u/FrostyManagement971

I’m looking for some advice. I found a flat in London that I really liked. I put in an offer back in January, but it was declined. Then the flat came back on the market in April because the previous buyers pulled out, allegedly due to a leak.

I spoke to the estate agent and then to the vendor directly today. She assured me there’s no leak anymore and that everything was fixed. According to her, the issue happened because contractors were changing pipes and accidentally hit another pipe, which caused the leak.

The thing that worries me is when I asked for documentation or evidence of the repairs, she said she didn’t have anything. Then later in the conversation she suddenly mentioned they had “found mould somewhere” and that it had also been fixed. When I asked more about the mould, she became vague and said it “wasn’t really mould” but didn’t explain properly.

The whole thing is starting to feel a bit shady to me and I’m close to walking away. I’m asking the realtor to ask the previous buyers more information or even a copy of their survey but she’s denying saying that I’ll need to have my own survey. I also do not understand this behaviour and it seems they want to hide something.

On the other hand, the flat is in an excellent location and the service charge is reasonable, which is hard to find in London.

Would this put you off buying? Or would you continue but get a very thorough survey done(£1,000+)? I’d be interested to hear what others would do in this situation.

Hi everyone,

I could really use your advice on something fairly straightforward. I’m interested in a flat that was on the market back in January. I made an offer at the time, but wasn’t successful. The sale has now fallen through, and it’s back on the market.

I’m considering putting in another offer, but at a lower level, given the current interest rates and wider economic situation (war, inflation etc). I’m thinking of starting around £40k below my original offer, with some room to increase by about £10k if needed.

Does that sound like a reasonable approach in the current market?

I'm in London, UK, by the way.

Hi everyone,

I’d appreciate some advice. I’m interested in a flat that’s come back onto the market for a second time. The estate agent told me the previous buyers pulled out after discovering a leak.

When I spoke to her in person, she said she’d try to obtain the previous buyers’ survey. However, she later came back saying she’d spoken to her colleague (who handled the earlier sale) and the vendor, who both reassured her that the leak has now been resolved. According to her colleague, the buyers were simply spooked and decided to withdraw.

I followed up by email to say I’m still unsure — if everything has been properly fixed, it doesn’t quite add up that they would pull out entirely. The agent has now said there’s nothing further she can provide and that I’d need to make an offer if I want to proceed.

Am I being unreasonable here, or is the agent being a bit difficult? Also, is it really that hard for them to give the previous buyers a call, especially if they had indicated they’d be open to a conversation?

I can’t shake the feeling that something might not be fully disclosed, but I’d value your thoughts.