Is it buyer beware?

dazeruk

Just got the home buyers survey back for the flat I'm purchasing.

There are 4 red flagged items.

One is the replacement of guttering which I'll have to contact the property management agent about.

The other 3 relate to the electricity, gas and heating system.

These are flagged as red due to no current test certificates being available for the electricity and gas and no service record for the gas boiler. The surveyer states that a visual inspection indicates no obvious problems.

Can I insist that these be obtained by the seller or is it a case of the buyer themselves getting these tested before purchase?

Is there no legal requirement that the utilities be in a safe condition when selling a property?

Gwhiz

You can ask BUT don't be surprised if the vendor tells you to carry out your own survey so satisfy yourself of the condition of everything.

dazeruk

Thanks for the info.

I'm finding many things about property buying really surprising, including the fact that I get a better reassurance of safety when buying a toaster than buying a house.

I'll wait to see what response my solicitor gets

If these aren't available then I'll probably pay for them to be tested before agreeing to exchange. I'd already budgeted in the cost for a boiler service once I'd moved in, but not for a complete rewire.

Gwhiz

dazeruk wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

I'm finding many things about property buying really surprising, including the fact that I get a better reassurance of safety when buying a toaster than buying a house.

Not a second hand toaster though!!!!

sonastin

dazeruk wrote: »

Is there no legal requirement that the utilities be in a safe condition when selling a property?

Nope. None. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy a fixer-upper and put it right yourself. You've just got to make sure that the price you pay reflects the level of work that needs doing to make it safe.

dazeruk wrote: »

These are flagged as red due to no current test certificates being available for the electricity and gas and no service record for the gas boiler. The surveyer states that a visual inspection indicates no obvious problems.

Can I insist that these be obtained by the seller or is it a case of the buyer themselves getting these tested before purchase?

No current certificates does not mean "is not safe". In my (entirely untrained) opinion what your surveyor is trying to tell you with these red flags is, "I am a building surveyor not a heating engineer or an electrician. I am not qualified to tell you that these systems are fine. But based on the experience I've had but not formal training, they look OK to me". He has to put it in those terms in case you sue him for something he's not qualified to tell you.

If you want peace of mind, get them checked out. You can try asking the vendors but it is within their rights to refuse. It then becomes a case of who wants the sale/purchase most. You can walk away if they say no or you can pay yourself. Or they might say yes just to keep the sale going.

westv

dazeruk wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

I'm finding many things about property buying really surprising, including the fact that I get a better reassurance of safety when buying a toaster than buying a house.

I think it's because, when you buy a toaster, the shop is maybe legally obliged to be an expert as regards its condition for sale.
When it comes to houses both parties are assumed not to be experts - that's why expert advice is often suggested.

sonastin

westv wrote: »

I think it's because, when you buy a toaster, the shop is maybe legally obliged to be an expert as regards its condition for sale.
When it comes to houses both parties are assumed not to be experts - that's why expert advice is often suggested.

Actually, its because the Sale of Goods Act requires that the toaster is of satisfactory quality and fit for any purpose that the buyer makes known to the seller, but the Sale of Goods Act does not apply to land and property transactions.

dazeruk

I found this website which seems to offer the tests I require

http://www.londonpropertyinspections.co.uk/services-price/

Would the correct ones be

Gas Safety Certificate
Electric Periodic Inspection Report
Boiler Service?

googler

dazeruk wrote: »

I'd already budgeted in the cost for a boiler service once I'd moved in, but not for a complete rewire.

The lack of a periodic inspection cert for the electrical installation doesn't mean that either the electrics are unsafe, nor that the house needs a complete re-wire. It means that the householders haven't called in someone to inspect them! Very few householders do.

In the 30-odd years that I and my parents lived in one house (built 1970), the electrics had never been inspected for a cert, and when I sold it in 2009 after they'd both passed away, it still had the original fuse box, with block fuses and fuse wire, and the original wiring. It sold, and without protest from the buyers.

westv

westv wrote: »

I think it's because, when you buy a toaster, the shop is maybe legally obliged to be an expert as regards its condition for sale.
When it comes to houses both parties are assumed not to be experts - that's why expert advice is often suggested.

sonastin wrote: »

Actually, its because the Sale of Goods Act requires that the toaster is of satisfactory quality and fit for any purpose that the buyer makes known to the seller, but the Sale of Goods Act does not apply to land and property transactions.

So the shop owner is legally obliged to know that it is in a fit state to be sold (so sort of an expert in its fit condition of sale). Presumably that's why the SOG Act applies

Joe Public selling his house can not be assumed to have the expertise to know if his house is similalrly in a fit state to be sold. Presumably that's why the SOG Act does not apply.

stokesley

It's more like the difference between a private and dealer second-hand car sale - a private sale comes with no guarantees, a dealer has to provide a warranty.