My house is a 110 year old victorian property for anyone who hasn't been following my saga.. I knew there was some damp in the rear breakfast room but apparently there is also damp in the front bay area (this was treated by previous owners and you can see where it was injected), the damp proof course is slate and has been covered by the usual concrete decor skirt seen on houses of this type. The rear drain apparently has a crack (survey did not open manhole) and the electrics need checking every 10 years. The ventilation under the floorboards needs checking as houses of this type can get timber problems tho this was not seen here (they like to scare don't they).
My buyers want to get an estimate on damp works, get the floor timbers looked at, the drains looked at and the electrics looked at and the comment was 'we want this all sorted out before we exchange'. Fair enough if they want to get an estimate for works that actually need doing, I knew there was one problem of damp anyway and this was reflected in my asking price together with the other decorative things that need doing at some point.
I've told them I'm ok with them getting estimates but cause I know of the damp problem I have told him that I will also be getting an estimate. My reason is that I simply don't know if they are going to try and knock my price down and also is the situation worse than I'd thought, tho I think not. It's an old house for f'sake.
Whatever happens with the people they want to send round it is not my intention to pay out to get any work done before I move out... my asking price reflected the work needed in my opinion however if a little negotiating is required then I will if the quotes are more than the £300-£400 I thought needed spending.
Do you think it wise my saying that I will negotiate if I need to rather than get the work done... or do I go through the nuisance of getting the job done and then having to prove to them that it's been done properly ? If it were me buying... I'd want to get the work done myself. I've not had this conversation with them yet... I'll wait till the estimates are in.
On reading I don't think I made my question clear enough...
If the work their estimates (and mine) shows needs doing exceeds the £300-£400 I thought needed spending, would you offer to pay it all, half or none ?
Also would you then get the work done yourself before exchanging cause that's what your buyers would like (if they want to buy a perfect 110 year old house) or would you say 'Ok it's more than I thought so I'm prepared to give you a reduction in price so you can do the work yourself after completion'.
Am just playing devils advocate at the moment, this situation hasn't happened to me before so I don't know how to handle this.
Damp around the bay is going to cost a grand at least. A broken drain many hundreds! Has the property been downvalued? Are there any retentions? Had you noticed the damp, any smells or off colour wallpaper etc...? I have damp around my chimney breast that I ignored when the survey was done for fear of losing the house to another buyer, more fool me you say, but I got the house so I don't agree! If it's not serious and you are selling at a reasonable price that is less than you could get again if this sale falls through, then stand your ground, give nothing! If however you have sold at a good price, one you could not hope to repeat, then split the cost
"The greatest trick the Devil played, was convincing us all that he did not exist"
No retentions, no downvalue, no damp smell, no mouldy wallpaper. My buyers even said the surveyor said most of this is normal with a house of this age... my alarm bells have just started ringing with their comment that they'd 'like all this sorted before we exchange'. I'm just worried they mean they want me to pay for the work... I negotiate for a living so that's not the worry, I'm just trying to arm myself pre deciding what I want to do depending how things go
I wouldn't worry just yet, wait until the estimate is in.
I had a similar problem following a survey on a cottage I bought. The cottage was 150 years old and in poor decorative condition. The surveyor noticed signs of damp under the bay window ( the original window, how cool!) and said the floorboards were rotten and showed signs of woodworm. The mortgage Co wanted a survey done by a BWDPA qualified Co, the floorboards were lifted and were in excellent condition underneath, the dampproofer man was amazed at how good condition they were, and there was no sign of damp in the bay window. So it all turned out ok. I did a 'changing rooms' sander operation on the floor boards and they were fantastic.
Funny thing happened though, my ex agreed to an appointment for some guy who did a paintshield protector coat for the outside of the house ( she was useless, used to get home from work and find that she had agreed appointments for double glazing and all sorts!). He went around the house with a damp meter. Didn't find any damp downstairs, but his little magic box lit up like a christmas tree on the wall upstairs at the front of the house.
He went into some story about how the bricks were damp and had dried out and would explode and the front of the house could fall off in the night and the chimney could then collapse on us in our sleep! I couldn't get a word in edgeways as he explained the problem and then gave me a quote for this protectacoat stuff at £35 a month for 12 years. I then pointed out to him that there were no bricks in the upstairs of the house, it was a very old property! He made a quick exit.
