should I ask for a reduction ?

mkdon

Hi all, situation is have struck a deal in terms of buying a house and paid the 5k deposit and survey is complete.

The deeds are now being investigated and there is a deal of back and forth.

There are issues with the survey in terms of mould

also in terms of the deeds the driveway has been widened without planning permission 15 years ago.

As a result this will cost me an extra 500 in legal fees and delay things while waiting for lenders approval.

considering the cost to remove mould which will be a couple grand should I ask for a reduction?

Has anyone ever done this and succeeded in doing so?
I have heard of ancouple of cases where they have succeeded...

just wondering how to go about ...prob an email is best to the estate agent?

Gumbo

Are you mortgage or cash buyer?
Has the bank agreed to release funds with the non planning compliant site?

Del2005

You can always ask and the sellers can always say yes or no. If it's in a high demand area you are most likely to be meet by a no.

Your solicitor needs to talk to theirs, the EA's job is done.

mkdon

Del2005 wrote: »

You can always ask and the sellers can always say yes or no. If it's in a high demand area you are most likely to be meet by a no.

Your solicitor needs to talk to theirs, the EA's job is done.

my solicitor told me it's not their job but I can ask the EA myself

that's why i am coming here and hoping someone can lend advice as i am going to have to do this myself.

I am attaining a mortgage

Del2005

mkdon wrote: »

my solicitor told me it's not their job but I can ask the EA myself

that's why i am coming here and hoping someone can lend advice as i am going to have to do this myself.

I am attaining a mortgage

The EAs job is to sell the property, this is done since you signed.

You are looking for a change to the contract you signed, that's a solicitor's job. The planning issue over the driveway is definitely their job.

dubrov

Del2005 wrote: »

The EAs job is to sell the property, this is done since you signed.

You are looking for a change to the contract you signed, that's a solicitor's job. The planning issue over the driveway is definitely their job.

There was no mention of contracts signed by the OP.

Op, ask the EA directly for a discount and outline your reasons.
If the seller says no, you'll just have to decide if you are happy to buy it at the agreed price

mkdon

dubrov wrote: »

There was no mention of contracts signed by the OP.

Op, ask the EA directly for a discount and outline your reasons.
If the seller says no, you'll just have to decide if you are happy to buy it at the agreed price

yes I have not signed the contracts yet I have merely paid the 5k to the EA and signed contract with EA

the solicitor is look after the planning issue but refusing to do for the request on price reduction

Fol20

The ea job has been completed as others have pointed out. It sounds like your solicitor is trying to dodge work as any widening of road without permission is legal and nothing else. You need to ask your solicitor to check with bank if this is acceptable to them as i have come across weird situations where banks refuse to give a loan. If this is the case. Then you can leverage this back to seller to see if they agree to get this sorted as no buter from a bank would more than likely be able to close on this.

Forget about the mould issue. You should have seen this when you looked at it and what do you want them to do about this besides giving you a few k reduction to insulate the place

Graham

Del2005 wrote: »

You are looking for a change to the contract you signed, that's a solicitor's job. The planning issue over the driveway is definitely their job.

It might be the solicitors job to change the contract, it's not the solicitors job to negotiate the change with the vendor.

mkdon

Graham wrote: »

It might be the solicitors job to change the contract, it's not the solicitors job to negotiate the change with the vendor.

any idea how I should word the request should I ask for a specific amount...email or call? any advice appreciated

Graham

On the understanding you risk the sale going through, call the EA and tell them you're reducing your offer by X because the survey has highlighted Y.

For the sake of €500 I personally wouldn't bother. It's probably going to cost you and the vendor a large percentage of the €500 in legals.

You have a better idea than anyone else on this thread whether the vendors response is likely to be a swift PFO.

zreba

I'd be worried about the mould issue. I get it's serious if you estimate several thousands euros to clean it up. If it's there it will come back, you likely need to invest way more in this house than just to clean the mould so it does not reappear.

Gumbo

mkdon wrote: »

any idea how I should word the request should I ask for a specific amount...email or call? any advice appreciated

It may be fruitless looking for a reduction as your mortgage lender may not release funds to a property that’s in a state of non compliance.

You should be asking the vendor to regularity the planning for the vehicular entrance widening.

wassie

Agreed - Mortgage lender is entitled to be made aware of these issues. Whether you choose to disclose is another matter.

Del2005 wrote: »

You can always ask and the sellers can always say yes or no. If it's in a high demand area you are most likely to be meet by a no.

Your solicitor needs to talk to theirs, the EA's job is done.

As this is a contract to purchase, you may well be entitled to some recourse if there hasn't been full disclosure on behalf of the vendor or if there are potential planning compliance issues. As others have stated, this is for your solicitor to advise, remembering they have a legal duty to be acting in your interest.

However IMHO, as Del2005 rightly points out, market forces may dictate that the vendor simply withdraws from the sale, confident they can simply relist the house and easily find another buyer.

Either way you may need to consider what the time & cost is to you to seek what you may be entitled to versus forgoing the purchase. Let us know how you get on - good luck with it all.

mkdon

wassie wrote: »

Agreed - Mortgage lender is entitled to be made aware of these issues. Whether you choose to disclose is another matter.


As this is a contract to purchase, you may well be entitled to some recourse if there hasn't been full disclosure on behalf of the vendor or if there are potential planning compliance issues. As others have stated, this is for your solicitor to advise, remembering they have a legal duty to be acting in your interest.

However IMHO, as Del2005 rightly points out, market forces may dictate that the vendor simply withdraws from the sale, confident they can simply relist the house and easily find another buyer.

Either way you may need to consider what the time & cost is to you to seek what you may be entitled to versus forgoing the purchase. Let us know how you get on - good luck with it all.

I'm confused so people are saying not to even ask for a reduction ? I dont see the harm.....

johndaman66

Fol20 wrote: »

Forget about the mould issue. You should have seen this when you looked at it and what do you want them to do about this besides giving you a few k reduction to insulate the place

I'm not a builder but I do not believe insulating a house is the answer to mould problems.

astrofool

mkdon wrote: »

I'm confused so people are saying not to even ask for a reduction ? I dont see the harm.....

Without knowing the history of the proposed purpose, it's not possible to say if would cause harm or not. For example, if the price of similar houses has been going up since the property went sale agreed, and now the buyer is messing about over €500, the seller may decide that the buyer is no longer serious and put the property back on the market. OTOH, the seller may recognise the issues, and be happy to take a €500 reduction, but I think it would be disingenuous to say such a request can cause no harm.

mkdon

astrofool wrote: »

Without knowing the history of the proposed purpose, it's not possible to say if would cause harm or not. For example, if the price of similar houses has been going up since the property went sale agreed, and now the buyer is messing about over €500, the seller may decide that the buyer is no longer serious and put the property back on the market. OTOH, the seller may recognise the issues, and be happy to take a €500 reduction, but I think it would be disingenuous to say such a request can cause no harm.

what harm can this cause? worst case scenario they say no...its more than 500 i would he requesting and processing fairly stale like all of Dublin since went sale agreed Feb 8