Price reduction on agreed sale

[ThatWorthyTurtle]

My buyer has asked for significant price reduction on the back of a survey.

3 of the things to fix cost around £900 which I will pay.

The other 2 things are potential of asbestos and a minor issue.

Advice please. I dont want to lose the sale but I can't afford 25k price reduction.

Thanks in advance.

I agree about some FTBs, ours were extremely annoying.

They also had a survey that had given a blanket sort of “because of the age of the house, there might be asbestos” comment. They wanted significant money off for that. Thankfully the previous owners had had it removed and we had a certificate to show that, but really, asking for that much money on a “possible” issue is absurd. It might not be there, and if so, the only cost is a few hundred pounds on the test!

Thanks everyone.

Between myself and the estate agent we've gotten around this. £900 worth of repairs that I should have probably done before and no mention of £25k again.

Yesterday was a lot of madness including an exorbitant request for some other repairs that would have cost only 2k more to replace... I can't wait for this bit of the process to be over. Chat GPT needs to be removed from FTBs!!!!

Frustrating I know, I just got my garage done which was the nasty stuff. Cost 3.5k, they did artex in about 70% of a 3 bed house, which means they took down all the ceilings, another £3k. So just getting quotes for new ceilings probably about £4-5k so to make the house asbestos free will be about 11-12k
dont know if that helps.

Yep this! I would walk away. Getting asbestos removed is an absolute nightmare and very costly. Maybe sort it yourselves then sell it.

I agree with the pp who said tell the estate agent you cant take a 25k hit. How much of a reduction can/will you accept? They might not be able to afford your house and are playing silly buggers.

Get it tested for asbestos. We got a kit , sent it off and in a week had the results. We were quoted £600 a room to remove the asbestos, it was in 3/4 of our rooms. We've actually d3cided to cover over it rather than remove it as it is not the worst kind and it's more dangerous when disturbed. It's really not a big deal, and I say that having had FIL die from asbestosis. Edited to add this was earlier this year. The kit was £140.00

I’d be more concerned they weren’t serious for the purchase and were chancers. They probably had someone telling them they might as well have a go at a reduction! We had this for subsidence mentioned on the survey. 11th hour buyer wanted us to pay for a full test. I said no way and if they wanted it they could pay for it but they had to organise it within a week or the house was going back in the market. They paid for it and the sale went through. That was earlier this year. If they’re looking for a reduction they can ask at any point even until exchange. I’d be concerned if you stuck with these buyers they might try and pull something else later on… Good luck OP.

We had the same thing happen earlier this year. Our buyers had a survey last minute and suddenly asked for a 20 grand reduction.

Our estate agent was very good and said the repairs would cost no more than a couole of grand which we offered to reduce by. They said no and we put our house back on the market.

They came back next day and agreed to a 2 grand reduction. But then they had to get another mortgage.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It's a horribly stressful time

Buyers are easily spooked because the days of making easy money on property are gone currently, no one wants to lose money.

Tell them that you can't reduce the price or the chain will collapse anyway. Surveyors just cover their backs over a certain age possible asbestos or may need re-roofing with no evidence at all. Could you get an asbestos survey done to find out if there is any and how dangerous it might be?

We have a lovely asbestos shed in the garden, with spare asbestos stashed away behind it in case we need more... A friend who is a Health and Safety expert tells me you can drill into it with a basic mask on, and get someone to spray water as you drill. As the OP said, it's only a problem if you disturb it - and even then, not necessarily much of one. When we moved in, we had the garage converted. The builders donned paper onesies with hoods, and basic masks and goggles, removed it, bagged it up, and I rang the local council who allowed me to dispose of it free of charge. Some things are only an issue if people make them so...

Good luck with that in this market.

Unless you have other buyers waiting in the wings they probably can afford your house, the key is to ask your next purchase to reduce as well.

They don"t care about the chain if they are viewing a lot of properties, that is the seller"s problem, they know that the chain can reduce price up and down the chain, that is how you get sales over the line.