Reply: 1
From: Asy .
Hi Cathy,
(Firstly, sorry, for all those litigious types: this is my opinion only, and does not constitute legal advice, please consult your solicitor.)
Depending on how your contract was written, the building inspection generally only has to be 'not to the purchasers approval', which means that you only have to say that you are not happy.
You can go to the agent/vendor and take the building inspection and try to negotiate to re-contract with them, but you will probably be told that these repairs were known and were taken into account when the price of the property was set (at least that's what I used to do!). The lack of compliance to fire safety is of interest, does it not comply to the safety regs that are in force now, or does it not comply to the safety regs which were in force when it was built, as I believe that this will make a difference.
Assuming your contract was written such that the building inspection only has to be to your satisfaction, you can withdraw. The other thing to remember, is that you can always "fail to secure finance".
My suggestion would be to: Go to the agent and tell them that you have received your building report, and that the items mentioned are safety repairs and therefore cannot be done without, however, your personal finances do not allow for these repairs, and your financier will not allow you to add these expenses to your loan, as there is too high an lvr. (At no time do you ever have to disclose the true nature of your finances). So even though you really want the property, and you would be almost positive your financier will loan you the original price, you will have to withdraw from the sale, unless he can go to the vendors and have them either, reduce the price, or offer a cash-back at settlement. But do this really quickly, before your finance clause runs out, and it may be a good idea, just for safety, to have your solicitor write to the vendor's solicitor to request an extension to the finance clause until all this can be sort out.
The only other thing I will say is: do you really want to end the contract? What will you do if they say no, will you take it a it is? Have you done the figures with this additional cost? Do they still stack up? You need to decide whether you will take it as it is, or whether you will run if they don't come to the party. And you really need to decide this before you go to see the agent, so that you are set in your decision, and not wavering, as he will sense that and act accordingly.
Good luck, let us know how it goes!
Asyral