Buyer wants the boiler checked before exchange, what should I do?

The_Palmist

You get it serviced and you have a happy boiler, even if the sale falls through, you will still end up with a serviced and safe boiler. Win Win

phoebe1989seb

When we sold this Spring our buyers requested that we have the 'boiler' (actually a Rayburn) serviced prior to exchange. We had previously had our plumber give it the once-over but as he was not a Rayburn specialist our buyers were not content with this. There were one or two other things that cropped up in their Homebuyers' Report which they were happy to put right themselves so to avoid any chance of them pulling out we agreed to get this done. In our case, as it was a Rayburn rather than a normal boiler, this cost in the region of £250 but we considered it well worth it as we then proceeded to a prompt exchange and completed within less than 3 months of originally putting our house on the market

sprocker1

Interesting I have a simular issue, the sellers that I am buying my house from havn't had the boiler serviced for...... Wait for it SIX (6) years.....
I discussed this with the estate agent, and he said that the sellers would not have it serviced because they are not speaking (they are splitting) and argued about any additional monies they have to pay out during the sale.
I offered on the property (to the estate agent) "sold as seen" I do not however beleive that this has any legal bearing, in the matter.
My ongoing concern is:
1) I am hopeing to move late November so the Boiler will be switched on from day 1.
2) I do not want to die from Carbon Monoxide poisening on my first night there (And my mum is staying too)

*interestingly I spoke to British Gas and asked "what if i comissioned the service, with my buyers concent" They replyed that "If i comissioned the service and there were any faults, or the boiler was condemmed, it would then be UP TO ME, to put the fault right"

Would it be wrong to go to my solicitor and make this a condition of Purchase?

Thoughts please......

Gromitt

On my last house I stated something like this after my third viewing (after offer accepted but before a proper survey) "considering the age of the boiler, I expect either the seller to fully service the boiler (and fix any defects), or subtract £1,000 from the price of the property to fix any potential defects found after exchange of contracts.". They didn't want to spend any more cash and eventually we agreed to pay 50% towards the cost.

BTW, Carbon monoxide detectors are life savers. I always install one as a first job in a new house, as well as check the pressure level constantly for the first week.

sprocker1

Interesting

Well before the weekend I received the "tick" sheet from my sellers, next to the question "Is the boiler in good working order?" they have ticked YES.

I have now asked my solicitor to clarify how legally binding this statment is, should i get to the property and find in not in good order.....

I still think I am going to press for a service prior to exchange, even if i have to pay for it..... Better safe than sorry!

penguine

We were in the process of buying a house a few years ago and the boiler hadn't been serviced in 7 years. It was in a cupboard in what was going to be my daughter's bedroom so I was very concerned about safety. I asked the estate agent about it and they basically said, if you're worried about it then it's your responsibility to get it checked, which annoyed me a bit, as I wondered why I should pay £65 for a service/safety check in a house that I didn't even own yet. The estate agent indicated the buyers would balk at doing it themselves so we didn't press the issue.

We ended up pulling out of the purchase as there were a number of other problems with the house, but the issue with the boiler was one of the turning points that made us less keen on buying it. We spent more than £700 on a homebuyer survey and various inspections and it felt like a bit much to be asked to pay to have the boiler checked because the owner had been indifferent about it themselves.

Mallotum_X

For 50 or 60 quid is it worth the worry of losing your buyer? You could always agree to knock the cost off the house sale on successful completion.

My last house sale i provided a copy of the last service and that was enough for my buyer. If its been serviced recently then offer that. If it hasnt then you probbaly ought to get it serviced regardless.

timmyt

you reply you are free to commission what checks and inspections etc that you wish and at your expense in the usual way.

if they pull out then they would have pulled out anyway.

djheath

For anyone interested, I ended up stumping up for the inspection as I didn't want the risk of cheesing off my buyer or to hold up the purchase with them booking engineers and arranging times etc. The boiler was inspected and no faults were found, plus a gas leak check was done and everything was deemed safe - as expected. So happy with the outcome and hope my buyer is grateful too!

doolallygal

It's quite interesting to see the different views on this.

We are buying and selling and our buyer had a homebuyers survey and the surveyer mentioned the boiler (we hadn't had it serviced for a couple of years) and so we orginised and paid for the service without a second thought as we didn't want to hold up the process.
It is a 12ish year old combi boiler, never had any probs and for the first 6 of the 8 years we had it seviced every year.

Now we have requested the same for the house we're buying and we haven't heard anything back as to whether they are willing to do this.

Like others I would not want to lose a sale for the sake of £50/£60???