How to reduce the price

When you make your offer, and it is accepted, it is very important that you clarify exactly what you are buying and what condition it is in.  Obviously, you are buying the property.  But when you agree a price, you are implicitly making a number of assumptions about the property.  You are assuming - unless you have specifically agreed otherwise - that the property is in reasonable repair, and that everything you see which isn't movable is included.

When you have your survey, you may discover that there are defects which you weren't aware off - for example, damp timbers in the roof which have to be replaced, or a chimney which needs to be removed.  These are reasons to then renegotiate the price.  The seller will probably accept some items as being reasonable, if they are things which clearly need immediate work.  They may be less convinced by things which the surveyor merely recommends should be done at some time in the future.  But you may be able to have the price reduced to take account of necessary works.  Don't agree that the seller will actually do the works himself, or pay for them, because he won't have your interest in ensuring they are carried out properly.

If you are buying a leasehold property, you may find that there are things you weren't aware of when you agreed the price.  For example, the lease term may be a few years less than the seller said.  (Sellers tend to remember what the lease term was when they bought, or the original term.) You may find that there are unexpectedly high rent payments or service charge payments.  Your solicitors will be requesting information about management of the block and any anticipated major works, and if this shows that the management company are about to replace the lifts or do some other expensive major works, then you want a price reduction to cover the fact that you will be making the contributions to the work.  The seller will argue that you will get the benefit of these works, which is true, but it is an unanticipated cash-flow cost to you and, at least in a buyer's market, you should be able to get a reduction to reflect it.

The civilised way to approach a price reduction is when you obtain the information which makes the difference - such as the survey report.  There is nothing stopping you from leaving it until the very last moment and springing a price reduction on the sellers just before exchange of contracts.  But obviously that will be seen as unreasonable arm-twisting, and it can rebound - sellers sometimes hurt their own interests rather than give in to last minute price drops.