Buyers' Queries

harrys_dad

Filling in holes and making good is a ridiculous request, especially as you are probably only going to take them down the night before you move. Why are you taking the poles with you may I ask, will they fit your new place? Taking all light fittings with you is also a little unusual, and clearly if you do take them the wiring needs to be left safe. Gas and electrical safety certificates are unnecessary for any house that is not let out. It may be that your buyers are trying it on to persuade you to leave more stuff.

When I sold my last house for a rock bottom price (he offered exactly the "offers above" price down to the last £50) my buyer asked if I was leaving the carpets (£2000 worth of fairly new fitted carpet all ro9und the house). I told him he could have them for £500 and he said no. He assumed I would leave them anyway. I had them taken up (cost me £20) and put in the basement of my new house. Three years later I had to take them to the tip as they had gone rotten. "Nose" and "spite face" come to mind, but I am still pleased he did not get them for nothing, cheapskate!

There also appears to be an industry around whereby solicitors get commission for helping sell "indemnity insurance". Shame we cannot buy "indemnity insurance" against being ripped off by solicitors and Estate Agents.

Prothet_of_Doom

Dukesy wrote: »

Seriously?! For the sake of a hundred quid or so, I would always have an electrician in to sort this, largely in order to save issues down the line. If OP gets it wrong, the problems could be enormous - if they are supposed to make good, and the new owner electrocutes themselves or whatever as a result of the OPs electrical DIY, I would bet that OP will find this coming back on them. I REALLY think that people should not play with electrics.

I'd probably reply....I am not taking any lights with me, but your buyer is welcome to have an electrical safety survey at thier own cost...and leave them confused.


Because I've already replaced them with a cheap rose, cable and socket.

But yes, there are alot of people who I wouldn't trust with wiring, which I found out after I had my house rewired, that previous owners had added sockets via a few 'interesting' spurs, off spurs, off spurs.

:eek:

Dukesy

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

Technically it's no more complicated than wiring a plug *.


* on the other hand : wiring a plug is something that people don't seem capable of, which is why appliances have to come with them fitted, and is the main reason why house fires have decreased over the last 15 years.

And this is precisely why I don't think people should play with electrics, ESPECIALLY when it is someone else who will be on the receiving end of that DIY.

tiggerkid

harrys_dad wrote: »

Filling in holes and making good is a ridiculous request, especially as you are probably only going to take them down the night before you move. Why are you taking the poles with you may I ask, will they fit your new place? Taking all light fittings with you is also a little unusual, and clearly if you do take them the wiring needs to be left safe. Gas and electrical safety certificates are unnecessary for any house that is not let out. It may be that your buyers are trying it on to persuade you to leave more stuff.

When I sold my last house for a rock bottom price (he offered exactly the "offers above" price down to the last £50) my buyer asked if I was leaving the carpets (£2000 worth of fairly new fitted carpet all ro9und the house). I told him he could have them for £500 and he said no. He assumed I would leave them anyway. I had them taken up (cost me £20) and put in the basement of my new house. Three years later I had to take them to the tip as they had gone rotten. "Nose" and "spite face" come to mind, but I am still pleased he did not get them for nothing, cheapskate!

There also appears to be an industry around whereby solicitors get commission for helping sell "indemnity insurance". Shame we cannot buy "indemnity insurance" against being ripped off by solicitors and Estate Agents.

We are only removing light shades, not anything like bulb holders. So where such removal requires flex or similar to be fitted, we offered to do it ourselves.

With regards to curtain rails, we are removing them because they are adjustable but I do agree that the request to fill holes is a little unusual because every time we moved, we were left with holes after poles were removed and I understand that people only do it practically the day/night before they move out, so never expected to have them filled. I see it as a simple DIY jobs. Not great that you have to do it but, equally, it's not a purchase of a brand new house.

hazyjo

So surely your solicitor will just reply with 'not applicable' next to the lights question. Why would a new flex need fitting if you're just taking off a shade?! Seems contradictory...

Jx

tiggerkid

hazyjo wrote: »

So surely your solicitor will just reply with 'not applicable' next to the lights question. Why would a new flex need fitting if you're just taking off a shade?! Seems contradictory...

Jx

There are a couple of instances where removal of lights will basically leave wires. For example, the light in the living room is flush fitted, so in those cases, we offered to replace with flex/ceiling rose or similar. Buyer not happy with us doing it ourselves.

Dukesy

tiggerkid wrote: »

There are a couple of instances where removal of lights will basically leave wires. For example, the light in the living room is flush fitted, so in those cases, we offered to replace with flex/ceiling rose or similar. Buyer not happy with us doing it ourselves.

I'm really not surprised - a large amount of the wiring in our house when we bought it was a DIY effort and it was truly nightmarish. A lot of it really was an accident waiting to happen. For us that was ok, as we were buying it as a renovation project and were therefore going to rewire anyway, but for someone who is buying a presumably 'done' house, the worry of potentially dodgy wiring is likely to be something they really don't want to have to deal with.

Is it truly necessary that you remove these flush fittings?

hazyjo

Classed as fitted lights then, not 'shades'?

Can't you just leave them?! Are they particularly expensive?

I'm sure most wouldn't be happy with you doing it yourselves as they don't know your competence.

Jx

ValHaller

Dukesy wrote: »

Seriously?! For the sake of a hundred quid or so, I would always have an electrician in to sort this, largely in order to save issues down the line. If OP gets it wrong, the problems could be enormous - if they are supposed to make good, and the new owner electrocutes themselves or whatever as a result of the OPs electrical DIY, I would bet that OP will find this coming back on them. I REALLY think that people should not play with electrics.

Dukesy wrote: »

And this is precisely why I don't think people should play with electrics, ESPECIALLY when it is someone else who will be on the receiving end of that DIY.

Ridiculous.

You acknowledge that you are not competent with electrics - and fair play to you for acknowledging your own limitations.

But it is completely OTT to infer that everyone else is limited in the ways that you are.

Your trouble is that you are so blinded by your own lack of competence that you are actually not competent to see that other people might be competent. On the DIY forum we see people come along with their electrical problems and generally you can tell. There are some who are fine and others who are not. And really it depends on individual competence, not on some blanket rule from a scaredy cat.

tiggerkid

hazyjo wrote: »

Classed as fitted lights then, not 'shades'?

Can't you just leave them?! Are they particularly expensive?

I'm sure most wouldn't be happy with you doing it yourselves as they don't know your competence.

Jx

Most places are shades, some fitted lights. Shades aren't likely to pose concerns. Just fitted lights.

The irony is that even if we do leave those fitted lights, we did the fitting ourselves, so I don't really see how that would be different from removing them and replacing with flex/rose ourselves