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Negotiating septic tank upgrade in purchase price


wylienet
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We're in the process of buying a house in the south west of France. The DDT survey has come back indicating that the septic tank needs upgrading to conform to new regulations, at a cost of around €10,000. The seller is suggesting that we split the cost 50/50. Does anyone know if this is normal practice? Many thanks for any advice
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I think I am right on this, as I understand it the purchaser is the one who needs to get it fixed and not the seller. That being the case and your seller offering to pay 50% I would grab it before he/she works out they don't actually have to pay you a cent. Something you might like to check however is if there is a sewer near you. Anyone buying my place would have the same problem as you but a check at the mayors office shows a sewer pipe 15m from my property. Even given that they would have to install a macerator and lift pump it would work out cheaper to connect it to the sewer than rebuild/fix the fosse.
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Pretty standard that fosses fail the test and that sellers try sweeten the pill by reducing the selling price. It is however all a question of negotiation and if it were me, I would reject the offer unless I had already been told the fosse would need work before starting the purchase.

It is a buyers market and I would use that to your best advantage.

In the end though it will depend on how much you really want this property
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We  are in the process of buying makes me think that you have already made an offer, in which case I would bite the guys hand off, he is being very reasonable in the face of someone that he/she may not be thinking the same of at the moment, they may  have priced the property according to its condition and the works including the fosse that would need doing as a result of the diagnostiques that they will themselves have paid for only for them to be used as a negotiating tool against them after an offer had been made and accepted.

 

If I have misunderstood the situation then I apologise, as a seller faced with the same situation I would tell the buyer to go elsewhere and refuse to sell to them at all if it could be done, hopefully communication and reasoning would avoid the cutting off of my nose but if it didnt that would be my position,  I have learnt several hard lessones here that when people start out unreasonably (and the majority where I am do) and will not compromise at all, usually through poor communication skills any act or offer of kindness, generosity or appeasement is seen as a weakness to be exploited to the full and the taking advantage will escalate.

 

Its a chicken and  egg because the majority start out that way exactly because to not do so is percieved as weakness, some are capable of reasoning though.

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Hi

You say "'Houses across rural France are well overpriced."" No idiot is going to put a realistic price knowing every one is going to make a lower offer I have sold two and moved on in the last 11 years and received what I asked for. The market/purchaser decides the price. Individual opinions really do not count

Its time bird brained Brits, realized the French and long termed xpats have twigged Brits always try to make a knock down value so we have built that figure in the starting price

Grumpy
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Talking as a 40 something with kids living in a city and classed (and taxed accordingly) by the French Government as having an above average (although very low compared to the UK) household income, I maintain that houses in rural France are overpriced. Who can afford them ? I know the level of wages people earn in cities and rural communities and therefore the price of houses across rural France is completely stupid. When I flick through the bon coin you think that the sellers are praying for some birdbrain brit (as you put it) to turn up and buy it.

You have to think of the purchasing power of my generation and the generation behind us especially in terms of the amount of tax we have to pay. My OH sister and husband (Both French with a good salary) can't even get on the housing ladder.

A good example. A house opposite my OH family house in rural world was on the market for 5 years at 80,000 euros. It is a complete wreck and needs at least 100,000 euros spent on it. The house is worth 110,000 euros MAX renovated as a family house. Anyway, a French couple bought the house for 40,000 euros (Half price !). They have done the roof which has cost them 35,000 euros. Now they have 35,000 euros left to completely rewire, connect the fosse, plumbing, insulation, build walls, decorate ect ect ect. They have no chance. If they lost their jobs and had to move !!!!!! they are in trouble. We were going to offer 10,000 euros for the house.

The days of the French owning holiday homes is over. With low wages and high unemployment in rural areas who is buying/afford these houses ? That is why I say rural France is overpriced.
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Hi

We are all different I and my wife left the UK in 1996 my last job was a Bus driver poor wages our rural house was 230'000ff on an exchange rate 10ff to the pound later 8,5ff when we had to pay

8 years later having installed a Fosse connected to the mains water rewired new roof etc sold it for 120'000 euros I had only spent 10'000 euros its the calm and lifestyle you pay for

Repeated it again 10 years later sold up with a profit and down sized in a village a nice house but tis horrible now, a big mistake, dogs barking, cats, mouthy neighbors, car parking, traffic, thieves,, as soon as I have done up this house we are heading for the country asap

grumpy
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Totally off-topic I'm afraid, but could I ask grumpyaudeman why he writes 10,000 as 10'000? Is it a convention in some country or other?

The reason I ask is that I've just been proofreading something where the writer had put all the commas upside down like that and it drove me nearly berserk changing them all, I ended up screaming Why does he DO that??? - but I can't scream that at him because he's a client - but I really would appreciate knowing the answer.
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