Negotiating house price after survey

[amandaleeds]

So I had my offer accepted for a house that I knew needed a new kitchen and bathroom, and it appeared that it needed all new windows and doors (quoted £9k).
However the survey has flagged up quite a lot of concerns and I'm not sure how to go about negotiating the price.
The surveyor valued it 5k below my offer but that doesn't bother me as it's not a huge difference in the grand scheme.

I really didn't want a project but the location really works for me and I'm so fed up looking for a property now. I'm keen to work with the sellers to proceed, but what concerns me is the sellers won't really be making much profit after buying it 6 years ago to let out. However it's clear these issues would have already been there and it doesn't seem to have been maintained.

It has failed cavity wall insulation causing damp - potential cost of removing it and addressing any structural damage is 8k.

It has damaged asbestos ceiling causing a break in the fire protection from the room upstairs. Cost of removing 4k plus the cost of new ceiling (noine has suggested fixing it).

It has the original wiring which I was advised to replace. Cost 5k. There's no safety certificate so I need to get this checked out.

It's in a high radon gas area (need to get it measured in the house) which worst case scenario is £3k to address.

The radiators are apparently very old and inefficient and ideally should be replaced plus no thermostatic valves. Waiting for a quote, but this isn't really classed as 'urgent' so long as I can get the agent to show me the heating works (been empty 18 months).

The loft insulation is a dreadful state and doesn't meet current building regs. Cost £1k to sort.

It has structural damage on the wall from the damp. Cost £600

It needs repointing. Cost £800

It needs the roof trusses securing to gable wall ends. Cost £300. Not a lot, but is structural issue.

What would your advice be? Do I ask them to address some of these things (i.e. structural/damp stuff) or ask for price reduction? It feels like it needs a good £15k knocking off but that's 5% of the price.

I've never done any DIY as I had a flat that was a bit dated but totally fine.

The thought of all the work terrifies me, but all my friends and all the tradespeople who've been there keep saying how much potential it has and how great the location is. If the next buyer after me has money to burn, there is huge scope to extend it.

It’s sounds like you’re definitely emotionally invested in the house, because in the nicest possible way you’re defending everything that’s being raised by posters here.

My biggest red flag for you is that you can’t afford the 5 bed which is 50k more, yet the one you are buying needs heaps of work that I honestly believe will exceed 50k in no time.

If you’ve done your sums and are basing your thoughts on facts, go for it then.

A house built in 1989 should not need that amount of work...

I would keep looking.

I wasn't that taken by the house as it has no character and the kitchen and bathroom are pretty ugly, needs new carpets, wallpaper stripping etc.

But it feels it can be a really functional house with some investment.

Ideally I'd want to live somewhere rural and this is a suburb, as I need to be able to get to work. So possibly not my forever home.

But if I buy something that needs no work in a location that doesn't work for me, I can see myself wanting to move in 6 months and being fed up.

Getting fed up with the lack of decent properties coming to market which just seems to be pushing up the price of anything half decent as everyone jumps on it.

Really suprised this house has so many issues for it's age, but it's clearly due to bad decisions in the past and lack of maintenance.

I thought the quotes were quite high compared to what I'd seen online as ballpark figures. Expected asbestos to be 2k and have had friends say even that's more than double what they paid?

I think prices have shot up since Brexit, hence why I didn't want a project

I would keep looking, it's too much work. Tradespeople are booked full and unreliable, materials still cost a bomb.

I wouldn't waste your great position ie chain free on something that's not even that old a house but has so many issues.

If you're adamant on it then fair enough, construct a nicely worded email to the estate agent stating due to the survey flagging up x y z and tradespeople you've had in quoting essential works at £X, you'd like to reconsider your offer to £xyz/would the sellers kindly consider meeting in the middle at £x
If they refuse then move on

you need to think whether you are exchanging one problem for a bigger problem. unfortunately, you have to choose the smaller problem. I would run away from this house.

My D-i-L is finding the exact same thing as you, @amandaleeds - bidding wars are rife at the moment! Her budget is very limited and she keeps getting outbid!
She had no chain but sellers don't take this into consideration.
It's depressing. She is seeing another 5 properties in the next week and is desperate to find something so she doesn't have to rent and move again!

The more I read the more I would walk away. Will you be doing this work on your own? Or do you have a partner/relatives that can help?

We have bought and done up several houses over the years. All have been older than this property. A 1989 property should be much more ready to live in than you are describing. Or you need to lower expectations of everything being perfect for the next 5 years.

You need a strong stomach, a contingency fund for the unknown nasties that will crop up during the renovation, and a clear costed plan before you even begin. Then it takes really strong project management skills, a network of good tradespeople, a willingness to do some of it yourself, and a ruthless determination to track costs.

If you feel you have got that, then go for it. If you have someone who can help you with all of it - especially on the days you wonder why you bothered (because believe me even on our most recent renovation as experienced homeowners we still had days like this) - go for it.

If not, rethink your plans and ambitions. Sometimes the unknown can feel scary but widening your search area may bring you less stress and more joy in the long-term.

