Selling a copy of Level 3 survey to vendors after pulling out of purchase.

[Valkirie]

We recently had an offer accepted on a probate property, had a Level 3 survey undertaken, and for various reasons have now withdrawn our offer to pursue another purchase. In part we withdrew because of the scope of works the house needed: it was clear from the outset that the house was in need of a fair bit of work, but the survey identified more than we’d imagined.

The estate agent has asked whether we would consider selling the survey to the vendors. My instinct is to say that we can give it to them for free as I feel terrible for the inconvenience we’ll have caused them, and these would otherwise be sunk costs. However my DH says we should offer it to them at half the price to try to recoup some of our spend.

What would you do in this situation?

Tell the EA you would consider selling it to them and how much are they willing to pay? Tell the EA exactly what it cost you for reference.

I agree I would give it to them. It’s no use to you now.

Half price seems fair

You may want to check whether their are any terms from your chartered surveyors first. The Ts&Cs of our Level 3 were that we could not even share it without the surveyors consent.

I sold one for half the price I paid for it.

We sold ours for a much reduced sum but if we had pulled out and caused the issuer then might have just offered it for free.

This. I was in the same position, checked with the surveyor and he pointed out this was not in keeping with t&Cs. Annoyed me cos EA would have known this.

I had to pull out of a sale as we lost our buyer, I gave the L3 survey to the EA to give to the person who eventually brought it.

It’s of limited value to them because they won’t benefit from the professional indemnity insurance which accounts for most of the cost to the original purchaser. Half price would be absolute tops.

I would just give it to them to be honest.

You should check with the surveyor first - most likely their T&Cs will say you can't share it without consent, and if it's to be sold, they will likely want the money for it. (ours did).

I don't think many people realise this.

I would give it to the vendors - it's the least you can do after pulling out.

@Growlybear83 but surely the whole point of a survey is to find out what and how much work is required (which isn't always obvious during viewings) and to help people make informed decisions on wether they want to proceed with the purchase... otherwise what's the point?

I understand it's frustrating for the sellers, but a lot of the comments on here suggest that the OP has done something wrong by pulling out which simply isn't the case. That's literally what a survey is for.

You definitely should check but that’s very cheeky that they would want the money for it, you paid for it so now it’s yours to do with what you wish. I’ve never heard of surveyors wanting the money (essentially being paid twice!)…outrageous and would not use them again if they suggested that. Ours wasn’t bothered and very happy it was being sold on.

Presumably the vendors want it to see what the issues are and how much of a problem they are going to be going forward/if anything needs to be fixed imminently that will help a sale... they aren't using it as a basis to buy so the indemnity thing is a bit of a red herring... I'd probably let them have it for free

I woudnt use a survey given to me by the vendor, as it wouldnt have any indemnities. As the buyer the risk of the survey being in error is too great.

Half sounds fair to me. If they want a copy then it seems to me they probably werent aware of how much needed doing so this will be a good bit of information for them for future sale. This is the whole point of the survey for you to go in with eyes wide open. Dont feel guilty.

If i was selling this would be where i would hope to be coming from

Thank you to everyone who has commented. It’s interesting to see a range of opinions - I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their thoughts.

“Presumably the vendors want it to see what the issues are and how much of a problem they are going to be going forward/if anything needs to be fixed imminently that will help a sale... they aren't using it as a basis to buy”
@lastgreat - yes, I think this is exactly it. The house was lived in until fairly recently (probate property being transferred to previous owners children who are themselves fairly elderly), so I suspect they had not fully appreciated quite how much needs to be done to the property and want to get their heads around this now. I don’t anticipare that they would be planning to sell the survey on to future buyers, although they might use the survey to inform negotiation on the property price.

I will need to respond to the agent tomorrow but would welcome any other comments or suggestions before then - thank you

I would be wary of doing this without the surveyor's consent if the T&Cs say it's required. The vendors might take exception to something in the survey and attempt to take it up with the surveyors, you never know. As a side note, I once pulled out of a purchase because of a survey and those surveyors only charged me half-price for my next survey - they said because they'd resold the first survey to another prospective buyer.