Renegotiating or walking away
The agent tells the seller your quote is higher than the figure on the PDF. What should you send instead of relying on that phone call?
Send the written quotation itself, with the survey paragraph it prices, and do not rely on the agent's phone call. The PDF is the survey, not a contractor's price, so a claim that your quote is higher than a figure on the PDF often compares it with a number the report never contained. What to do now advises you and does not bill the seller. A retold call is not the paper you should obtain before you are legally committed.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Agents compress conversations. A sentence such as the quote looks high can detach the figure from the scope. Rating 3 means the element is serious and/or urgent and that you should obtain written quotations before legal commitment. The quotation should say what work it includes. If the agent compares it with a sum they think they saw in the report, ask them to point to the sentence. Survey reports in this form do not publish a repair price. Treating a condition rating as if it were a priced bill of quantities is the confusion you should correct in writing.
Copy the quotation to the solicitor rather than debating it on the phone. What to do now is advice to the buyer and does not invoice the seller for the contractor's total. If the quotation covers more work than the rated element, say so, and do not let the extra lines be described as the surveyor's figure. If it covers less, say that too. The aim is a document the seller can read, not a contest about who sounded more confident in a call the seller did not hear.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is there any repair price in the PDF, or only the condition rating?
- Which paragraph should sit on the front of the quotation you send?
- What part of the quotation goes beyond the element you rated?
What are the typical next steps?
- Send the written quotation, not a summary of the call.
- Attach the survey paragraph it is meant to answer.
- Ask the solicitor to correct any claim that the PDF already priced the work.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Should you argue the number only by phone?
No. Phone calls get misreported. The quotation is the document to send.
Does the rating contain a hidden price the agent can quote?
No. The rating is a condition mark. It is not a contractor's figure.