How much can we ask for off of the agreed sale price following the survey

[SherbertLemons]

Hello

we would love some advice on price negotiations for a house we are in the process of buying.

the house is a semi in a desirable Oxfordshire village.

Offer accepted £600k (full asking price). We were the first to see it, then they had two viewings and condition of our offer was it as taken off the market.

the house needs a lot of modernisation as it hasn’t been updated for about 50 years. The gentleman who was living there has gone into care and half the house is owned by his late wife’s estate (1st marriage) so there are two separate families involved; one side will get half the sale proceeds (to be divided between two children) and the other half will be used for the gentleman’s care home fees.
we could see when we viewed we needed a full survey so that’s what we got (level 3 RICS).

The survey split issues into three parts 1) minor 2) needs looking at but not immediate and 3) serious immediate issues.
the surveyor suggested we get additional reports from various professionals (electrician, structural engineer, roofer, damp, asbestos inspector etc). We have not got all the additional reports (and paid over 1.5k for them).

just concentrating on the level 3 issues, the additional reports/surveys and quotes have said there is 75k worth of repairs needed (not renovations, just repairs to make it safe and compliant with regs). We were a bit shocked but it needs a whole new roof for example which is the majority of the above sum. It need a whole new rewire and asbestos removal which is surprisingly expensive.

so now we need to go back to the agent and negotiate. We really do want the house. If the work was done we couldn’t afford a house in the villiage but, that said the work required to make it safe is extensive and expensive.

anyone else buying it will find the same issues and we are only concentrating on the most serious issues in the survey. We have used the agents preferred surveyor and only sought quotes from trades he or the agent recommended.

i should also state my DH is quite handy with DIY and has renovated houses before so we are not as put off as other buyers may be. It would be our forever home (maybe) and we are in our late 30s so have time. We would have to remortgage in a couple of years to do the major works and would make good until then.

we are in rented after selling out house so we are good buyers they hopefully don’t want to lose.

so, thanks for reading this far…..what would you ask for discount wise given the quotes and survey results?

we were thinking all of it less the VAT, so 80% of the quotes. Will they laugh at us? Is that too cheeky?!?

any advice on how much to ask for or how to praise it would be so appreciated.

house buying is so stressful!!!

The question is whether or not they have taken into account the cost of repairs when pricing the house to put it on the market. I’d decide the most I’d be prepared to pay, and offer £20,000 under that, so there’s a bit of wriggle room.

Take the fact it needs a rewire to stay compliant with current regs with a pinch of salt , they go out of date every couple of years. Were the electrics listed as dangerous?

Was the asbestos part of the roof tiles or maybe a garage? That only needs removing if unsafe.

Which leaves the roof. Why does it need to be totally replaced ?

EDIT - I'm asking these questions because if I was your seller I would be asking them too.

Whilst you weren't aware of the cost when you offered it would have clearly been a reno project. I assume that's why you picked it as your husband can do a lot of the work himself.

Now, chances are, they priced it lower for this reason although perhaps not quite as much as it would cost as most people don't. You may also have made an offer that was below asking price already taking some of this into account. The fact you say you cannot afford a well maintained house in the area indicates that the value marketed has taken account of this to some degree already.

If they are selling as POA then they will have to get the best price they can for the property and may not accept huge reductions without first going back to market. It might depend on how much interest they had originally.

So, do what you need to in order to not overpay for the house, but if you shock them be prepared for them to walk away and remarket

I think the fact that you offered full asking price suggests it will sell near to £600000, they gad people lined up to view before you insisted it be taken off the market

I think if the house is presented as a do-er-upper (which it sounds like it is) then I don't think you can expect money off for re-wiring (it's surprising that you are surprised it needs doing to be honest). A whole new roof could be a different issue but again it depends on whether a reasonable person (who knows something about property) would have expected it to be done and factored it into the offer.

I would also say that whilst I am sure lots needs to be done, someone has presumably been living there until recently so unless there's water pouring through the roof and the boiler has been condemned then it's probably not as urgent as it sounds.

How long has it been on the market? Have other buyers hit this issue previously with this property? Does the current listed price accurately reflect all the work that needs doing to the house? What price/condition were other similar sold houses in that street?

I think estate agents always bump up the sale price knowing that properties needing big upgrades will get offers under the sale price.

Tbh rewiring or bathroom/kitchen would be ok, but a whole new roof would put me off unless the price reflected that cost.

Surely the price it’s on the market for reflects that needs extensive work? For example if similar are on the market for £750k then the £600k for this reflects the work required.
The fact you’ve put this “If the work was done we couldn’t afford a house in the villiage but, that said the work required to make it safe is extensive and expensive.” shows that’s it’s well below market value.

This.

