Please help - bad survey and electricians report

rf87_2

Hi,
This is the first time I have posted here but I read from afar I just wanted to get your expert opinions on a problem I am having.
We have been in the process of purchasing our first property (3 bed house) but have recently received a bad survey report
Most of it was to get certificates for all utilites so came up as urgent which I believe is pretty standard.

Electrics: Installation wired in older type plastic covering cable. Rewiring fuses, poor condition and age means they advise system is checked before exchange.

Gas: Certificate required.

Water: Internal stopcock reaching end of life and needs renewal, signs of deterioration in plumbing - investigations required.

Central heating: Advise servicing and investigations.

Water heating: Investigations

Roof - Inadequate insulation


We therefore asked for safety certificates for gas and electricity but the sellers declined so we sent our own electrician for his professional opinion. He advised us that that the house needed complete rewiring and most wires don't have earthing. He quoted us around £4500 for rewiring, NOT including redectorating.
We tried to negotiate cost and asked if we could work together to find a solution but the seller was very unreasonable and said they were going to put the house back on the market with immediate effect.

What is your advice? We moved out of our rented flat into parents house as we thought we would be moving in two weeks so are in no immediate hurry to wait for another property. Are we being unreasonable in asking for a reduction in price? (our initial offer was accepted at asking price?)
Shouldn't the sellers be concerned by the information weve found and try to be more reasonable? I want to forget about the property but my husband wants to still go ahead...advice would be much appreciated

Alias_Omega

Hi Op, I have broken your worries down.

rf87 wrote: »

Electrics: Installation wired in older type plastic covering cable. Rewiring fuses, poor condition and age means they advise system is checked before exchange.

Whilst the electrics may not be up to 17th Edition Electrical Standards, they were probably up to 15th Edition Standard, and have worked perfectly fine since. Just because the regulations have changed for new installations, does not make any old installations any more unsafe.


My worry would be if the house had an RCD, or in the absence any RCD sockets etc.


Unsure on the wiring front, however posting some pictures in the DIY area of this forum may give you advice.


Electrician Report - You've tasked someone to go give you a report, and they have quoted exactly that. It may cost £4500 to rewire, however is this essentially what is required?

rf87 wrote: »

Gas: Certificate required.

Gas Safety Certificate. Can vary from £40-£100. Tie this in with a service of the boiler.

rf87 wrote: »

Water: Internal stopcock reaching end of life and needs renewal, signs of deterioration in plumbing - investigations required.

Easy peasy...or as they say. Isolate in the street, then replace. Again, your plumber above will be happy to swap like for like.

rf87 wrote: »

Central heating: Advise servicing and investigations.

As above

rf87 wrote: »

Water heating: Investigations

I assume your surveyor had no idea if it was a combi or it had a immersion heater. What did you find?

rf87 wrote: »

Roof - Inadequate insulation

Just because regulations have changed, it does not mean its any more unsafe. The EU now wants to save energy, "insulate your house, save gas...etc"..


Many grants to help you out with this.




Regards,


AO

kiddakidda

£4500 to rewire a 3 bed :eek:

Gold plated sockets and switches as standard?

It's not the seller that needs to worry, he will know that the electrics are not up to modern standards but it doesn't mean they are unsafe.

Same with the gas central heating installation.

As buyers you have to consider if it is worth the risk or whether you have the funds to attack these type of improvements.

The rest:

Loft Insulation = half a day's job

Stop Tap = plumber would do in a few hours, signs of deterioration could only refer to the areas visible to the surveyor so plumber to check plumbing system at the same time.

It's not unreasonable to ask the vendor for a reduction but be prepared that he may stand firm. If he does then you and hubby will need to decide if the property is worth the risk (although it sounds as if hubby is happy to proceed )

marlot

It's a negotiation.

You're entitled to ask for a reduction.

The seller is entitled to say no.

You both need to decide if there is a deal you're happy with. If not, the deal collapses.

robatwork

Can you post the electrician's report here - or at least the bits that refer to the consumer unit and earthing?

The rest of the survey is bog standard.

You could offer to go half and half on the electrics - if they refuse it depends on your living situation. You may feel happy living with parents and hb.... well he still wants to go ahead!

dj1471

robatwork wrote: »

Can you post the electrician's report here - or at least the bits that refer to the consumer unit and earthing?

I wonder whether the electrician actually performed a full inspection or just gave it a once-over...

In any case, they're inclined to over-state issues because they want paying to re-wire.

If you haven't had a proper inspection, get an EICR done. Bottom line - is it safe? If so, don't worry about it but consider upgrading at your expense post-completion. If not, insist that the vendor gets it sorted prior to completion.

You can try to negotiate but your offer should have taken the likely age and condition of the electrics into account.

AdrianC

Anybody could have seen the fusebox was rewirable-fuse before making an offer, and changing it would almost inevitably turn into a complete rewire, so I don't think trying to get that cost off is realistic.

As has been said, some of those are quick and easy jobs. Others are almost inevitable given what's implied about the modernity of other fittings. Did the EA details mention it "benefitting from" modernisation or any of that similar guff? What did the EPC say about insulation? How's it priced compared to comparable but freshly refitted places?

Honestly, I don't think you've got much grounds for renegotiation. That's really for stuff that Joe Average can't be expected to have seen for himself.