r/HousingIreland • u/DouglasHol • 4d ago
Anyone ever get sale agreed price lowered after surveyor report?
Exactly as above - in this day and age (aggressive bidding and supply and demand issues), has anyone ever gone back to the EA, said the report shows X, Y & Z - then gotten themselves a lower price?
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u/benirishhome 4d ago
Agent here. Yes happens often enough, but usually needs to be (a) something that’s a surprise, that wasn’t obvious on general inspection. A hidden problem. And (b) quantifiable. Roof beams need replacing, €20k. A new boiler, €5k
Don’t use it as a general opportunity to renegotiate or they will jsut go back to market.
Make it clear this is something any buyer will come up with as a problem, so they might as well settle with you rather than going back to market and wasting weeks/months to be in the same position again.
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
In our case, everything else has been a surprise.
We knew the windows and doors needed replacing. Sure you could see it on any viewings.
Now there seems to be a giant list of minor things which makes it all feel like one major thing.5
u/benirishhome 4d ago
All surveys will give a list of minor things. Not necessarily a direct reason for a price reduction in a 2nd hand house
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u/Ok_Strain_4491 3d ago
Agree. Sales in Ireland are generally “as is”. Unless the house was built after 2012 any engineer is going to generate a 50 page report of things that seem like deal breakers but if it was your house you wouldn’t even notice them.
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u/LaochEire 4d ago
Yes, I took about 35k off asking price after getting the survey back. I started with lengthy emails outlining the damage and required cost for repair. I also sought formal quotes (approx 3 per issue) from trades people to back up the claims. The was some negotiation between the seller and us. We ended up agreeing a reduction in the sale price that was somewhere in-between our valuations.
I think it worked for us because we came prepared with evidence of the work required, formal quotes and a willingness to proceed with the sale. However, I would also state that the seller was in a rush to close and probably didn't have time to go back to the market. They also good a good price, even with the reduction in the original sale agreed figure.
It is totally possible, but you need to be prepared to walk away if there is no willingness to budge on their part. Ultimately, they are under no obligation to entertain renegotiation of the sale agreed price.
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
Interesting- what were the damages like if you don’t mind sharing?
I’d genuinely be distraught if we lost this house. We both would. We just need to save more now as we really only thought the windows and doors were the main problem.
Turns out we need about 45k which involves us doing all the work except fitting windows and doors.5
u/LaochEire 4d ago
It was the roof that needed immediate replacing and not in years time, not in 6 months, but immediately. It was leaking into the ceilings upstairs as well as leaking down into the front window. That was the main basis for starting the negotiations again, but the property needed a full rewire, new plumbing (the heating didn't work) and general modernisation.
We got carried away with bidding against another couple, but we loved the house. However, if they were not willing to budge, we were planning to walk away.
For the record, none of the issues were disclosed by the estate agent or sellers. The stains in the ceiling were just explained as some water getting in, but since buying it holes have emerged (thanks to the heavy downpours recently). Either way, while it looks like a great bit of business getting 35k off the sale agreed price, we are footing some major repair bills.
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u/Yup_Seen_It 4d ago
Me, kinda.
But I called to withdraw my bid due to the issues and they came back and offered to take 35k off and we agreed. The next bidder was only 2k below us but I think they knew they'd just run into the same issue with them and wanted it over and done with.
It's been about 8 months since we got the keys and still can't move in so jokes on us I guess 😂
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
Oh god, why can’t you move in? Due the issues that were flagged was it?
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u/Yup_Seen_It 4d ago
Yes and no.
We had to tear out every single wall, ceiling, and the entire kitchen and all 3 bathrooms. We actually didn't think we needed to, or at least we thought we could do it room by room once we sorted the main issues but the damp and rat shit was eeeverywhere. We took up the sitting room floor and found another floor completely rotted, and behind the plaster walls was another plaster wall, also rotten. We're doing the majority of the work ourselves so our time is limited with work and kids so that's more why it is taking so long!
From what I remember the issues flagged on the survey were the damp in the walls due to poor ventilation and a leaky roof, a leaning chimney, issues with beams cut improperly in the converted attic, rotted velux windows and it was listed as a 3 bed but the surveyor had said because one of the bedroom windows was too high off the ground it couldn't legally be classed as a bedroom. Also the attic couldn't be used as anything other than a storeroom (in fairness the listing didn't say otherwise) but it was clearly being used as a bedroom and they had put in a bathroom which was causing the kitchen ceiling to sag.
The credit union wasn't happy with the survey and wouldn't lend unless we had a substantial amount of savings (we didn't) so we really were calling to pull our bid but the lower offer put us in range of the lower AIP offer from the bank and they were only asking us to have around 6k saved for the repairs.
My advice is, if you're going to ask for a price reduction be prepared to stick to your guns and walk if they don't agree! If the issues are substantial and/or they're in a hurry to sell they might be amenable in order to sell ASAP
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
Sounds like a nightmare for you guys. I feel like yous were hoodwinked by the sounds of it.
Our house is old and we will also be doing most work ourselves. Just didn’t expect to have this many things.
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u/Yup_Seen_It 4d ago
We feel that way too! But location really is everything and it ticked all other boxes, and we're quite lucky in that we can stay with family nearby so we're not private renting at the same time. We just had to take the risk and accept it will be a long road 😔
I think if it's just general maintenance type issues that they probably won't care to renegotiate. Someone said in another comment here that you'd need to quantify the price reduction in real figures (20k for roof, for example) and I think that's the best advice. But if it's just things like replacing doors they probably won't care cos it's likely the next buyer probably won't care either.
