Vendor says it too much hassle to let me test the utilities

Yolina

Mojisola wrote: »

Would you feel the same if the boiler was broken and you'd had to pay out for a new one as soon as you moved in?

Even if you can have it checked before buying there's no guarantee that it won't pack up 3 months later. Boilers will need to be replaced sooner or later, might as well budget for that from the start.
I had taken stuff like new boiler into account when I set my max budget for buying a place so that regardless of where I bought, changing the boiler if required wouldn't have been an issue.

missprice

Hmmm bit of a conundrum this one.
However, see it from sellers point, maybe have to refill whole system and get gas turned on. So gas bill and water bill already (assuming water meter) and possibly several hours. Plus yet more time draining system again after.

From Buyers point, you can then check all you want and probably take another several hours and still when you move in the boiler may fail, the day, day after following week....... 6 years later.
Said this before but even a boiler service is only like a MOT for a car, it shows at that moment in time all was fine, you could drive round the corner and a headlight fail.

If you think there is something wrong before you even buy the place, either offer less ( to cover any costs) or buy something else.

MarkBargain

Can the seller provide any evidence of a recent boiler service? When I bought my house the seller could not, but they agreed to have a service done before completion to prove to me it was working and safe.

dgtazzman

Wouldn't it be an option to write a clause into the contract to put your mind at ease?

Something down the lines of 'if problems are discovered with gas/water/electricity system within X amount of time after completion, vendor will be liable for repair/replacement'?

franklee

MarkBargain wrote: »

Can the seller provide any evidence of a recent boiler service? When I bought my house the seller could not, but they agreed to have a service done before completion to prove to me it was working and safe.

The property was let so there should be gas safety certificates done every year while it was let. The OP should ask to see them so at least he will know how long ago the gas appliances were working OK. No guarantee to their condition now of course but it should help show when they were last checked. Of course that doesn't stop the tenant from trashing them when he was asked to leave.

Maybe the solution is for the OP to reduce his offer to cover worst case repairs.

roddydogs

Does the "Bumf" claim that the CH is working/good order/serviced? have you asked?