Renegotiating or walking away
The seller will meet the lender's lower figure, and your survey still has a rating 3. Has one concession solved both problems?
No. Meeting the lender's lower figure deals with the price the lender is using. It leaves the rating 3 where it was. Those are two problems, and one concession closes only the price point. The rated element is still serious and/or urgent. Obtain written quotations before you enter a legal commitment. What to do now advises you and does not bill the seller. A lender's figure is not a repair quotation, and agreeing it does not make the element sound.
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?
Buyers relax once the seller matches a reduced lending figure, then forget the paragraph that started the worry. A down-valuation, if that is what produced the lower figure, is not the same event as a retention, and a retention is not cash you can spend. Neither event is the condition rating. The survey can still say rating 3 after the price has moved. Rating 3 means obtain written quotations before legal commitment. If you exchange on the new price without those quotations, you have solved the lender's number and left the building question open.
Put the two papers in front of the solicitor: the lender's figure the seller will meet, and the survey paragraph that remains. Ask which one the draft contract will reflect. What to do now is advice to the buyer about the report. It does not invoice the seller for the rating, and it does not say a price concession deletes a rating. If the quotation for the element is larger than you can accept even at the new price, you still have a decision to make. Do not describe the seller's concession as a repair.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which element is still rating 3 after the price concession?
- Is the lender's lower figure a repair quotation, or only a lending figure?
- What written quotation do you still need before commitment?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the lender's figure and the rating 3 as separate issues.
- Obtain written quotations for the rated element before you commit.
- Ask the solicitor not to treat the price match as a repair.
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
Is a retention the same as the seller cutting the price?
No. A retention is not cash you can spend, and it is not a down-valuation. A price cut is a different concession.
Does the rating vanish once the prices match?
No. The rating stays in the survey until the element is dealt with on its own terms.