Who pays for the inspections of gas, heating, electricity, plumbing and pest control

meg0210

Hi there,
I am buying a property for the first time in my life and have a lot of questions to ask. First, I have got the survey report which advised me to do some inspections , including the gas, heating, plumbing instations and electricity. Is it "standard" for change of occupancy? If so, is it me who should bear the cost? IF so, how much will that be? Should they be done before exchange of contracts?May I renegotiate the price if something is wrong with the utility services? Besides, the surveyor saw some vermin traces and recommended me to have a pest control inspection. I would like to ask the vendor to pay for it, is it reasonable to do so?
Your advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

casualwalks

You pay for any inspections (if you want them). I'd do this before exchange, otherwise if there are significant problems you can't back out or renegotiate. You are free to try and negotiate a reduction or ask the vendor to rectify the problem, but they are under no obligation to do so.

HappyMJ

The buyer bears the cost. You buy what you see. You offer a price assuming everything doesn't work and needs inspections and a small repair. If you don't know how to evaluate what you see then you pay someone to tell you or you just take the risk. A new boiler costs £1,000...the house costs £150,000 it's a small part of the purchase price.

Pest control (depending on pest) will cost around £100 to resolve. It isn't much and makes little difference on what you offer. If the property is built from wood and there are termites then walk away but most UK built properties are made from brick and block with wood only used for joists and upstairs flooring which really wouldn't cost a huge amount if needed to be replaced.

dimbo61

As a first time buyer you need to look at the big picture
1 How old is the property
2 how old is the central heating and electrics
3 how well looked after is the place?
4 Can you tell if the vendor has spent any money on the place in the last 5/10 years
5 If you dont know then ask for help
Do you know a good plumber or timber expert , do the sockets, lights, switches look old and dangerous
6 Have you got the money to pay for a new central heating system, complete rewire etc
Buyer beware

rrf494g

such reports often "suggest" more specialist surveys as this is a way of reducing their responsibility regarding the property. They "should" take some legal responsibility for the professional advice they give -BUT- many just list further specialist surveys that are recommended so that if there is a problem, they can deflect any claim against themselves. The level of responsibility the surveyor should take on clearly depends on what type (how expensive) a survey you have done.

These recommendations are not very helpful for the potential buyer and is something that is best discussed before the original survey is commissioned. The aproach often taken by the "surveyor" (who may or may not have any relevent qualification) is that they suggest specialist surveys for anything that could possibly be wrong.

This leaves the buyer in a position of either paying for, potentially, 4 or 5 more surveys, or asking tradesmen to inspect "for free", but with then with a clear motivation to find a "problem" that needs to be fixed.

A reasonable question to ask your surveyor is, "Why specifically do you suggest this particular specialist survey?" and you should expect a clear answer.

good luck
regards

googler

meg0210 wrote: »

I have got the survey report which advised me to do some inspections , including the gas, heating, plumbing installations and electricity.

That's practically every system in the house. WHY did the surveyor suggest that all these be surveyed? What's the exact wording in the survey? Is the surveyor merely including a blanket recommendation to do this to absolve themselves from all liability should there be something wrong, or does the surveyor have genuine concerns?

G_M

as googler says, the surveyor may simply be saying in effect "I am not an electrician/gas engineer/pest specialist therefore I don't know if the elctrics/gas/pests is an issue or not. To find out, have a specialist survey done".

OR he may be saying "Hmm, the elecrics look really old and dodgy to me - that fuse box is an ancient design - better get an expert in".

It depends on the exact wording. If in doubt, ring him and ask which! You've paid him, so you are entitled to have his report explained to you!

meg0210

Thank you very much for the advice. For some of them, the surveyor did not say there was a particular problem. So, does it mean it is just a "standard clause"?

G_M

meg0210 wrote: »

Thank you very much for the advice. For some of them, the surveyor did not say there was a particular problem. So, does it mean it is just a "standard clause"?

Probobly. But as I said in my previous post, ring him and ask!

This is a major purchase. Make sure you understand everything. And when you don't, ask the professional involved (whether your solicitor, surveyor, mortgage adviser etc).