Buying a house- re-negotiate for old/faulty boiler?

minibbb

Morning!

My partner and I are currently buying a terrace house and hope to complete 12/01/14 all being well. When we second viewed the house the owner told us it had a new boiler within the last couple of years. When I was able to access the attic space on our third viewing where the combo is housed I was greeted by an old alpha boiler which was fitted with an external expansion chamber- I spoke to my plumber about this and he said this would have been fitted due to the internal expansion chamber failing.

My solicitor has queried the boiler with the owner and it seems it's actually ten years old. My plumber's opinion was that the combi probably doesn't have much life left in it due to both the brand, age and external expansion chamber. My solicitor has suggested we ask the vendor to pay for a new boiler prior to us buying the house. Is this the normal done thing? I don't want to annoy/upset the vendor as it's a nice house and we are paying a fair price for it, we just don't want to get caught out with a dud boiler when at the time of offering on the house we thought it was a recent one.

Any thoughts/ suggestions gratefully received!

moneyistooshorttomention

Is that "fair price" you agreed still at a fair level bearing in mind boiler cost?

Another take being that: would the house be a bit of a bargain if the price were reduced by around £3,000 and had the newish boiler you thought it had?

Mind you...if a vendor lied to me like that, then I'd be inclined to have a go at getting a price reduction from them as payback for having done so.

somethingcorporate

I think asking for a reduction in these circumstances is perfectly reasonable. Get a price reduction and install your own, otherwise there is little guarantee he'll get a decent one fitted competently.

minibbb

Thankyou for such prompt and helpful replies at this early time of the morning!

We offered asking price on the house as we knew we were one of six people viewing that day and boiler aside it's a cracking little house. It was the owners girlfriend who lives with him who told us it was a two year old boiler so perhaps not necessarily a dishonest answer- certainly misleading at thievery leas though.

I glad it seems reasonable to ask the vendor to stump up the cost for a replacement, the only issue is what do I do if they point blank refuse? Other than pulling out of the purchase I'm not sure we can do much else?

seven-day-weekend

Ask for a reduction of a couple of grand due to misleading information, on the basis that had you have known the boiler was that old you would have offered less for the house. Then get a new boiler when the old one fails and/or is condemned by a Gas Safe engineer.

(Decide beforehand what you are going to do if they refuse!).

somethingcorporate

If it's the right house for you then I'd not consider losing it over the cost of a new boiler if they do point blank refuse but that's down to personal opinion.

Talc1234

You seriously think that the age of the boiler has any effect on the value of the house?

Why didn't you say 'I want to check your boiler' before you offered?

If I was the seller and you told me that you were going to reduce your offer by £3000 because the boiler was old I would laugh in your face before phoning the agent and telling them to put the house back on the market and letting you stew.

Plenty of people offering fully fitted boilers £1000 - £1500 on ebay BTW

tbs624

Bearing in mind that you have already spent out on surveys, solicitor etc only you can really decide whether to still go ahead if the vendor refuses to reduce the price. Much will depend on what their onward situation is.

You could always start by asking for a full reduction and then be prepared to negotiate downwards.

Your plumber may be hoping for some work early in the new year - have had ancient boilers which we've been told are on their way out last for many more years. If no asking price reduction can be agreed, maybe you could get them to cover the cost of a full boiler/system service and report?

If, as you describe it, this is otherwise a "cracking house" ( in the non-structural sense!) then, as somethingcorporate says, you may decide the purchase is still worth going ahead with.

benjus

My former tenants broke the expansion vessel by leaving the filling loop running. My gas fitter installed an external vessel and says the boiler is fine and in no need of replacement. So while you may feel a bit miffed at the fact that it's not as new as you were lead to believe, it could well last for many more years.

makeyourdaddyproud

Talc1234 wrote: »

You seriously think that the age of the boiler has any effect on the value of the house?

Why didn't you say 'I want to check your boiler' before you offered?

If I was the seller and you told me that you were going to reduce your offer by £3000 because the boiler was old I would laugh in your face before phoning the agent and telling them to put the house back on the market and letting you stew.

Plenty of people offering fully fitted boilers £1000 - £1500 on ebay BTW

That's what I was thinking. Plus it's a nice house, probably had undisclosed counter offers to the agent to reassure the vendor that a inflated and amateur round figure reduction is not necessary.

If I was the OP, I wouldn't jeopardise the great deal they already have.

tbs624

Talc1234 wrote: »

You seriously think that the age of the boiler has any effect on the value of the house?

Why didn't you say 'I want to check your boiler' before you offered?

Yes, its up to a buyer to get things checked out but note that the vendor/vendor's girlfriend appears to have given untruthful information on the boiler's age. It's a pity that the OP probably didn't get that confirmed in writing at an early stage if money is tight.

Talc1234 wrote: »

If I was the seller and you told me that you were going to reduce your offer by £3000 because the boiler was old I would laugh in your face before phoning the agent and telling them to put the house back on the market and letting you stew.

Nothing wrong with an attempt to re-negotiate. If completion is due mid Jan, the vendor may not be in a position to "laugh in your face" - their own move may be dependent on a fairly prompt sale.

This "teach you" attitude towards the other party that often seems to prevail from both buyers and sellers really does no one any favours.