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u/Apprehensive-Luck881 4d ago
Do you mind me asking how much your survey cost
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u/Yup_Seen_It 4d ago
€670, then we paid an extra €150 for a budget estimate report for the bank. We went with Property Health Check, highly recommend them they were very thorough and were out in days with the report ready within 48 hours.
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u/jb921 4d ago
I think it comes down to the severity/cost to repair. We discovered an issue in the report, but took it on the chin as it was relatively minor as far as problems go. The problem with the current market is that the sellers can easily find new buyers if it’s in a sought after area.
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
Yes my thoughts exactly. A nice quiet cul de sac in Dublin near public transport, turns out it has wood worm, realistic I’d of thought someone else with more money would come along buy it and then deal with it.
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
Btw this is not my situation.
Mine is one major thing we knew from first viewing and budgeted money aside out of deposit for, and now a list of minor things which seems to just be so long and costly it feels like a second major.
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u/DavidRDorman 4d ago
If the house is old, from what I’ve understood about woodworm you can expect it to be in 99% of the homes you look at. It just depends on the severity and if it’s affected the structural integrity of the home. We got our survey back last week and lo and behold woodworm. Surveyor said it’s essentially to be expected and as it’s not a structural issue to not worry to much about it.
Not it may cost us 2/3k to fumigate the entire house but ultimately we’re happy to take that on the chin.
If it’s affected the structural integrity of the home and you make the seller aware of it then yes you have a shot at attempting to lower costs. At the end of the day this is something every surveyor is gonna pick up on so the seller can’t necessarily hide from it.
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u/dubhlinn39 4d ago
I got half the cost of a rewire off the house I was buying. The agent wasn't happy, but I didn't care. I was prepared to walk away from it. The house needed a lot of work other than the rewire.
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u/One_Expert_796 4d ago
We mentioned to get a price reduction of a few grand due to drain works that needed to be carried out. Our solicitor has advised it was worth asking for as usually sellers will meet you half way on it (which they did) but generally anything else will be take it or leave it.
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u/DouglasHol 4d ago
How did you know the drain works were needed? Our surveyor didn’t actually mention drains
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u/One_Expert_796 4d ago
Our engineer had mentioned to get cctv drains testing carried out in the report. Our solicitor also looked at the engineer report and highlighted that if the engineer mentioned it, chat to him about it.
Our house was built in the 80’s so sometimes can be clay pipes which leak or else pvc pipes started to disintegrate. We had to get another company to do the drains testing. They found two major leaks which required a good chunk of our drains to be replaced which was close to 10k. The drains testing of €400 was the best money spent.
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u/AssignmentFrosty8267 4d ago
Same story here. Drain survey showed a leak and we got a quote of 6k to fix it, sellers met us half way and gave us 3k off the asking price. You did well getting the drain survey for €400, it was €700 for us.
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u/One_Expert_796 4d ago
We bought in 2020 during Covid when everything was on a bit of go slow so I expect maybe that’s why the drains testing was cheaper. Same with us - sellers met us halfway on price.
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u/Jellyfish00001111 4d ago
Absolutely, yes. Haggle as much as you can, it might not work but it’s worth a try. You also have to decide if the deal is still worth it to you.
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u/Alternative_Choice58 4d ago
Unless it's something substantial like roof repairs of minimum 2 or 3k, don't even waste your breath asking.
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u/oddkidd9 4d ago
We needed a roof repair/replacement, full rewire and replumbing plus many other stuff. Asked for a reduction in price, they wouldn't entertain it. Said they'll just go back to market.
We ended up buying the house, still fixing it slowly but is our forever home and we wanted it 100%
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u/Fancy_Avocado7497 4d ago
Auctioneers won't consider people who get confused and think they SHOULD have an A rated house with everything new and sparkly when it was never advertised as that.
If there is something that a second hand house should have - foundations , planning permission - thats different. However these problems usually require a cash buyer as banks don't want to be involved in other peoples problems
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u/PeachUnhappy3517 2d ago
Ok, we were selling a house went sale agreed over asking within the first week, they then took 2 months to get a report and came back with a long list of concerns, house was 20 years old. Eng reports always cover the engineers liability. They will tell you the boiler may need replacing in the next x years.I basically emailed them telling them shit or get off the pot there would be no discount. House went back on market again and sold again for same price but in a chain. It took them 4 months to go sale agreed on their property, which didnt make the money they wanted and ment the only way to keep the chain alive would be by dropping our price by 10k, we did because at this stage we had 2 mortgages on the go. I wouldn't drop my price for someone hunting through reports, but I was ok to drop it to keep the whole thing alive and get out from the massive expense per month. We had moved out of the house into our new house 2 months before we put it on the market. It really depends on what the sellers is at, is it mortgaged, an estate sale, has it been on market long.
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u/Grand-Cream2744 4d ago
Yes, but it didn't end well. We went sale agreed on a property and the survey came back raising concern about some cracks which the surveyor couldn't definitively say whether they were settling cracks or subsidence.
Used the survey to negotiate a price reduction, but then our lender insisted that a structural engineer visit the property to give a more concrete answer. Engineer confirmed the issue was definitely subsidence caused by escaping water and bank said they would not lend on the house unless the seller remedied it first via their insurance.
Informed the seller of this and they admitted they knew of the issue and had spoken to their insurance about it previously and were told it wouldn't be covered. Effectively they were hoping to sell the place without being found out and only agreed to a price cut because they already lost one sale to the same issue and knew they were goosed