Buying a house with solar panels, vendor refusing to inspect

bris

Landofwood wrote: »

My solicitor recommended the inspection and advised that it should be at the vendor's expense, similar to how the boiler service is generally accepted to be at the vendor's expense.

Then your solicitor is wrong, it all comes down to who wants the sale to go through the most the buyer or the seller.


Sometimes the seller just knows it works so point blank refuse to throw money away on something the know there is no problems with, so that leaves the buyer mostly looking for piece of mind.

Davesnave

Davesnave wrote: »

Some might see them as a carbuncle, spoiling the lines of the building, so would have them removed.

Missus_Hyde wrote: »

Absolutely, I can't bear the things; so I'm afraid that would have put me off buying the house anyway.;)

Why? They're removable, and never the sole means of heating water, except perhaps on very obvious eco-properties.

There are far more important things to consider when purchasing a house than a couple of panels stuck on the roof.

If only I could have found a property with this level of 'problem!'

brightonman123

deduct likely cost of installation new panels from any offer, and mention that too.

agrinnall

brightonman123 wrote: »

deduct likely cost of installation new panels from any offer, and mention that too.

I imagine the vendor has a solicitor who is a good deal brighter than both the OP's solicitor seems to be and you have shown yourself to be from posts such as this one, and would give such a suggestion short shrift.

DRP

Does op know the cost of an inspection?

MisterB1959

I heard that solar panels for hw, could leak onto the roof, causing rain like problems if there were loose tiles or faulty gutters. faulty gutters could then leak so much that they overflow causing horrendous damp problems or even subsidence .......

Martyn1981

MisterB1959 wrote: »

I heard that solar panels for hw, could leak onto the roof, causing rain like problems if there were loose tiles or faulty gutters. faulty gutters could then leak so much that they overflow causing horrendous damp problems or even subsidence .......

I didn't think there was all that much water (water and anti-freeze mix) in the panels/system?

Mart.

Davesnave

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I didn't think there was all that much water (water and anti-freeze mix) in the panels/system?

Mart.

Whooosh!!! :rotfl:

Leeds_House_Mover

We recently sold a house with solar panels and were asked for all sorts of assuarnces and even asked to take them off the roof with about five days to go...mainly because the buyer's solicitor had never dealt with a house with panels so admitted to being nervous and cautious.

We ended up paying £210.00 for an indemnity policy against the buyers having to take them down in the event of changes in planning regulation. Didn't have to pay that amount and could have said no but we were desperate to sell and just wanted to 'get rid'.

I think that until solar panels become much more normal and solicitors on both sides of the process come to see them regularly they'll comtinue to throw up these problems.

But, in an answer to the problem....as stated above, you can always ask and they can always say no.

Davesnave

Leeds_House_Mover wrote: »

We ended up paying £210.00 for an indemnity policy against the buyers having to take them down in the event of changes in planning regulation.

I wonder what % kick-back the solicitor received, or did you live in a conservation area/ AONB, or have a Grade 2 listed property?

If none of the above, the chance of gaining anything by way of the policy would be zero