Subject to Survey : House Buying

[Board Game Geek]

Thanks so far for the advice. Hmm, an asbestos survey might be worthwhile. Who knows what else there is (the surveyor highlighted an old asbestos flue for the gas, which is no longer used, and the gas is rerouted elsewhere up another flue)

But the thought of putting up shelves and drilling in to asbestos doesn't exactly thrill me.

Back to the original question however.

Who do we speak to to do the haggling ? Do we leverage our convenyancer. or speak to their conveyancer direct ?

[Halo Jones]

Ideed the tanks are an issue I was thinking of decommisoning them, plumbing in new ones & just leaving the old ones up there - we do not need the loft space so they will not be in the way

[Churchill]

Just wondering but...

Are you going for a mortgage on the property? If so, have your lenders said anything about the asbestos issue/liability?

[NotAllThere]

A good friend of mine died, aged 64 in 2002 of asbestos caused mesothalioma. After much legal battle, laws were introduced for statutory compensation for victims. A little later the government of the day amended those laws, so that if the victim had been exposed to absestos as a result of working for the government, then no compensation was due.

My friend received his exposure while working in the merchant navy. His widow got not a penny.

Any, asbestos itself isn't a problem - it's dust. I'd ask the vendors to put it right, or no deal - and be prepared to make a contribution to the cost...

[PorkPie]

yep. Dont mess about with asbestos. My uncle removed some lagging, there was a lot of dust and he got asbestosis and it killed him.
It took over four days to cremate him

[Board Game Geek]

Just wondering but...

Are you going for a mortgage on the property? If so, have your lenders said anything about the asbestos issue/liability?

We've literally just been approved last night for the mortgage, and the lenders are not aware AFAIK. We commissioned the Structural Survey ourselves, and all lenders do is just drive past for a valuation anyway.

We are emailing the surveyor who did the survey, to ask if he recommends a full asbestos survey. He made plenty of other recommendations, but not that one, which I'm assuming he didn't see it as a problem, as he checked the integrity of the building and didn't mention it elsewhere apart from the old gas flue.

Sorry to hear about your Father, Cliphead. :-(

[Board Game Geek]

May I ask again, as the original question is still outstanding :

Who do we speak to with regards to voicing our findings regarding the asbestos and other repairs ?

Our conveyancer, or the seller's conveyancer/esate agent ?

Do we let our conveyancer fight it out with theirs, or are we expected to speak to their conveyancer direct ?

[norrahe]

May I ask again, as the original question is still outstanding :

Who do we speak to with regards to voicing our findings regarding the asbestos and other repairs ?

Our conveyancer, or the seller's conveyancer/esate agent ?

Do we let our conveyancer fight it out with theirs, or are we expected to speak to their conveyancer direct ?

your conveyancer if they are any good will advise you on what steps to take.

You do need to take the initiative on this and let the solicitor know how you think you'd like to proceed.

Also google the options and find first time buyers websites.

[Fred Bloggs]

Think carefully about resale problems in years to come if the asbestos is not removed.

[sasguru]

I've probably bought and sold more properties than most - and my golden rule was always to walk away if the vendors did not do everything to my satisfication.
The asbestos issue is potentially quite serious - and I would definitely haggle over the price. Get the best Asbestos specialist you can find to give you a quote to make the property completely safe and asbestos free and make sure the price is reduced by that amount - no compromise.
Your conveyancer should help with negotiation.