"Buyer unsure how to proceed"

[homeandstay]

Chain of 4, FTB buying ours, have today said they're unsure to proceed following survey, absolutely gutted.
We were suppose to exchange this week and complete next week.

They only did the survey 3 weeks ago, so very late into the process.

We live in the house and not aware of any issues, they've not told us what the issues are or what they're concerned about.

Absolutely gutted, and just need some words of encouragement or if you have been in this situation, how did things pan out?

Sorry, just saw your update. Damn App 🤨

I'm amazed that so many people have jumped to the conclusion that there actually is £3k of work needed just because some buyers have said so, without any evidence or quotes provided.

I would ask to see a copy of the survey first, it’s entirely possible that there is work required. Then I would decide how much I wanted to sell my house and if I could afford or shoulder a loss of £3K or if I could meet them in the middle.

Totally agree, it’s crazy so many people are saying just agree to it.

I wouldn’t be adverse to giving them some money off, but I’d be wanting evidence of the problem and costs first.

Oh, yes, I completely agree that there are a lot of cowboy sellers out there, too. However nice they might seem, you can't trust or take their word for anything.

Everybody needs to be very thorough and go into it with their eyes open - that's why we have surveys in the first place - I just think it's necessary to be measured and realistic as well.

Indeed, house prices are ridiculously high; but this only really helps those who inherit or move to a proportionately much cheaper place. Apart from the top of the chain - which will often be a probate sale or the owners going into a care home - all the rest will be buyers as well as sellers, so everybody gets ripped off!

Similar for me... I would offer £1.5k off with a view of settling afterwards at £2k to £2.5k off.
And I'm surprised they can get the work done for a mere £3k. Has anyone formally quoted to get the work done? Isn't that a scaffolding-required bunch of jobs?

Certainly in England & Wales, I doubt most buyers would trust a survey provided by the vendor. The mortgage lender may object too.

You're right that there are plenty of very dodgy sellers who cover up or lie about big problems; but what can you do if you've scrupulously maintained and fixed everything, but the buyer is still determined to invent some way to pay you a lot less?

As has already been said on this thread, surveyors will come up with all kinds of things that potentially could be an issue in theory, but in the real world, they're unlikely to matter or make any tangible difference. Taking it ad absurdum, the survey could truly state that "38 Acacia Avenue may be at serious risk of sustaining irreparable structural damage in the case of being hit by an asteroid" - but they usually pick up on things that are much duller but nevertheless still not anything that you can or should concern yourself about.

Of course, they also throw up plenty of genuinely serious and important issues that really do need to be looked into and possibly affect the decision to proceed with the sale and/or the agreed price - but it's not always easy for everybody to distinguish between the two.

I think it's also a factor in that otherwise large sums of money are brushed off as trivial, purely because they only represent a small fraction of the overall price of the property.

If somebody scammed you out of £3K in any other area of life (and I'm NOT saying that these particular buyers are lying or scamming; just that it does often happen), you would be furious; but when it comes to property sales, foregoing several thousands of pounds is often effectively regarded in the same way as paying £15 for what turns out to be a bad takeaway and just sighing stoically and binning it!

"I doubt most buyers would trust a survey provided by the vendor."

That wasn't my point and I wasn't expecting them to. Maybe re read what I wrote.

As an aside though, you might wonder why they wouldn't trust it. And the answer is that up until recently it has almost been considered acceptable for sellers to cover up all manner of issues when selling their houses onto someone else, and still seems to be seen as acceptable within certain demographics, with the justification of "that is what happened to me, and it's been that way all my life so why should it be any different for you than it was for me".

Fortunately the world is changing and buyers are becoming a lot more savvy at avoiding run down pits. Long may it continue.

Why is it a scam? The op has not had a survey done. She’s probably no idea what issues the roof or chimney might have. Or has and doesn’t want to admit it. Yes, this can be a problem. If a roof has flashing or pointing missing, driving rain can get under the tiles. If is a matter of concern. So are faults that might affect the chimney in terms of penetrating damp. The op can of course get this looked at herself but if she actually wants to keep the chain intact, getting on with it is vital. Getting a close up look would help her decide. If there’s no issue, use brinkmanship and see what happens. I don’t think a survey comes up with these issues with no supporting photos either. The EA can ask the buyers for evidence - what pictures are there and what is the description of the faults. Most buyers wanting a discount will have evidence and scaffolding jobs really do cost quite a lot.

Most buyers wanting a discount will have evidence and scaffolding jobs really do cost quite a lot.

Odd that they've asked for £3k off then without bothering to supply this evidence.

People seem to think a 50 year old house, or a 100 year old one, could be in such a condition that there's nothing a surveyor could point to as possibly needing improvement. No matter how many hundreds of thousands you pour into a house to renovate it, there's always something a surveyor could say it might benefit from having done.

Yes but most people take a view on whether it’s going to let in driving rain or not. Small defects often are discounted. Anyway if the op asks to see the report or even gets the binoculars out, she’s going to know if it’s true or not! Hardly a big issue to look at the buyers have said what the issue is!

Some of you in this comment section clearly have never gotten a survey done and it shows. Level 3 surveys provide quote estimates for jobs that have been flagged and the internet also exists to give estimates on how much stuff costs!
I have personally found hiring a trader to give quotes unnecessary and time consuming as most do charge to come out to inspect your property and good traders are always never available at your earliest convenience.
Also their quotes never are accurate as you are always more than likely to spend more than you’ve been quoted for a job.

Just as some have mentioned it’s in the best interest for the buyer to complete before stamp duty it’s also in the best interest of the seller to complete.

FTBs are very easily spooked true but I personally would ask to see the section of the survey that has been flagged and try and come to a resolution from there

When I bought a house recently @Dandelion24 our Level 3 survey flagged some work with quotes, however I knew my surveyor was not a roofer so was entirely reasonable that I arranged a separate quote from a specialist. I feel like this is quite normal? If I had been the seller in that scenario I'd have asked for the same.

However that was for about £20k- for the sake of £3k I probably wouldn't bother with all that, just ask to see the section of the survey as you've said.

Apologies - I did considerably misconstrue your point. The point that you actually made is very wise!

I agree. If you think their request is fairly reasonable thenI would just agree. If your house is already reduced and a bargain then don't agree.