after survey-can you get money off purchase price

rosey

Registered User
Messages
106
hi,
just wondering if anybody with experience can tell me-
when you go sale agreed on a house and pay a deposit..then you get a survey of the house done...what can you then ask to be done to the house?
Assuming that overall the house is structurally sound etc...no major problems....can you ask for smaller things to be done before you progress further with the house purchase?
e.g. say the boiler in the house is old and will need to be replaced probably sooner than later..and part of the house may need to be rewired....can you ask that this be done ask for any reduction in price at this stage of the process?..
Problems aren't something that would mean withdrawing from the purchase but nonetheless will be extra cost in the short-term...
Anybody know what is the usual..we are going to talk with solicitor..but just wondering if anybody has experience...
 
Yes, you can indeed. That's part of the point of the survey - to see if anything needs doing to the house and, if it's significant, reduce the offer accordingly. It would be unusual enough in a second hand house to ask for little things to be done IMO. Certainly replacing the boiler or getting it rewired wouldn't be small jobs! Bear in mind that, if you ask it to be done before you push ahead with the purchase, that will add significantly to the timing of closing the sale (even if the vendor agrees to do it).
 
A good survey will pick up all manner of detail from minor to major. Your surveyor should chat to you about which ones are worth digging your heels in over and which ones can be ignored as they're trivial.
 
You can always ask!

I think an issue, though, is that the price was probably agreed on the house "as is". It could sound cheeky, having agreed the price on the house "as is" to then come back and look for more money off because things that were probably reasonably obvious as needing doing, need doing.

The other way of looking at it is that, hey, its a buyers market, so ask away. Or, that the original offer was made before the survey which uncovered issues that had not bene anticipated.

So, as I said above, you can always ask!

mf
 
If you intend to decrease your offer ensure that he works as in the survey are done by you and not the present owners or else you might never know exactly what has been done and to what extent.
 
... when you go sale agreed on a house and pay a deposit..then you get a survey of the house done ...
What do you mean by "sale agreed"? Have contracts been exchanged? If they haven't, then you are not at the "sale agreed" stage.
 
then you are not at the "sale agreed" stage?

Maybe but it's a loose term that the Estate Agents use prior to placing Sold on their boards, which is normally after contracts have been exchanged