve made my bed so acknowledge that this may well be an expensive lesson to learn!

Is it work that is structurally necessary, or just work that will bring the property up to modern standards/make it nicer/warmer?
you've already said the property is cheaper than others similar in the area so you are already getting a good deal.
If you attempt to re negotiate price at this stage you risk the sellers telling you to do one and putting it back on the market. Is it worth it for the small amount you'd like to reduce your purchase by?
If it is absolutely necessary work for the house to be liveable then have a conversation with the vendors and see if they will be open to discussing it.

I live in SE and there’s not much on market in my ballpark (around £350k).

So you're not really in a position to try to go back on your original offer then? We could all get builders' quotes saying a house would benefit from a £100k renovation but that's meaningless to its current value. Trying to show a seller quotes from a family friend would be particularly dubious.

You are absolutely able to renegotiate and should do. Make sure you have properly written up quotes and include them with your revised offer directly to the selling agent by email, not phone.

The main bulk of the work is to make the property liveable - at present, it can’t be lived in, which I knew, but not the extent of the work that needed doing.

The fire was under the stairs, so the bulk of the fire damage is in the downstairs hallway. The hallway ceiling has been stripped back to the lathe and there is significant charring to the top of the staircase string and balustrades. I assumed it could just be sanded down and treated/painted, but the location of it means that there will either be significant work and time to make it right or a replacement staircase. Also, the corniceing is warped so that will all need to come down and be made good. The heat damage has blown the ceiling plaster in the adjoining kitchen and dining room, so that will need to be replastered also. The blown plaster isn’t an obvious spot, but once the builder touched it, it was flaking off.

The other issue was damp readings. The surveyor got a high damp reading at back of house but the two builders last week got a high reading at both front and back so they have recommended a damp course as well.

What work is actually needed? Huge difference between modernising a house and rectifying damage (for example, a rewire - would it need to be done as a result of the fire or would it simply be because it’s been a while so should be redone)

You said the house is on for £20k less as a result of the fire - does the £40-50k quote include that £20k?

You’re not going to get a discount for damp.

How much of the quoted costs covers the fire damage?

You've already gotten £25k off for fire damage.

The work I’ve just listed up thread is to make the house habitable and to rectify the fire damage. The house has been rewired by the insurers but it is still unclear as to why no other damage was repaired.

Yes, the £40-50k quote includes the £20k. So in reality, £20-30k more than I had budgeted for. I have a pot of £25k to spend making the property good and liveable.

At the moment, the house needs - to be liveable):

• full redecoration (as it has all been stripped away)
• complete re-flooring (as all stripped away)
• replacement borrowing lights as glass cracked due to heat damage
• replacement kitchen door as glass cracked due to heat damage
• replacement staircase
• replacement architraving throughout the downstairs living spaces due to smoke damage / charring
• replacement ceiling and cornicing in hallway
• replaster of downstairs dining room ceiling as it has blown
• replacement kitchen worktop and two cupboard units due to heat damage

In the future, to modernise it, the house will need:

• replace kitchen
• replace bathroom (asbestos artex)
• replacement windows in 3x rooms due to blown units
• 2x rooms need double glazing as they are aluminium bay windows currently

Houses of same size / layout go for around £375k, sometimes more depending on quality of finish.

£35k for the list of work upthread.

As I said to PP, this is largely for work to make the house habitable following the fire. I hadn’t factored in a replacement staircase, for example, and replastering in other rooms, as, visually, they look okay. Also the damp course.

Modernisation is a cost you would have already factored in when making an offer, so if you under estimated then that is on you unfortunately. However, rectifying fire damage is worth raising, to the extent it’s over and above the £20k deduction already included.

Ultimately, you can give it a go, but be prepared for them to either say no or to walk away.

If they say no, what will you do?

I’m not sure yet - I’m still trying to process the shock of the quotes!

I’m typically a people pleaser so part of me wants to just accept my own error and suck it up rather than risk pissing off my sellers. But equally, it’s a property affected by fire damage, so there are always unknowns when you make an offer.

20k for that amount of work is not enough of a discount.
How long will it take you to save 30k out of your take home pay? 6 months? 2 years? That’s how to look at over paying for a house. You could have to work for 2 years because you’re not willing to renegotiate.
And all that money isn’t even adding any value to the house, it’s just to make it on par with everyone else’s. Sounds like it would be cheaper to spend 375 and get a good one.

"Sounds like it would be cheaper to spend 375 and get a good one."

That's a fair comment op

So they listed it £20k under similar properties for the work needed and you negotiated another £5k off, but your quotes suggest it will be closer to £35k? It's more than reasonable to go back with the quotes and ask for a further £10k off. You may need to accept less though if you want the house.

Go back and ask for a reduction as the damage is far more extensive than you thought, but be prepared to walk away. In truth if they refuse to lower the price you'd have to walk away anyway as the renovations are out of your budget.

Thanks all for your input! Lots to think about.