Please Help!!

[YvonneCurle]

I am selling my house and the buyer said his survey came back that I need the whole house re-wired, there is asbestos is the artex on the kitchen ceiling (the surveyor did not take a sample of the ceiling - so I'm not sure how he know's this) and finally the partition in my attic is wood and he says it is law that the partition should be brick. The buyer won't let me see the survey report and wants �4500 taken of his offer. Please help!! Should I accept this (my own survey did not show any of the above) or should I take it further.

[stoo_pid]

Sounds like he's trying it on. Did you have a full survey done for yourself? The people we bought our house off had only paid for a basic survey which didn't show a lot of stuff (including re-wiring the entire house). We of course negotiated a reduction in the sale price but we did show them our survey report to back it up. Maybe he feels he has a legitimate reason for keeping his findings secret - just ask him why he won't let you see it. If you're still not convinced tell him to get lost - the way I see it is he's paid a lot of money for a full survey & if there's a chance he'll lose the house he'll soon change his mind and let you see the report (<b>if</b> he's legitimate that is...)

[Bonzo 2000]

Dont be intimidated!! I think he's trying it on. He cannot tell if there is asbestos in the ceiling artex without a lab report. Unless your wiring is visibly poor, a surveyor will not be able to tell if it needs replacing (his survey report probably covers his back by saying that the electrics have not been tested). Lastly, if the partition in your attic is adjoining another house, I would be surprised if it was only timber in construction. I dont know the size of your house, but �4500 sounds like a lot of money to chop off for these apparant defects. Either hold off for another offer or seek advice from your own surveyor or friendly architect (like me!)

[stoo_pid]

Meant to say that there won't be any asbestos IN the artex. There may be in the ceiling but unless a sample was taken it would be impossible to be 100% certain there was asbestos content. (They may have a good idea based on the age of house, type of ceiling etc but it would need laboratory analysis to know for sure)

[Hammer]

You are still in a good position. He has already forked out money for the survey which he loses if he walks away. He is obviously interested or he wouldn't have gone this far. Did he offer you the full asking price? if not, tell him you accepted a lower offer because you were aware of the wiring being in need of replacement. Small amounts of asbestos in the ceiling are not a major problem - my parents have this and their insurance company and builder did not raise any objections when they found out. Hold your ground for now and see what happens, if he does pull out you could try re-negotiating then.

[maurizio]

It is a tactic. It happened to us, they wanted � 4000 because we removed carpets showing lovely wooden boards and because the bolier was old. This happened the week before completion, after almost three months from the first offer. Told them to f... ... We did eventually exchanged without giving in to their demands.

[FP]

I've no faith in surveyors at all. We converted an old cottage ourselves and I know the place inside out from the roof tiles to the floor construction. We had a surveyor round when we wanted to remortgage and not knowing how familiar I was with the building and thinking that as a female I would have no construction knowledge, he started telling me all sorts of things about our home which were completely false. I soon stopped him in his tracks when he found out I was knowledgeable about building. I should stick to your guns and hold firm on your price.

[Quiznite]

The artex Could have asbestos in and for �15 you can get a lab to analyse it . So why not call there bluff and get them to sample it....
Also if the artex doe's come back as positive it is pefectley safe as long as it is good condition and left alone.

Also textured coatings are being removed from the HSE's list so you will no longer require a liscense to remove them