Help -vendor threatening to call a hault to everything over electrical testing!

Worried

We got the results of our survey back 2 weeks ago. The vendor of the house would not instruct his solicitor until we confirmed all was ok and that we would proceed. There were only minor things to be done, so we confirmed all was ok. I then went about finding someone to test the electrics as is always advised, although there we no indications of any problems in survey. I found someone who can do this next week.

He rang EA to arrange a time to do the test today and they rang vendor. Vendor has apparently hit the roof saying we should have informed them we wanted this done and not said all was ok with the survey, as now he has instructed his solicitor which he wouldn't have done if he'd have known and legal work has started.

I apologised and said it was my mistake and as a FTB I didn't realise I needed to make a specific point of stating we would be having this done, as thought it was a standard thing that would be expected. He isn't refusing to let us have it done at this point, but he is unhappy about it and is saying that if anything is wrong, he won't pay for it and he is going to call a halt to the legal stuff until we say we want to proceed.

I can understand his point a little, if I should have stated that we would be testing the electrics when I confirmed the survey was satisfactory, then I can understand that he is miffed that 2 weeks later we want this done. It is my mistake for not communicating this to the agent, but I honestly thought everyone got it done and they would be expecting it. His reaction however, concerns me, as in the conversation with the EA she also told me that they had a buyer pull out previously, so now I am concerned that his strong reaction might indicate there is something wrong with the electrics that he knows about from the previous sale that fell through.

So I don't know what to do now. If I get the test done and anything comes to light, we face having to foot the bill anyway and can't negotiate, so is there any point in getting the test done if it's going to cause such bad feeling and he is going to halt the paperwork?

The survey did say that there was a modern MK fuse board in the cupboard under the stairs. Does this give any clues as to the state of the electrics?

I'm now scared to broach the subject of CH servicing. The vendor did tell me they'd had the system serviced when we viewed but the property information form says that they haven't had it serviced. I'm scared to mention this now!

Any advice about what to do and if I should let his attitude concern me, or is it my fault for handling it badly!

sortofok

Worry not my friend.

This man is a bully and like all bullies will eventually meet his match.

That day has arrived.

Allow me to calm down a bit and I shall furnish you with a proper reply as to how to get around this problem.

olive84

Stop saying it is your fault! You are about to make the biggest purchase of your life and are completely entitled to check the condition of the house, especially the electrics as these can be costly to repair. The fact that he is being so nasty about it would worry me a bit, and make me more keen to check things out! Do not let this bully dictate to you what you should be doing, and stand up for yourself! Call the EA and be indignant, tell them that you want to get the electrics tested, and whatever the results are you will go from there. Don't let these people bully you.

Worried

But I knew he didn't want to instruct his sol until we had said survey was ok, I should've twigged he would want us to get this testing done before he went ahead and instructed, but I didn't as I thought it was expected that we would be arranging this. Do people always get the testing done, or is it only if some potential problem is indicated in the survey?

ds1980

of course not as he now knows that the faults that will appear with the electrics could stop a potential buyer so he neednt have wasted his money. What you are doing is quite normal. Id tell him I want 5k off or he can go shuv it. He's the one still left with the house not you remember.

Remember this guy is not your friend, all he wants is his money.

Stonk

Your vendor is trying to save himself a few pennies by not getting his solicitor on the case until the last possible moment. Personally, I think this in itself is unreasonable of the vendor, as it will just cause an unnecessary delay. Both sets of solicitors could have been getting things done in parallel, but now yours will have most of the work on your side done, and his will only just be starting work on his side. This is quite unusual.

Not only that, there are questions which MUST pass between your solicitor and his solicitor BEFORE you can definitely say OK to proceed. So, his requirement that he not even instruct a solicitor until you are definitely going ahead is totally unworkable.