It was clearly a renovation job so I don't think you can expect a reduction following the survey. Surveyors reports are notorious for being over the top so I wouldn't expect the buyer to accept a lower offer on that basis. In fact, if I was the seller I would be angry that you even asked as you specifically requested they took it off the market.

You say it hasn’t been updated for 50 years, so regardless of the survey it is reasonable to expect that it needed a lot of work to come up to date. If the decor hasn’t been touched, anyone would know the electrics are also old.

If you tried to renegotiate with me based on this, I’d tell you to do one. The fact they had other viewings lined up tells you it was priced competitively given the amount of work it needs

I agree than normal renovation work should have been expected and priced into the offer. I think you might have some latitude on the roof but ultimately it depends if it's still a good deal even with the rood needing to be replaced. If it is then they will be advised to go back to market and someone else will pay the money. The fact that you are the first person to view and you offered full asking price will make the vendors feel that they are in a strong position.

If I were them I'd take it back to market and ask for best and final offers (which I would invite you to participate in if you wanted to).

Quite honestly it sounds like you are absolutely taking the mick. By all means go in and say you want an adjustment, but as someone who is currently on the other side of a similar situation, I would be going right back to the estate agent and asking for it to go back on the market.

Surely the price it’s on the market for reflects that needs extensive work?

I never see much evidence of that in my area.

zero! We had people do this to us and we just got new buyers….

I agree with this. How much cheaper are you getting this house for, when compared to a house in the same area that doesn't need any work done?
600k asking price may have already reflected that up to 100k needs to be spent on the house. Sellers usually know when a property needs a new roof, for example.

I know when my house goes on the market it'll say it needs a new roof, new electrics, asbestos etc but there's nothing actually wrong with any of them. Yes the roof is old but original and no reason to think it won't last another 200 years but it'll say it needs redoing simply because of its age. Same over electrics not up to current building regs but still good enough. It sounds like you are already getting a good reduction due to condition, if it was me selling I'd go straight back to the market.

600k asking price may have already reflected that up to 100k needs to be spent on the house

But it may not and people don't often realise that work not costs ££££ vs when they got stuff done 20 yrs ago

There's a house near us that is big and has great potential but would be a massive undertaking. It is priced 100k less than it would be in good nick (maybe 150) but we reckoned would likely be closer to 200k to get in to a good state. We didn't put an offer in but told the estate agent that we thought the house was priced wrongly. The EA basically agreed (it's been on the market for ages) but the seller won't hear of it. My take away: work out what the value would be if it were finished nicely / well; could you afford it then? Assume that is what it will cost to get it into that state. Then do the same sum a different way: how much will it cost to get it to where you want it to be. Can you afford that plus the mortgage. And then offer what it would be worth TO YOU and that is affordable TO YOU. Each house is individual and only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Consider how easy it would be to sell, as well, if your financial situation went wrong and you needed to get out would you be able to recover your outlay (which if you make a decision just based on your emotion you might not).

@JeMapellePing I see that all the time. One of my neighbours has been up since last yr, the price is about 50k less than another neighbours who did sell last yr. To get house a to house b standard you are looking at 150k plus!

Our survey said the roof needed replacing but we didn’t and the front part of still going strong 30 years later (back bit replaced when we did lift conversion). As a seller I’d take that recommendation with a pinch of salt.

Most old houses will need a new roof and rewire. We moved last year into a 1930s house and husband said well it’s 100 years old are you surprised?

also surveys do a lot of arse covering.

asbestos rings alarm bells but where is it?

edited to add: we have no intention of getting a new roof!

Agree with PP saying it's probably been priced as a renovation project - hence you not being able to afford it, if it had been done up!

You were the first to see it, other viewings were cancelled, so I assume it hadn’t been on the market for long. The vendors would be quite entitled to feel that, based on previous interest, they’d get viewings if you pulled out.

You knew it was a doer upper and therefore would need money spending on it and you offered the asking price. Are similar properties priced much higher? Any house that hasn’t been updated in fifty years is going to need considerable updating. As experienced diyers, you’d know this. The surveyor is looking at worst case scenario.

Given that your offer was the asking price and no one else has viewed, the vendors might decide that they’ll remarket, rather than reduce the price.

What does whole new roof mean?
To a builder that is tiles off, remove timbers, rebuild timber roof frame, felt, batten, new tiles.
To a non-builder, probably new felt, battens, tiles.

Nowadays if you can afford a renovated house, it will be cheaper than a fixer upper in the long run. That said if this is your only way into this village, then price up what is required. Bathrooms? kitchen? Rewire? Double glazing? Drive? Chimney work? Rendering?

Depends really whether the start price took all this into account.

The idea that the seller is going to be happy about this and just accept it is an unlikely one. But if you are very lucky maybe they know its a wreck and expected to discount.

How likely you are to succeed with a heavy discount depends on a) whether it was priced to reflect this work in the first place, b) how long it has been on the market, c) how urgent it is for them to sell it.