Help needed with survey results

stufai

Hi everyone,

We got our survey back and it highlighted 2 'major' areas that we should be aware of; namely that both the gas and electricity fittings were dated and should be checked out by a professional, and that there could be asbestos in the walls, etc.

As it is a 1930's house, it's not surprising that asbestos is possible, but is it worth getting an asbestos survey done?

Also, if the electrician and gas fitter come back and say that they're both safe enough but dated, where do we go from there? Would people simply accept that, or would it be a cause for concern when we're thinking about selling the house again in 5 years?

Thanks!

dizziblonde

We've just had exactly the same asbestos is possible comment from ours in a 1930s house as well... and the gas (which we know was serviced last year)... and the "might wanna get the electrics looked at but they look ok" dealie.

Don't know if that helps but it's a property of a similar age to yours.

potter78_2

I'm also buying a 1930's and had 3 major issues flagged; Electrics, Gas and Heating. They all read like backside covering comments though so I've haven't sent anyone around to inspect them, just seems like standard fare on a survey, expecially of an older property.

When I viewed the property the electrics looked like they needed updating anyway, and can't remember what the boiler looked like. I'll just fix them up as and when I get the money.

I guess if it's potentially a deal breaker for you then it may be worth inspecting them though.

clutton_2

an electrical Periodic inspection - round about £100-£150 for a small house and a Gas Safety Certificate... round about £50-£100 for peace of mind...

andy208833

Always worth spending the small amount now to get things checked out properly rather than the big expense later when you have bought the property and find major problems. When i bought my 50's house 5 years ago the survey highlighted problems with the lighting circuits which would require a re-wire, we got an electrician round to price it up with the seller present and negotiated the price of the house down by what it would cost to do the work.

stufai

dizziblonde wrote: »

We've just had exactly the same asbestos is possible comment from ours in a 1930s house as well... and the gas (which we know was serviced last year)... and the "might wanna get the electrics looked at but they look ok" dealie.

Don't know if that helps but it's a property of a similar age to yours.

So are you doing anything about it?

potter78 wrote: »

I'm also buying a 1930's and had 3 major issues flagged; Electrics, Gas and Heating. They all read like backside covering comments though so I've haven't sent anyone around to inspect them, just seems like standard fare on a survey, expecially of an older property.

When I viewed the property the electrics looked like they needed updating anyway, and can't remember what the boiler looked like. I'll just fix them up as and when I get the money.

I guess if it's potentially a deal breaker for you then it may be worth inspecting them though.

clutton wrote: »

an electrical Periodic inspection - round about £100-£150 for a small house and a Gas Safety Certificate... round about £50-£100 for peace of mind...

Thanks guys!
I've organised someone to go around and look at the gas and electric, and someone is going to take some samples for asbestos later in the week.
Fingers crossed I guess!

dizziblonde

We're not doing much about it - took the survey to a friendly builder who happens to live next door in an identical house to the one we're buying and he gave us his opinion on it all which was 95% backside covering and 5% stuff that needs work doing - and this is the costs for it. We've got a minor damp issue which again, it's a feature of the houses, there's a damp proof work previously under guarantee that we're going to push to get looked at before we complete if we can - otherwise we've got a costing for the work from said builder-neighbour who's done it in half the houses in the street anyway.

Gas-wise - we're taking out a cover plan anyway with annual service/checks included that we get subsidized through my husband's work, and from the property particulars forms we know things were serviced/checked last year anyway but it doesn't look like he had that information to hand when doing the report.

Have to admit I did panic a bit when I saw the whole horror novel size of it - but having a neighbour who knows the house well (he's been the one checking up on it while it's been empty for months on end anyway) and has done so much building work on all the houses in the street go through it all with us and realize there isn't much that isn't actually covering the surveyor's backside in there really helped. We also called the surveyor back up and he went through honestly the main issues, as opposed to the everything possible that might one day go wrong in the report - he's been very very helpful too.