Issues with Survey - How to proceed

outdoorcjc

I'm a first time buyer slightly bewildered by the whole process!

I've had my survey back and it's identified a few 3's, these are that the warm air heating system is at the end of it's serviceable life and that the fuse box does not have a safety device fitted and a new consumer unit should be fitted.

I had expected the comment regarding the heating system, but the fuse box was news to me.

I'm not too concerned at the cost of replacing the fuse box, although I may ask the vendor to contribute through a slightly lower sale price, but my concern is that when I change the fuse box the electrician finds no ends of problems and has to rewire the whole house. So, to avoid surprises I want to have a survey of the electrical system done.

My question is how do I go about arranging this, do I speak to the Estate Agent and ask them to approach the vendor or do I go through my solicitors to speak to the vendors solicitors? If they refuse to allow an electrician access to carry out the survey am I stuck with having to take a chance or can I insist?

Thanks

trulys

Contact the estate agents - they're the people who negotiate the sale. They should be able to arrange things with your vendor. As to whether you can insist they allow an electrician access, idk, but if they want to sell to you, they should allow you to carry out all enquiries you deem necessary before exchange of contracts. If they don't allow it, speak to an electrician anyway and ask his thought on what your survey has brought up. Fitting a safety device is not a difficult task in itself as you say.

m0bov

Ask your surveyor what safety device and why its needed. Ask him why he thinks the heating is end of life. TBH anyone could say those things.

arbrighton

It is fairly common to have an electrical check after the survey, as surveyors are not expert electricians and cannot really comment on the state of the electrics.
You can't insist they allow an electrician access to survey, but they would be foolish not to if it means you are less likely to proceed.
We never objected to gas/ electrical checks when selling, as long as they were at buyers' expense and EA had keys so didn't mean time off work etc. Just a shame the electrician didn't put pendant light fittings back as found and broke a glass light fitting (not expensive) and didn't bother to tell anyone, meaning we had to come back to clear it and fit a new one, having already moved 160 miles away

outdoorcjc

Thanks for the reply's, I'll speak to the estate agent tomorrow once I've spoken to an electrician. Thanks for the advice to double check with the surveyor, hadn't realised that was possible.

m0bov

any update?