Lillie, I think you are being reasonable. You know the house needs work, declared it and adjusted your price accordingly. Your Buyer is only really in a position to negotiate if they find extra work needs doing, or the estimate for the work is a lot more than you have indicated / given allowance for.
She can ask, but you have no obligation to do the work before you move out. Your buyer has the option to either accept that and buy the property and do the work herself, or walk away.
Depending on how confident you are about securing this or replacement sales, then your decision can be as determined as your situation allows.
Ary.
-------------------------------------- ***Do not, I repeat Do NOT feed the Trolls! *** *** All Hail the mighty hamsters! ***
Just wait and see what they have to say. If you put yourself in the buyers position, wouldn't you want this sort of thing sorted before you exchanged? It gives them peace of mind to get quotes in because they want to know that this is the extent of any work that needs doing. Yes, your price reflects this, and when it comes to it you can explain this, however from their point of view the particulars on the property would not have stated that there were damp problems to sort out - to them this is something that has come up on survey that they perhaps were not anticipating, even though the house is old.
*It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. -- Pierre De Beaumarchais
Would you get your own quotes in tho in case they are looking to knock me down with unrealistic quotes, or shall I wait and see what they come up with ?
Originally posted by Lillie-B: Sound advice ladies and gents so thank you
Would you get your own quotes in tho in case they are looking to knock me down with unrealistic quotes, or shall I wait and see what they come up with ?
Hi Lillie
If I remember correctly your house has been on the market for quite some time which is probably why you're anxious it will all work out now.
But I would wait. Don't anticipate problems when there not actually there (yet).
Hi pont... yep you've hit the nail on the head. Took 6 months to find a good buyer and cause I'm going to be moving into a rented house and need to commit to one before we've even exchanged and at this moment in time I don't know if completion is likely to be end July or mid August so don't know what to say to EA's and potential landlords till my buyers now have these quotes done and are happy. Trouble is, my finding a rented place won't be exactly easy cause I have pets and then taking a place off the market requires a non refundable deposit and a likely move in date. Lots of juggling.
My buyers have told me they still love the place tho, and it seems I misunderstood the comment about them wanting the work done before exchanging... they want to know how much it will be if indeed any work needs doing. I also asked if their surveyor gave the opinion they were paying a fair price for my house as is and the answer is that he did think the price reasonable
I shall not get my own quotes until I feel the need to.
It all sounds good then Lillie. Relax as much as you can. Plan as much as you can, and what you can't plan, anticipate, write down potential solutions, and then you will have no worries left because there are next moves for everything.
(or alternatively. Go book yourself in for a pampering. It's worth the money, trust me )
Ary.
-------------------------------------- ***Do not, I repeat Do NOT feed the Trolls! *** *** All Hail the mighty hamsters! ***
Originally posted by Lillie-B: I don't know if completion is likely to be end July or mid August so don't know what to say to EA's and potential landlords till my buyers now have these quotes done and are happy. Trouble is, my finding a rented place won't be exactly easy cause I have pets and then taking a place off the market requires a non refundable deposit and a likely move in date. Lots of juggling.
It's certainly worth explaining to your potential letting agent or landlord the exact details of your sale. Letting agents are used to this type of juggling.
What happened to us was we found the flat we wanted to rent before we'd exchanged on our sale. We explained our estimated exchange date to the letting agent and that we couldn't commit until we'd exchanged. The agent kept marketing the flat (although I suspect not that hard) till one week before exchange. Then they took a two hundred pounds refundable holding deposit to hold the flat for us for one week to allow exchange to take place. If exchange had fallen through then we would have got the deposit back. If exchange took place then the deposit would go towards our initial payments (the first months rent and the normal months deposit). Obviously as it was a returnable deposit it could only hold the property for a short time. If it would help you could try asking for that. The agent didn't offer it till we were near exchange. I don't know if all agents would offer it. I guess it depends on how fast they are letting properties.
I'm looking in the Twickenham and Whitton areas of London... good properties fly out the door so am checking daily on Find a Property and calling agents as I see somewhere.
It would seem the letting agents don't call you with the good properties unless they know you're very very serious.. the only properties they've called me about are the ones that stay on the market for more than a week.
The deposits they are asking £250 - £300 are not refundable if I were to pull out... It's simply the areas and demand.
All Hail the mighty hamsters! 
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