Estate agents survey - where do I stand

[Cjamat]

Hoping to get some advice regarding where I stand.
Currently in the process of buying & selling our home. A property came back onto market after previously being “sold stc”. Before putting in an offer I asked the agents why it fell through, and was told it was due to personal situation of the previous buyer.
So I put an offer in, got accepted, and then found out that there are due to be major roof repairs done imminently and that my share will be about £3-4k (it’s a leasehold flat). Went back and asked for a reduction, seller gave £1.5k off, on the condition I don’t ask for any further reductions.
Just had the survey back today and there is a leak in the kitchen, behind some plasterboard boxing, that will have to be repaired. It could mean half the kitchen cupboards have to be removed, and some tilling. The leak is apparently not new, and been there several months. It’s not obvious as the damage is behind cupboards.
I know that the previous interested buyer had a survey done. My assumption is that they pulled out due to this leak and the unknown amount of work it could mean. So the agent knew about the leak, and when I asked during viewing if they knew of any issues they failed to mention it. Should they have? Or are they supposed to just stay silent?
When I specifically asked about a small damp mark that was visible, they came back saying the seller told them “it’s an old mark and the issue was fixed”, but they would have known this was not the truth.
I’m not massively annoyed about the additional cost, more about the agent not being honest about it. Now I want to ask for a reduction in price, but feel I can’t as the owner said I couldn’t.
What would you do?

I would walk away. They have lied and not do e basic maintenance. Goodness I OWS what else there is still to find.

Estate agent isn't obliged to give you additional information.

You can ask for a further reduction, there's nothing wrong in trying to negotiate but also vendor is under more obligation to take a lower offer.

People get really hung up on what's "fair" in property negotiations. It's irrelevant. Vendor wants the best deal, you want the best deal. It isn't cheeky to ask but it isn't rude of them to refuse or any of the other emotions people put on top of these conversations. It's just risk assessment. They risk losing you as a buyer, you risk paying more than you want to or having to walk away.

I would walk away from this one. There will be other properties out there that suit you just as well and don't have the same issues. For every problem the survey does find there are likely to be a few that are hidden. There's always something.

I wouldn't expect the EA to come clean about the survey reports, the vendor is their client, not the buyer. It's annoying but I wouldn't take it personally. But I would reconsider this property anyway.

This place would need to be very keenly priced to continue with. You’ll be on the hook for the roof and the leak. Could easily be 6k+

This would suggest that the estate agent should have told you if they knew there were issues. Not sure what you can actually do about it though!

If you still want the place, put in writing via the solicitors that there is a leak which will need to be fixed by the seller to the satisfaction of your surveyor. Specify that you are not requesting a reduction, but that they put the property in the condition you were told it was in by their agent.
If they don't agree, then don't go ahead.

If they’ve left a leak for months and not bothered to sort it before selling I’d walk away. I wouldn’t want to deal with a seller like that.

My understanding is that is previous survey shows problems then the estate agent is obliged to inform any potential buyer.

Honestly? Walk away from the flat and the estate agent because if they have left the leak causing damage for ages they are unlikely to have maintained the rest of the property and the estate agent just want a sale issues and legality aside

Always remember the EA works for the Seller.

They may genuinely not have known about this issue or they may be lying about it, the result is the same for you. A difficult decision now whether to proceed or not.