Renegotiating or walking away
What should you have in hand before you ask the seller for money off after a survey?
The survey wording, a written quote or specialist report where the survey says further investigation or rating 3, and your solicitor’s view of what the contract allows. A disappointed reading of the report is not yet a figure. RICS points you to quotations before commitment. Your solicitor points you to the moment you are still free to walk away.
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?
Before exchange in England and Wales you are usually not bound, so a price change is a negotiation, not a clause the survey activates. After exchange you are usually bound, survey or no survey, unless the contract says otherwise. Ask which stage you are at before you draft a demand. In a Scottish sale the timing is different again. Ask a Scottish solicitor rather than copying an English email.
Attach the quote and the relevant survey page. Ask for a price change or for the seller to do the specified work, not both in full. Leave a date for a reply so you can decide. Do not copy in the surveyor as if they were negotiating. They reported condition. The “What to do now” note tells you to act on it. It does not tell the seller to accept your number.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which findings are strong enough to support a figure, once a quote exists?
- Which findings should we not price because they are NI?
- What extra document, if any, would you want a specialist to produce before we negotiate?
What are the typical next steps?
- Match each requested pound to a quote and a survey paragraph.
- Ask your solicitor to send the proposal, and to confirm you may still withdraw.
- If the seller refuses, decide with the quotes in front of you, not in anger on the day of the report.
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 ask for the whole quote off the price?
Not always. You are buying a used building, and some work is the maintenance the rating definitions already mention. Decide what is fair. The survey does not set the percentage.
Can you renegotiate twice?
You can ask. The seller can say no. A second demand without a new fact looks like a tactic. Keep it tied to evidence.