Boiler service and electrics testing prior to exchange?

shiny76

jetblack61 wrote: »

Thanks...
...am I right in thinking she's obliged to fix things if they're not safe before the sale? i.e. she is liable prior to the sale completing? So regardless of who pays for the servicing/testing - if anything needs sorting out - is she liable to pay for the work and have it done before we take ownership?

No she's not obligated to pay for anything, but she may pay for the servicing/testing in order to progress the sale.

If she isn't then you could pay for someone to do the checks, she'd obviously need to allow them to enter the property and perform the checks.

If something came back as unsatisfactory then you'd have a good case for re-negotiating the agreed price. However, she doesn't have to accept a reduced price. But at least you'd being buying the property with full knowledge of the condition of the boiler and electrics.

I've just agreed to sell my house and got the boiler serviced and safety tested (along with safety test for the cooker and gas fire). Cost £65. At least gives my buyer 'peace of mind' that everything is safe and in working order

jetblack61

shiny76 wrote: »

At least gives my buyer 'peace of mind' that everything is safe and in working order

This is all we want - we just want to know that it's safe and we're going to be ok with it all! We don't want a big bill having just bought it, and then find out that the wiring is as old as the house and needs re-doing and the boiler is condemned!

It looks like we can ask her to have these things checked, and ultimately await her response. She can only say no - in which case we'll have to swallow the cost ourselves and if there's a problem, renegotiate the price. If there's no problem, then it'll have been money well spent I guess for the peace of mind. Plus, when we come to sell it on, we can provide our buyers with the evidence that we've had it checked when we bought.

arbrighton

jetblack61 wrote: »

The surveyor has listed the electrics as a '3', so I think we could safely say that our offer was subject to a satisfactory survey, and this is not satisfactory.

There is another issue with the place which we're in the process of dealing with and that is potential asbestos in the artex ceilings. Have gone to the vendor and asked her to have that tested given that the kitchen ceiling needs repairing from a previous leak.

You can see that the boiler servicing, the electrics being tested and the asbestos being tested is adding up to an unexpected amount we may have to find, having practically given her the asking price for the property (rejected lower offers).

I guess we'll find out soon enough what she's prepared to pay for and what she's not...we ultimately want to make sure we're getting a safe house to live in...not too much to ask?! :embarasse

Yes, but no house is perfect. If it's too much of a stretch, or you are not prepared to do work, walk away and buy a new build.
The repeat survey and extra conveyancing may be less than you *may* have to spend to do these works on "potential" problems. BTW, a boiler service is less than £100, unless parts etc are needed, and an electrical test is similar.

nomoneytoday

IMHO the Part P regs change regularly, and so the electrics are unlikely to be up to 2012's code

My surveyor said to look at wiring on a house back in 1997. We lived in for a decade without issue..

vivster

We had the electrics tested after the survey noted that the consumer unit was old. We organised and paid for the check, with the vendor's consent and cooperation.

We just did it for 'belt and braces' reasons and to reassure ourselves it was okay. But it came back 'unsatisfactory' and the electrician identified quite a few urgent and serious faults. We felt the house was priced at the high end, so we negotiated a retention with the sellers to cover the cost of getting the most serious wiring issues rectified. We compromised on the actual figure, but they didn't really quibble, and what we're getting from them covers the major stuff, plus the VAT.

It all depends on the state of the property, and if it's been priced to reflect the amount of work needed, your position, their position etc. Bear in mind the regulations change all the time, so the electrician will find things to rectify, but he should give you an overall satisfactory/unsatisfactory rating.

societys_child

jetblack61 wrote: »

. Plus, when we come to sell it on, we can provide our buyers with the evidence that we've had it checked when we bought.

Yes but if it's a couple of years or more, your future buyers may ask you to have them checked - again . . .

When I bought the house I currently live in, the boiler had been fitted just over 3 years, I was happy with that. Of course a new boiler is no guarantee that the rest of the CH system is any good - ha-ha what a mess . .

Got a sparky mate (part p etc) had a look at the electrics (after I'd bought and sort of moved in) . . Does "Nah, nowt wrong wi' that" mean it passed? :rotfl:

... but the plumbing :eek: now there was a disaster waiting to happen, in fact it already had, in a couple of places not saying you should get that checked as well though.

mpet

Thing is - even if the vendor has the boiler serviced for you - it's no guarantee, it won't break down in a couple of months time. We've always had our boiler regularly serviced (under a service contract), but it has developed several faults over it's life, which have involved various replacement parts (all covered by the service agreement). If your vendor won't pay for a service, then it may just be easier to pay for a maintenance agreement when you move in( assuming the boiler is not too old) and that way you are covered if anything goes wrong.

With regard to the electrics - I don't think I've ever bought a house where the survey hasn't mentioned it has an 'old consumer unit'. You mention that the vendor has never had the electrics checked - why would they unless they had a problem, or the wiring was obviously dangerous.

I know you don't want to get any nasty suprises with large bills for electrics/boiler work, but unfortunately home ownership does attract large bills from time to time.

cotleigh

Boilers don't actually need much "servicing" in the sense that a car does.

A gas safety check (like is the law for rented houses) would just tell you that it isn't leaking fumes or gas, and was installed correctly. It would be no guarantee that the boiler wouldn't break down a month later. The age of the boiler is a better indicator of its likely life - although its still a matter of luck - one might last 20 years, another 7 years.

Rather like an MoT test on a car: it tests for safety-related stuff (rusting chassis, brakes, steering, lights, etc) but says nothing about whether the car's engine is clapped out or not.

Electrics - the age and type of the consumer unit is a guide to when the place was last updated. If it's still got an actual "fuse box" rather than circuit breakers, its pretty old. The style and condition of the light switches and sockets is also an indication of likely age of the electrical system, although people can obviously just change the fronts, making this less than 100% reliable!

Notmyrealname

jetblack61 wrote: »

Thanks...

...am I right in thinking she's obliged to fix things if they're not safe before the sale? i.e. she is liable prior to the sale completing? So regardless of who pays for the servicing/testing - if anything needs sorting out - is she liable to pay for the work and have it done before we take ownership?

No she is not liable. If you want to make it a condition of the sale, you need to instruct your solicitor.