Queries with the seller - when to let go ?

youandiaredominoes

Hi there

We are in the process of buying our first home. We have some outstanding queries with the seller. The seller inherited the house 3 years ago and has rented it out since.

We have some questions about how frequently neighbours use our side gate to access their gardens. (Our house is end of terrace and there is right of access through our garden). We don't mind too much about the access issue but would be good to know some more info.

Also, the seller says a new boiler was installed 3 years ago but he cannot produce any of the paperwork with regards to its installation or any servicing reports which should have been carried out if he was renting it out.

These may seem like minor issues and I am not sure whether the seller is ever going to produce satisfactory answers. Is there a time with these sorts of queries where you should just drop it and accept unanswered questions. We are very keen to move at the moment.

Just interested to hear everyone else's experience /advice

many thanks!

phill99

If the seller doesn't live there how will he know how often the back gate is used? I'm sure he hasn't asked the tenants to keep a log every time the gate is opened. And to be honest it's academic. If the neighbour has access through your gate he can use it 1000 times a day and there is nothing you can do about it.

In terms of the boiler, ask to get the owner to have it serviced and a landlords safety certificate done to confirm it's safe.

Gonzo1987

I'm not sure how you expect someone who has never been a resident to answer the question re: using access. Plus neighbours could change from someone who rarely uses it to someone who uses it all the time. Is the property still let? If so, ask the tenant.

Ask the owner to have the boiler serviced before you proceed or ask the letting agent if there was one if they have copies of the gas safety.

LEJC

There is no requirement for there to be an inspection certificate in respect of servicing on the boiler...although if the property has been rented there will be a gas safety certificate...which would have been issued within the last year and is valid for 12 months.


I must admit we had a boiler installed 3 years ago and whilst we have the installation paperwork we have not had an annual service as it has not thrown up any problems....as a homeowner or a LL you are not obliged to service the boiler..although you do ignore at your peril.
As a LL you must provide a gas safety certificate that covers all gas appliances in your property and renew it annually
As a homeowner there is no requirement for a gas safety certificate.

TBagpuss

The other issue is 'how big an issue are these things for you?'

The access issue - the owner doesn't libe there so wo't know. The tenants may know, but the neighbours may change (or change their habits) so if having people going through a lot would be an issue, then you may want to rethink our buy.

Boiler - there is no requirement for this to be serviced. You can ask for service records but may not get them.

Personally I would assume that nothing has been done, and that the boiler may not be as new as described, and would plan to get someone in to check and service it as soon as I moved it, for peace of mind. You could ask for access to allow your own engineer to inspect it and report back to you on its condition before you exchange - I would consider this is I were worried that the installation might not have been done professionally.

Is the house empty?

youandiaredominoes

Thanks all.

I will ask some of the neighbours how often they access the gate. I don't think it is that often and it doesn't bother us too much.

With the boiler - I would like it to be working properly for when we move in as we have a little one on the way. What about asking the seller to pay for the service before or after we move in? If before, is this an unncessary delay?

Thanks

laidbackgjr

For me it's not about delays, but about what you would do if the seller said no to paying for the service, would you pull out = big delay finding a new property? - would you buy anyway - in which case you may delay a week or so by trying to negotiate to get the seller to pay, but ultimately no major delay.

Can you not visit the property and check that hot water works and heating kicks in?

As for asking the neighbours - bit pointless, what if they say about once a week, but then you move in and it's ten times a day - you can't do anything about it. Plus neighbours could always change.

LEJC

youandiaredominoes wrote: »

Thanks all.

I will ask some of the neighbours how often they access the gate. I don't think it is that often and it doesn't bother us too much.

With the boiler - I would like it to be working properly for when we move in as we have a little one on the way. What about asking the seller to pay for the service before or after we move in? If before, is this an unncessary delay?

Thanks

I guess your post just highlights differences of opinion...
at the moment you seem more concerned about the prospect of a faulty boiler with a little one on the way...I view it more that a boiler can be fixed if need be ....
the issue as I see it is with the neighbours and the gate accessing your garden so potentially your impending little one will have no privicy or potential safety when eventually playing in the garden if your neighbours dont shut your gate whilst using their right of way to gain access...thats something that with the best will in the world you may never change.

G_M

By law, a gas boiler in a rented property must be inspected for a safety report (NOT a service) every year. Ask for that? Or pay an engineer to inspect.

Pointless asking about the side access as

a) they probobly don't know
b) if they did know, so what? Neighbours might change tomorrow, or same neighbours might change their habits

notanewuser

OP, we've lived in our house for very nearly 9 years. We've never had the boiler serviced. The boiler etc is the same age as the house - 12.5 years.

moneyistooshorttomention

G_M wrote: »

By law, a gas boiler in a rented property must be inspected for a safety report (NOT a service) every year. Ask for that? Or pay an engineer to inspect.

Pointless asking about the side access as

a) they probobly don't know
b) if they did know, so what? Neighbours might change tomorrow, or same neighbours might change their habits

I rather thought that rented accommodation had to have some sort of boiler check every year myself.

Personally, my boiler in my last house was checked every year even though it was my home and I was the only one living in it. It doesn't cost that much after all and, personally, it cost me £60 a shot to have the whole system serviced (boiler/lounge fire/etc).

So, when I came to sell the house, I just put the record of boiler servicing having been done constantly on an annual basis in with all the paperwork for the buyer to see (no big deal...I seem to recall that there was one leaflet that came with the boiler when it was new and my engineer had to initial it each year when he did the yearly service).

EDIT: My own take is I would wonder about the access and, having moved to the part of the country I have now, be wary about the fact that in some parts of the country some sellers do sell off the teeniest/weeniest (quite obviously they WOULDNT be for sale separately) bits of their property on the one hand and, in some parts of the country, the "adverse possession" malarkey runs riot rather. Hence I would be checking if something that obviously came with my property had been "a teeny weeny obviously shouldn't have been sold bit" but it had been on the one hand OR the seller was trying to sell a bit of land they had nicked (rather than being the "proper owner" of) on the other hand.