Buying a home is often a process of negotiation, and this can continue right up until exchange of contracts.
Negotiating on House Price
Of course, buying a house is often a process of negotiation. This can be at the point of making an offer and it being accepted, or further down the line.
Your offer can be renegotiated at any time up to the exchange of contracts, but this can hold up the process, and increase the risk that the seller will pull out and remarket the property.
***TIP*** Negotiations are easiest if they are evidence-based; for example, survey reports are often used as leverage to reduce the purchase price of a home, if significant defects are found.
The easiest way to negotiate is to be open about what a survey report has found, and what the estimated costs are to rectify the issues. Depending on how severe the issues are and how long they would take to fix, you could ask the vendors to carry out the works themselves, but this may hold up the sale. More commonly, the purchase price will be dropped to allow buyers to hold back enough funds to carry out the works once they have completed on the property.
If houses are in high demand, it can be more difficult to negotiate on price; however, most sellers are reasonable and will find a compromise. If the vendor refuses to reduce the price, make sure you take a step back and ask yourself how much you really want the property, and whether you can still afford to take it on.
