First time buyers and survey anxiety

[Nomorediy]

Hi there

Advice please?

Buyers have had a probably cheap survey done that does not distinguish between categories of issue in the usual red, amber green system.

What's been raised by the survey is definitely all maintenance work or updates that would be good to do at some point. This is a 200 year old property. It needs constant upkeep.

It is things like 'it would be better if the flat roof were retiled with a material that would allow the water to drain more efficiently.'

'The latch on the garden gate has come loose and will need replacing.'

'It would be advisable to replace the bannister.'

'The latch on one of the bathroom windows is stiff.'

Absolutely, I agree. If I was going to continue living here these would be the next jobs on the list.

What my selling agent and myself are stuck on is how to reassure these buyers that such work is not really the seller's issue.It is now time for them to exchange and complete and get their handyman round.

What is the best way to move this forward?

The agent suggests giving them 'something' like a promise to fix these minor issues for them. But then again, why?They viewed the house three times and I accepted their offer 15k below asking price. That is more than enough to replace a roof covering should they want to have the very best modern roof covering available now, etc.

Please advise. Thank you so much in advance.

Could you compromise and fix the small things like the gate and the window. It would have been reasonable to do those things prior to listing. Many people do minor works before putting the house on the market.

I suppose it depends whether they’re likely to pull out of the sale if they don’t feel confident about the things that need fixing.

You accepted an offer £15K below asking. That doesn’t mean they have 15K spare though.

I’d just explain that these are minor issues and the reduction of £15k took them into account. Say you will happily fix them if they want to pay you full asking price.

Unfortunately it’s fairly typical of first time buyers to want a perfect house, and be spooked by anything that comes up in a survey, no matter how minor.

Explain that as an old property it needs maintenance and continued upkeep, it was priced accordingly and you've already accepted their lower offer. If they want to piss about just relist.

Thanks all. I did quite a lot of fixing up before I put the house on. The agent’s advice was to stop at a certain point as some ppl think a perfectly renovated property is overpriced. Also you just don’t know what ppl plan to do themselves. No point repairing a worktop for folk who would replace kitchen

It's so frustrating when this happens. Tell them that old houses come with general wear and tear and only significant issues that require at the time e.g. leaking rood, boiler stopped working etc are up for negotiation. A roof that might need replacing in 10 years and a dodgy gate latch are issues for them to sort themselves.

I've offered to get a handyman in for the day to fix up any small bits possible, like window lock/gate latch. And then I think I will ask them to commit to a date for exchange and completion. Faced with a deadline, they will have to commit to the house or walk away. They have done all their legal work and survey.

They are putting cost on myself and the estate agent with constant emails about what is in their survey. They have not asked for a discount or for me to do any work in advance of them moving in. We do not know what they want, exactly.

Any good ideas otherwise about how to hurry them up?

I would say that if they want a good solid house that’s built to last (and has done so for the last 200 years!) then they need to accept they will have a few bits of wear and tear to deal with.
if they want a house that looks perfect but is likely to have been built to a much poorer standard then perhaps they should be looking at new builds…

I think you are correct.

I think the problem is the buyers' survey. It does not categorise its findings from 1 to 3 or give an opinion about whether the valuation is fair in context of outstanding work.

I cannot see any defects in their survey that would attract a rating 3.