Buying house - boiler not serviced for 10 years. What wouldl you do?

cte1111

suebfg wrote: »

No, I'm not a first time buyer but am currently renting after selling previous house. I admit I like the assurance that the landlord is required to have a safety certificate in place as I have a young family so safety is a priority.

Well that's fair enough. I would get an inspection of all the gas appliances when you move in (as we did) and then you will be reassured again in this case.

suebfg

I've decided we'll have it done prior to exchange of contracts

botchjob

Christ, I'm glad you're not buying my house. Just remember though, you reap what you sow.

suebfg

What do you mean exactly?

suebfg

and yes if your house is anything like your username, I'm glad I'm not buying your house either

ChrisEvanson

I maybe unusual, odd, different.... But I would have asked all the questions then put in my offer accordingly - ie anything that I felt was a big issue would be asked on second viewing (or possibly third) before submitting offer. Re the boiler I would have looked at what it was, asked the question, then allowed for either a replacement (if old and needing replacement then it makes no great odds whether it has been serviced or not in the big scheme of things if you are replacing it anyway) or (if still fairly modern and appearing to operate ok) I would either ignore it or price in say £500 for boiler service and a notional repair.

I'm a bit puzzled by you putting the offer in then saying the offer reflects everything being top notch when it isn't? It seems to me you didn't do your research pre-offer or you submitted too high an offer based on things that you feel are important that aren't up to scratch?

suebfg

That's ridiculous sorry - the offer is pre survey and pre legal enquiries - everyone knows that

olly300

suebfg wrote: »

What do you mean exactly?

You seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill.

It's up to the buyer to get the gas appliances including the boiler plus the electrics inspected and serviced/rewired if needed, not the vendor. In England it's a case of buyer beware when buying a property regardless of the price.

In fact in the expensive properties people I know have brought over the years they tend to rip a lot out and start again, as they trust nothing the previous owners have put in.

Even if the vendor got the items inspected for you would you trust them?

As even if the vendor got the boiler inspected it would only be proved to be safe on the date they got it inspected. If after that date they decided to meddle with it themselves, or something failed you wouldn't know.

ChrisEvanson

suebfg wrote: »

That's ridiculous sorry - the offer is pre survey and pre legal enquiries - everyone knows that

Er excuse me?! The boiler being serviced is as far as I know not a legal issue?! Neither is it something covered in any detail in a survey, even a full structural one, again as far as I am aware?

I actually moved last year, so I do know what I am talking about. Before I offered I actually took responsibility for a few things myself and asked questions about things that I felt I needed to know:

1. When was it last rewired
2. How old is the boiler, have you had any problems with it lately and is it serviced regularly?
There were quite a few others but they aren't really relelvent to this thread.

Too many people assume the survey and legal process will cover all avenues. It doesn't. You have to ask questions and find out about things yourself, before making the offer that reflects the price you feel is fair to pay.

You say you have put in a high end offer and now are concerned about things you really should have asked about pre-offer and priced into your offer.

suebfg

yes, it's buyer beware and this buyer is being aware.