Selling Questions

bobobalde

Hi,

I wondered if anybody could shed some light on a question I have.

My wife and I are in the process of selling our house (signs are going up next week) - we had our boiler replaced in 2010, upgraded to a combi system - the guy who did it had done other plumbing work in our house previously and was Gas Safe registered. I have gone through all of our paperwork and I cannot find any kind of bulding regs certificate for the boiler, so I wanted to check what my options are. If i can get back in touch with the fitter can he obtain the neccesary paperwork for me? If I cannot get in touch with him would an indemnity policy suffice (I am going to need one for my windows as I used a one man band for them who was not FENSA registered).
Also I have never had my boiler serviced since it got fitted, is that really bad? Is it worth getting somebody in to service it before I move?

I appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks.

AndyAtu

Speaking as a buyer rather than a seller, so I may be wrong, but I don't think it is worth going through all the hassle, as you can't really use any of those aspects to drive the price up. A buyer may ask for gas/electricity/boiler safety certificates and try to negotiate a lower price based on you not having these but you can stand you ground and show these factors have already been taken into account when deciding on what the house is worth.

At the end of the day a buyer will want to have the gas/electricity/plumbing/boiler checked before moving in any way.

Mocha61

Have a look on the gas safe register site, it looks like you can get a duplicate copy for a fee.

bobobalde

Thanks for the advice.

I rung Gas Safe and unfortunately the Boiler has never been registered with them and I am struggling to get hold of the fitter.

Gas Safe said I can either get an indemnity policy or have the boiler re-commissioned, so I will probably go for the policy.

In the meantime I've got an engineer coming to carry out a service next week, so I will check with him how much re-commissioning or getting a gas safe cert will cost.

Hoploz

Definitely get a current service certificate at least, as that would confirm it is safe to use. However, some people get their knickers in a twist over lack of historical documents, so ask how much to get it recommissioned and see what the difference is

Windows I wouldn't worry about as they either work or don't work, unlike gas they cannot really be deadly. Anyway, who is to know when they were replaced if you don't actually tell them?

bobobalde

Yes, I think I am going to get one of those Landlord Safety Checks done, even though I'm not a Landlord, I think that would be the best thing for any buyer to see, obviously I would still need to pay the indemnity as well.

Pete9501

bobobalde wrote: »

Yes, I think I am going to get one of those Landlord Safety Checks done, even though I'm not a Landlord, I think that would be the best thing for any buyer to see, obviously I would still need to pay the indemnity as well.

And breath, just stop throwing money away for a moment. Yes if the boiler hasn't been serviced for 5 years and you feel morally bound to ensure your house is safe then have it serviced. Next tell the estate agent so all potential buyers are aware it has just been serviced. If they want anything else they can negotiate.

Windows might be a problem, but we admitted to buyers once that we didn't have a complete set of FENSA certificates as I had fitted french patio doors. Didn't seem to worry them and they bought the house at the asking price.

Dan-Dan

I`m confused , why would you pay for an indemnity for the boiler?

bobobalde

I think its to protect the buyer if the council said it didn't comply with building regs.

To be honest, all of this got thrown at me during a sit down meeting I had when reserving a new build house, by the end of it my head was pickled.

It seems like if I have put a screw in a wall at my house I was supposed to register it and have a certificate for it, we had some electrical sockets put in and I do have the certificate for that, the windows I am not too worried about, you can see they are fine, I doubt a buyer would have any concerns about them, the boiler I think if i get it serviced that would suffice as well, if a buyer wants any more I'm sure I can accommodate them down the line.

Dan-Dan

I think the enforcement period is 6 years , 4 for some work , unlikely your buyer would be chased , these policies are just a con

G_M

Dan-Dan wrote: »

I think the enforcement period is 6 years , 4 for some work , unlikely your buyer would be chased , these policies are just a con

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/responsibilities/buildingregulations/failure

A section 36 enforcement notice cannot be served on you after the expiration of 12 months from the date of completion of the building work, but this does not affect a local authority's (or any other person's) right to apply to the Courts for an injunction for the same purpose.

A local authority might use an injunction for, say, a shopping centre that was built without BR sign-off, to protect the public.

Not on a residential home. (if anyone can quote a single case in England in the last 10 years, I'll eat my ..., no .... maybe not that, but I'll make a donation to charity!