My advice (having purchased properties before like this) is to steer clear if you haven’t got a bottomless budget. Chances are, you’ll encounter more issues and it’ll create more headache for you.

It sounds as if there are too many expensive problems and the figures you have been quoted sound very low. This would likely be a lot more expensive and stressful than you realise. I would pull out. How frustrating that there aren't many suitable homes in your area, there are so many on the market in many areas at present.

A house from 1989 should not need repointing. Usually they would be built using wallcrete. There is half a chance that they did not use enough wallcrete in the mixture (too much sand), but that requires a bit more investigation.
Similarly they were all built with CWI, and in a coastal or high rain location, it would be PIR or polystyrene attached to the inner wall, or more rarely, no insulation but 6” thermalite or equivalent.
Removing any added insulation would risk destroying any original CWI, if that’s the scenario.

The main issue for me would be the failed cavity wall insulation. All the other issues aren't urgent and can be worked on slowly as and when you have the money to do them.

Electrics can be checked and made to be up to current regs without a rewire. Loft insulation is a very easy, if unpleasant, diy job. Adding thermostatic valves to radiators is again and easyish DIY job. Or a day or two max for a plumber to do the whole house.

So assuming you can get the cost of sorting the cavity wall stuff knocked off, My main thing would be how much will you be able to save each month for house maintainence and repair once you have moved in?

@amandaleeds Unless a property had been marketed as being renovated I wouldn't expect it to have new radiators, new electrics or new windows and doors so I doubt you could negotiate the price based on that.

You say you can't afford the house up the road that's 50k more but want to add a small extension for a utility and toilet. Problem is that a small extension will easily cost you £40,000 these days. So that, plus kitchen and bathroom, plus dealing with all the other issues suggests to me that this house is out of your price range for what you want it to be.

The CWI was retrofitted, white fibre which is apparently not suitable for a house exposed to elements and many houses have since had to have it removed due to causing damp

Doesn’t look any other insulation in there anyway. Why 8k? There ave been threads saying it’s a couple of days work. And what is the structural damage? I find that bit difficult to imagine. Damp can dry out.

I have savings I'm holding back by taking out a bigger mortgage and can probably save a good £500-£1k a month if frugal. Once the kitchen and bathroom are done, it would be good enough to air bnb one or two of the bedrooms now and then to add some extra income.

I can't get a lodger as partner will be visiting and he has hidden health problems (long covid).

I'd probably live with the decor for a while, as I'd rather be out enjoying the countryside which is why I'm moving there. I can probably live elsewhere for a week or 2 when having kitchen and bathroom done.

I've been quoted 4k to remove it as 4 walls on detached house. Been told £4k worst case scenario to replace all wall ties if they have corroded from the damp, but won't know that until CWI removed, hence I'm basing costs on worst case.

Yes I agree I wouldn't negotiate based on wiring and radiators but my offer was based on the assumption it was all OK and it's important to show that these are costs I need to factor in.

The extension was only if the house didn't need any work, and I'd read online a small extension was about 15k, so that was clearly wrong 🤣 The longer I keep waiting for a house that better suits my needs, the more I'm seeing prices increase out of my reach.

A lot of homes in the town don't have parking and have been flooded, hence my appeal for this one.

Wall ties usually galvanized, occasionally stainless steel, occasionally plastic/nylon.
It would most likely not need to be done immediately, but at some point, if necessary, and that’s open to question. You’d have though the surveyor would have actually looked for one if that was his suspicion.

If you can save £500-£1000 a month then you can save and get things done reasonably quickly so as long as you can afford to get the cavity wall issue sorted out straight away, if this is genuinely the best thing available and you aren't overpaying then I would go ahead with it. There is never a perfect time or perfect first house. Just good enough.

@amandaleeds I would be walking away from this one unfortunately.

That is a lot of remedial work so the worry would be that the house would turn into a money pit. A better house will come along eventually though I understand you are feeling fed up where you are.

If you do decide to proceed I would be asking for a big reduction in price.

I've been looking here since July and was looking in a previous town for the past year. I offered on several houses but 2 were pulled from the market and no other interest, and two went well above asking price and out of budget.

I sold my flat in Feb and have had stuff in storage and living between various friends' homes so I'm really keen to feel settled again.

They paid 285k 6 years ago and I'd offered 315k (was on the market for offers over 300 but went to best and final after the first day of viewings due to a lot of interest).

So I feel they might not want a significant reduction as I assume it was an investment. But given that it's a 2nd home and has already fallen through, there must be room for negotiation.

It's my 2nd home after I sold my flat in Feb

Everyone keeps telling me it's the worst house on the best street in my budget, and that's what you should always do as you can add value, so a good investment long term but I certainly wasn't expecting so many issues...

Each time you fix something on the survey you will be increasing the value of the house by slightly more than you are spending (hopefully). Especially if you do some yourself, which is easier that you think for a lot of jobs. For example insulation is a case of topping up what is already there. So buying some new stuff from b and q or wherever and then rolling it out on top on the existing stuff. It's not very nice to crawl around in the loft space but it isn't difficult and can probably be done in a weekend for a couple of hundred quid.