u/No_Platform3504

Buying and selling atm. After our survey came back we wanted a few things investigated further as the surveyor raised serious concerns.

Booked 3 specialist surveys as I didn’t just want to go with surveyors advice and needed to make sure I have a true picture of the issues. Apparently the seller had a problem with that and I got calls from both the move manager at the EA and the Director (it’s a small estate agency) asking why we want all these surveys- is it to negotiate the price and that the house is old, a house of this age is going to have problems. So I put my foot down and went ahead with the surveys.

Some shoddy workmanship and several serious/ semi serious issues were identified by the professionals we instructed. As a result, we requested a reduction in the purchase price for one of the issues only as it needed to be rectified immediately to preserve the integrity of the building. This was met with resistance from the sellers. After many lengthy emails back and forth, with EA gaslighting us and pressurising us to proceed, the sellers eventually agreed to a very small reduction in price (equivalent to 15% of the cost of the issue we raised)

We are now approaching completion, and I am constantly being told to exchange contracts as soon as possible, with a completion date agreed at that stage. I explained to the move manager that, for personal reasons, I would prefer exchange and completion to take place on the same day.

I also spoke to the director today, who again pushed for us to exchange immediately, stating that people cannot book removals until exchange has taken place (despite the fact that we are the only party in this chain of three who actually require removals).

It is exhausting having to repeat ourselves continually, while being made to feel as though we are being difficult for no reason. They keep implying that the requests we are making are unusual.

Are these requests really unreasonable??? Hit me with the truth.

It’s so stressful as it is without them adding to it.

Edit: Key facts that I forgot to add

1. Prop we’re buying is vacant
2. It’s the top end of our budget and was presented to us as ready to move into so we offered accordingly.
3. I literally have some personal reasons- that’s a post for another time. In previous purchases, we’ve never had estate agents getting involved in exchange/completion timings to this extent, and our solicitors have never had an issue either. That’s probably why my view on this is a bit skewed.

Using prem property lawyers and asked for a specific conveyancer as she was brilliant last time. But this time.. I’m not sure what she’s playing at. she has everything she needs from us yet she keeps coming up with some lame excuses to not give a completion date. I’m at my wits end. Today after 4 days of her having our contract she has asked for it to be signed again as the signature don’t match. Before this she was telling me she needs to go back to the search company for our water search to confirm something and they gave a date of a week. I told her we have a drainage survey and gave her the info she needs then she had to go to technical to ask if a build over indemnity would be the right thing in this situation. That was bizzare coz even I know we need a build over indemnity.

Why is she trying to delay things any ideas?

Okay so we’re almost at the finish line. Just before the searches came back we were Having a bit of a negotiation over the price (on a 4 year old roof that needs to be replaced) through the estate agent which may I add isn’t going great but what’s pissed me of so much on Friday is the sellers attitude over a indemnity insurance arrangement fee. it’s only £100 atm (might be £200 soon as we’ve asked for a buildover agreement but I’m not holding my breath.. pretty much know they won’t have it.) any way their solicitor has come back on that £100 arrangement fee to our solicitor saying

*The fee for the indemnity is £xxxx and that is what has been agreed. What you may charge your client to arrange the indemnity is not for our client to cover*

So they’re paying for the indemnity but refusing to cover the arrangement fee. The indemnity isn’t gonna arrange itself. Our solicitor has to arrange it and charges a fee for that. My point is why should we pay for it when it’s due to the seller having insufficient approvals.

£100 is like nothing absolutely nothing compared to the size of this or any property transaction for that matter. But my mind is spiraling over this. Not over the money but the principle of it. They’ve come back twice on this when it was first raised they said no and we pushed back on it telling them it’s due to missing paperwork and it’s reasonable for seller to cover it then they came back with the above. The EA thinks so highly of his client and told me in a conversation the other day that he highly doubts that they’ll have any missing paperwork.

I’ve kept emotions out of the whole process up until this point. But I think I have this underlying feeling rn that we’re being taken for mugs by this guy and my mind’s not ready to accept that.