Problems with heating noticed after completion

carlw

Hi

I am not sure if this is the correct place to post as this is my first time.

My situation is that i have just bought my first house and it completed on 09/12. As it needed plenty of work we spent a week decorating before moving in on 17/12. As soon as we moved in there seemed to be a problem with the heating and hot water. We have had an engineer out who as informed us that the heating is definitely in a bad way and parts are obsolete so the boiler needs replacing, which is going to be upwards of £2000. He also said this is not something that has just happened.

(The boiler there is very old and seems to warm the radiators up and then cut out. Luckily we have an emersion heater so we can use that to make sure we have hot water for the time being.)

We didn’t get the heating checked before we moved in, and to be honest it didn’t even cross my mind to get it done.

I have spoken to my solicitor, and he said one of the questions he asked and that she replied yes to in writing and signed before exchange was is the heating in full working order. Obviously if she had said no, we would have knocked money off of what we paid or not purchased the property at all.

He said if i get a quote he can send it to her solicitor who will most likely just palm us off.

My question is:

Is this just tough on us and we will have to find £2000+ to replace my boiler or can i expect the seller to pay for this and if so how do i go about doing this in the best way. Should I get it sorted and hope to get the money back or wait to see how we get on before doing anything

Thanks

AndrewSmith

You cannot expect the seller to pay for this as you have no proof that the heating was not working prior to you exchanging contracts. The opinion of the engineer on when the boiler stopped working is irellivent unless it can be proven to the extent of standing up in a court of law.

On the majority of estate agents details it will state that heating systems etc are not tested. Also on a homebuyer's survey it will recommend that you get the heating/hot water systems inspected by a suitably qualified engineer prior to purchase. If you chose not to do this then the fault lies with you.

What type of survey did you have on the property? You said that it needed plenty of work so you should have had a homebuyer's report in which it should have suggested getting the heating/hot water system checked.

It is, i'm afraid, down to you to satisfy yourself that everything is in order before exchanging contracts. A house is purchased 'as seen' and, unless you can prove without doubt otherwise, the seller is not responsible for such faults that occur after you move in.

As I said, you cannot prove that the heating was not working before you bought it. The in-formal opinion of the heating engineer is not enough on which to base a legal claim against the seller.

Not what you want to hear I know but it is pointless telling you otherwise as that would merely serve to patronise you.

Andy

silvercar

We had similar, but not so drastic. The extension part of our house (2 years old) is heated by its own combi boiler. When we moved in we found that the hot water didn't always work in the extension.

I contacted our solicitor for advice, he said it wasn't worth chasing the sellers, who had said everything was in working order. No point contacting the surveyor, who had said it looked fine but the usual caveat to get everything checked (why pay over £1,000 for a survey to find recommendations to check X, Y ,Z and more?). Contacted the boiler manufacturer who said they only give a one year guarantee and the boiler installation hadn't been registered.

Had we paid to have the systems checked, we would have had the older system checked, I doubt we would have paid to have a 2 year old system checked. After all, who installs luxury bathrooms and then leaves them without hot water????

Ended up taking out a service contract on the new boiler that included "fix current problem" + insure for a year.

carlw

Thanks for your prompt response, you are right that is not what i wanted to hear but if that is the case then, thats just unfortunate.

We did have a full survey done on the property, which obviously isnt done by anybody qualified to dismantle a boiler and find faults so this wasnt picked up. When i say it needed plenty of work i meant this was cosmetic thats all.

Surely its obvious that it wasnt working when she said it was, if we noticed it the day we moved in (17/12) and had an engineer round 2 days later (19/12) to tell us this.

Also would we not be in a possition to expact her to pay if we got a few professional opinions from gas engineers that this has not been working for some time, from various companies.

silvercar

Didn't answer your question!

I would get your solicitor to write a letter to your seller's solicitor. They may come back with an offer to pay half or similar. They may well come back and say "it works" (after a fashion). People grow used to foibles in their home that newcomers put right.

AndrewSmith

carlw wrote:

Also would we not be in a possition to expact her to pay if we got a few professional opinions from gas engineers that this has not been working for some time, from various companies.

Maybe they would be prepared to verbally state it but I doubt that, if you asked them to formalise it in writing as you were hoping to persure the seller for the costs via solicitors, they would agree to it as they could then end up being implicated if it went as far as courts.

Ask and you may be surprised but I personally think you are on a hiding to nothing I'm afraid.

Doozergirl

I'm entirely with AndrewSmith on this one.

I just wanted to add that as the boiler is clearly old, you have to expect and account for the fact that it was likely to go wrong at some point.

The fact that a place needs instant redecorating often means that if they couldn't spend £20 on a tin of paint, they were unlikely to be maintaining other things the way they should.

"Caveat Emptor"

Mrs_Optimist

We had an old boiler in our house when we moved in 10 years ago and thought it may need replacing at some point. 10 years on it is still in working order,was serviced 2 years ago and the gas engineer told us it was in excellent working order, excellent condition and although not as economical as modern combi boilers it was far more reliable. We fully expect that when we sell our house this year that the boiler will come into question with the buyer. We are right to say it is in perfect working order. In answer to your question I have to agree with other posters, I doubt there will be any recourse and you have no proof on the working condition of the boiler prior to exchange. Sorry.

thescouselander

I'd get a second oppinion on the boiler, although it is old its usually possible to get suitable replacement parts. Some unscrupulous heating technicians might say the boiler is obsolite in order to get more work installing a new boiler. Also, if you do need a new boiler it might well be possible to get one installed for less thanthe £2000 quoted.

ginandtonic1988

I've just had a client complain of a similar problem, I wrote to the othersides solicitor but I'm expecting no comeback and won't press for it either. I'm afraid you should have had it checked before you moved in. I have advised my client the same. Unfortunatly people do stretch the truth when filling out property information forms and sellers information forms.

Caveat Emporium - "Let the buyer beware"

Gorgeous_George

Boilers can cost as little as £600 to £700 and can be fitted in a reasonably short time (Corgi man to connect the gas). In short, your quote seems typically expensive. I'd shop around.



GG