It is equally unreasonable of him to refuse to pay for repairs, or to negotiate, or whatever, apparently just out of spite at not getting his own way. OK, so things haven't gone quite the way he wanted them to (purely because what he wanted was ridiculous), but this is a different matter entirely. If he's the kind of bullying oik who behaves like this, then either (a) steer clear; or (b) stand firm and teach him a lesson.

silvercar

you are perfectly entitled to get whatever tests done you like. you are making an expensive purchase, so how far you go is entirely upto you.

you can get the elestrics tested though bear in mind the regulations changed considerable at the beginning of the year. If the report says that it doesn't meet current regulations don't be surprised, it doesn't mean that it is unsafe, in fact it could have been rewired a year ago and still not meet current regs.
A modern fuse box is a good sign.

you could get a CORGI guy in to check the heating and a plumber in to check the flow of water and drains. Some people also check the house for damp.

Two points I would make. It could work out cheaper to expect the odd repair or two than pay for everything to be tested; use the survey as a guide.

Secondly, houses don't suddenly become unsafe because of a change in ownership.

prutter

I'd tell the agents that unless they (and the vendor) start acting more reasonably with you, you will simply start looking for houses elsewhere. It may even be worth actually doing this (without intention of pulling out obviously) - just to put the wind up em a bit.

I'd also remind them that what you're doing is perfectly normal, legal, and understandable for someone making the biggest purchase of their life.

I'd also remind them that him waiting to instruct his solicitor until the last minute is a little fool hardy, as (which has already been mentioned) his solicitor will be behind on everything compared to yours, and, anyone can pull out of the transaction prior to exchange, so him waiting doesn't guarantee anything.

Most solicitors offer insurance to cover someone pulling out. We paid it when selling our flat. It was £50 or so for peace of mind knowing that we'd get our solr fees back if the worst happened. Tell him to get this if he's that worried. Oh, and to grow up!

pinkshoes

If there's nothing wrong with the electrics, then why is he kicking up such a fuss?!?! Do you know why the previous buyers pulled out?

I'd tell him that if he doesn't cooperate, you'll pull out!

paddy's_mum

worried - our house caught fire because of a wiring failure in the immersion heater. I was all alone in the house, I had only been living there three weeks so everything was still unfamiliar, and all the lights failed so I was in total darkness. We are very rural so no chance of street lighting coming to the rescue. I was lucky to escape with my life.

I would never even entertain the idea of buying another property without having the electrical system checked. A check may not uncover a potential fault but at least I would have done all that I could reasonably do.

Your seller is being stroppy, obstructive and frankly stupid. Does he want to effect a sale or not? Please stop feeling and being so apologetic. You have commonsense very firmly on your side.

Put it this way - if you were about to go out to buy a new car, would the salesman say that he couldn't spare the time (because time is money in this game, sonny) for you to have a generous test drive before considering the purchase further. If he told you that the car came with a superduper set of grinchrings or spadopack clamper torque fittings (or whatever gizmo grabbed your attention!) wouldn't you feel perfectly justified in asking the salesman to show them to you?

If your seller did not understand the process fully and made assumptions, that is his lookout not yours. Good luck.

CFC

It's not your fault, it's just one of those things. Naturally, having had a buyer pull out already, he doesn't want to kick the process off and start spending money until negotiations are 100% sorted. Unscrupulous buyers will do this, tie a vendor into expense by starting the proceedings off and then demand the price is dropped or they'll pull out - he may think that you're into this little game. He may have had it done to him by the previous buyer.

On the other hand,you may think he's an unscrupulous vendor who knows there's a problem and is trying to hide it.

Both are possible interpretations of the situation.

You see, there's a lot of money at stake here, so people get wound up. It's natural.

Your actions will be dictated by how much you want the house. Telling him to $%^ it if you really want the house is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

If you are really keen on the house, just apologise for the lack of clarity in communication, ask him to put his solicitor on hold while you get the electrics checked as your surveyor has advised, arrange the check quickly and then make whatever decisions you need off the back of the check. It'll quite likely be fine, a modern fuse box is a good sign