Buyers doesn't understand that they can't just demand everything they want

[WanderingThree]

As the title says.

My property is older and not perfect and priced accordingly. Sizable discount 5% was still given during initial negotiations. All OK.

They had survey done which they say showed problems as of course it would in an old house. Main ones were the electrics don't meet current regs (not ancient/ ugly/unsafe); roof requires further investigation (no leak, granted looks old)

Buyers have immediately asked for a further reduction of £25k to cover cost of a new roof and a full rewire!

EA is being no help at all and suggesting I may have to agree if I want the sale to go ahead. No, just no.

How do I deal with this? Is the original discount just forgotten and they can expect more? The electrics may need an upgrade and roof may not be perfect but surely there demands are totally unreasonable. Arent they? Losing the plot & need your guidance
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Surveyers just arse cover so that nothing comes back on them.

Tell your buyers no but be prepared to lose them.

ditto

Buyers have immediately asked for a further reduction of £25k to cover cost of a new roof and a full rewire!

EA is being no help at all and suggesting I may have to agree if I want the sale to go ahead. No, just no.

How do I deal with this?

"Dear buyer, the house is old and not perfect due to this, it was priced accordingly with this in mind. There will be no further discount other than the 5% you have already negotiated. Do you still wish to proceed with purchase or not?"

I'd turn them down and tell them that the property was priced appropriately and you took 5% off. I wouldn't be prepared to knock another £25,000 off. Presumably you could have forked out for a brand new roof and a re-wire if you had wanted to sell to someone who would only buy it with this. I'm not sure why you would drop any more. Tell them you'll put it back on the market.

Tell them that the asking price reflects the current condition and if the house had recently been rewired and had a new roof it would have been marketed at a much higher price. Don't say anything else. See what they come back with.

Nothing to do with either of those things. It's just that she wants to sell, and she needs to find a buyer. Houses do not have an intrinsic value, so she isn't 'giving away' 25k, is she?

It really depends on whether you think you can get another buyer at the original price.

unless you are really desperate to move, or the property you're buying wont wait for you to find a new buyer AND most importantly you can afford to take a 25K reduction on top of the 5% already done, please don't do this.

Simply tell agent you can't afford any further reduction and instruct to remarket the property.

2 things will happen, they will come crawling back or you'll sell to someone else after whatever amount of time.

Electrics and roof are always flagged by home buyers report on period property to cover their asses, my sibling does surveys for a living.

Just call their bluff , if they walk away they've wasted the survey cost, and have the process of getting their mortgage offer moved to a new property, (that means new payslips etc, if its been a few months since they applied and new bank survey and of course getting a new homebuyers report and going through the whole stress again).

We had a full structural survey when buying our current ancient monument(!) which recommended works needed within 2 years. We got quotes totalling £15k so went back and asked for money off. Vendors had previously lost buyers at survey stage and were therefore pretty quick to agree to meet in the middle. It’s not personal! It’s just part of negotiating. As it happened that additional saving was a drop in the ocean to what we’ve needed to sort out the bastard drains/septic tank…

They're trying it on. If you agree what's to say they'll try to drop the price last minute.

All surveys I've seen say electrics not up to current standard, even in a new house. It's a standard clause.

FTBs are often unrealistic and demanding. Buyers are in quite short supply at the moment where I am, but I'd be concerned if I agree to their requests now, what they might try to do the further down the line you get.

If you think you won't find another buyer who will offer the same amount then the house is no longer worth what you initially marketed it for.
You either accept the buyer's offer, reject and put it back on the market or try to negotiate. They aren't cheeky for asking for a reduction, but they risk losing the house if you don't agree. This is how the process works.

As PP said you need to tell them to get several quotes for the work before you agree to anything.

You should also request evidence of what the survey has said- if it's unsafe then you may need to consider contributing but if not ie it's just maintenance needed in the future then I wouldn't pay it.

We actually had the nearly identical thing on our sale. Same price chip too. Our agent told them they needed quotes and evidence first. I got a head start on the electrics and got an electrical survey done (£220) which said all our electrics were fine (just slightly old). Our buyer dropped that aspect. For the roof they also dropped that aspect eventually because we told them Victorian houses will always need a new roof at some point and that they needed to provide evidence of why they needed a new roof prior to purchase.

I'd say this is all part of the process, and that it's to be expected that after the survey there may be further negotiation on the agreed price, irrespective of the price agreed initially. That's one of the many things that makes the system in England crap, but in my experience this has happened every time we have moved.

This basically is my view!

That is amazingly cheap. You were very lucky to get it done for that price.

Our electrics weren't up to current regs, consumer unit had 1990 on it so we got a new consumer unit fitted, had an full electrical check and got some additional electrics added, we did not need a full rewire.

I’ve just gone through the same, buyer wanted another £20k off after the survey after me giving them £15k off the asking price. I said no. Lost the buyer. I stand by my decision though, they were trying to take the piss.

Where did they get the figure of £25k from and what colour rating was it given in the survey?

We negotiated with our seller after our survey threw up the same issues (and a few more) rated red. We met our seller in the middle and they reduced by £13k for for about £22k of work. We had quotes done first though so we could show the true cost and we shared the report in full so they could see the ratings.

Our new roof and rewire cost £18k total and that included 4 velux windows which weren’t in our original quote. We have a 3 bed semi in the NW though so may not be comparable.

I’d go back and say you haven’t got enough information to consider their revised offer. Ask to see the report if you haven’t already and say you’re happy to accommodate tradespeople visiting to quote if they arrange it. Either the work is urgent and they need to know how much it’ll cost or it isn’t and they don’t need a discount.

The OP isn't "giving away" £25K. The price has been set, but a property (or any other item for sale for that matter), is only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it.

the prospective buyer isn't "demanding everything they want". They are assessing the property condition, considering the price offered and deciding whether they think the price is worth it bearing in mind the condition. They can choose to accept the price and buy, counter-offer to see if the OP will agree to their offer, or they can choose to walk away if the deal isn't to their liking. The OP can also choose to withdraw the deal and not continue with the buyers.

nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head here. It's a property negotiation, that's what happens.

Well they can ask for whatever they want. But I wouldn't be saying yes to money off for a new roof when the survey just says it needs more investigation. There may not be an issue, and if there is it may not cost anything like that.

Your thread title is ridiculous. The buyer is simply negotiating, as is normal with house buying. As PP said you can just refuse. Your buyers are probably being sensible, they do not want to buy a property and then find they cannot afford work that proves to be necessary in the near future. If you think they are unreasonable get the house rewired yourself, and get a detailed survey of the roof by specialists.

And have you found another buyer who will pay the same?

Did you go to best-and-finals OP? Are there other buyers waiting in the wings? How devastated would you be if you lost these buyers- or would it not really matter to you?
Round here it is a buyer's market- may be different for you.

I would have thought that very few houses would meet the current electrical regulations unless they have been built or renovated since the latest set of regulations were introduced. A quick Google suggests that was January 2019.

Money off for preferences/cosmetic things - unreasonable. If you would prefer a diff layout to a kitchen and want money off towards a new one/ redecorating anything/ the cost of the carpet/window styles doesn’t suit etc

Money off for maintenance you should have done on your home as the general responsibilities of a home owner, yabu. If you didn’t maintain the roof, fix it. If your electrics are put of date, fix it.

Our electrician was around a couple if months ago to fix a light fitting and noted that the way the plugs are wired or earthed or something is out of date. So he is coming back to get it up to new reg standards. No plans to sell soon. General maintenance of a house.

Edited for SPAG