Tips for buyers: how to negotiate a bargain
Purchasers are becoming increasingly savvy about bargaining power to get money off a property.
Research shows that 80% of purchases would negotiate money off if the roof was in a state of disrepair, and more than two thirds would negotiate up to £10,000 off the asking price if the survey highlighted dodgy electrics. Other top negotiating issues include rising damp and timber/dry rot, and length of leashold.
However, purchasers have to appreciate that if it's not a significant issue concerning the habitability of the property, they're better off taking a view. Nick Leeming, our resident property expert suggests:
There are many ways in which purchasers can argue a reduction in the price that they have agreed to pay for a property and these may range from the perfectly reasonable to outright blackmail!
In general terms a buyer will agree the price for a property on the basis of what has been disclosed in the sale particulars and from visual inspection. Once an offer has been accepted most purchasers or their lenders will then commission a survey and valuation. In any event a solicitor will look at the title and report, among other things, on any legal restrictions which might affect the enjoyment of that property. Where problems are identified in these processes and where they have not been disclosed by the vendor or their agents, then there may well be a good argument to a reduction in the price offered so as to reflect the cost of remedial works or, where that is not possible, the loss in value to the property.
At the other end of the spectrum are the opportunist buyers who seek to delay an exchange and put the vendor in such a position that they are forced to accept a last minute reduction in offer. There may however be reasons outside the control of both the agent and vendor, such as when a mortgage offer is insufficient to enable a purchaser to proceed or a chain has been broken, when both parties feel aggrieved.
In all cases the likelihood of a vendor accepting a reduced offer will depend on the circumstances. The owner who has already contracted to buy elsewhere and has no other bidders to fall back on may have little option but to accept a lower offer. But where the market is strong, the vendor can wait and there are plenty of other interested parties circling, then the response to a reduced offer may be a curt one!
At the end of the day a successful sale requires communication between both parties and, if there is a genuine issue, then do first discuss it with the agent. Remember that an aggrieved vendor can make the final completion of a property sale anything but a routine process.
Thanks to Linda Bird from London Property News.
