FTBs concerned by HomeBuyers Report!

lmitchell

Hi guys,

We've just received our HomeBuyers Report back on the property we're looking to purchase. Let me give you a bit of lowdown - it's a 3-bed semi-detached, former council house and was built in the 1930s. We have a mortgage offer with no retentions or conditions of the offer.

We've received 3 red warnings and about 10-12 amber warnings on our report. Is 3 red warnings on a 1930s house pretty reasonable?

The red warnings are the following:

Electricity
Cables are of mixed age and fuseboard replaced with miniature circuit breakers and residual current protection. There should be a test certificate dating from when the fuseboard was replaced. The fuseboard is labelled as last tested in 2007 and will need testing again in 2017.

There are some loose switch covers in need of attention. There are some untidy cables to the underfloor heating and no separate fuse-ways for these. The external power box in the shed is not labelled as tested.

An electrical safety test is recommended.

Water
There is an external stopcock, which appears to be joint with the adjoining property with an internal stopcock in the airing cupboard. (Is a joint external stopcock normal for this type of house?) We have not traced and confirmed the line of the underground pipe. The material for the underground pipe could not be determined but if lead is present then it will be nearing the end of its useful life.

Heating
There is a low-pressure central heating system with pressed steel radiators. The system is some 30 years old and it will be affected by some silting, scaling and corrosion. The boiler will be approaching the end of its useful life.

The system was in operation during the inspection and the radiators became hot but it was not tested.

The wiring and control systems need to be inspected and overhauled. There are separate programmers to each of the heating and hot water systems and there is a broken earth wire in the boiler casing. The boiler flap is taped in position. We recommend a heat deflector be provided over the flue where under the eaves.

A test and overhaul is recommended.


Other concerns in the 'Amber' section include:

Lounge flooring
The lounge flooring appears to be hollow-boarded. We could not raise any boards to allow us to inspect the sub floor void. This is recommended to ascertain the full condition of the floor. If a sub floor inspection is to be undertaken then the permission of the vendor must be obtained for removal of the floor coverings and lifting of boards.

There is no sub floor ventilation. (To me, it would seem the lack of sub floor ventilation could be causing the slight damp in lounge internal wall?) We recommend a sub floor ventilation inspection to confirm the construction and condition of the floor.

Damp
Examination of the walls for evidence of damp with the aid of a dampness meter revealed some readings to the base of the rear walls of the lounge and the kitchen internally, which face south-east.

The damp at the base of the rear wall is not severe but does need attention.

The ground levels to the rear are quite high in relation to the internal floor levels and the rear paving does fall towards the rear wall. Initially we recommend that this be dealt with and the situation monitored to see if there is an improvement. You may wish to expose and check the cavity at the base of the wall.

---

Any guidance or advice you could give us would be MUCH appreciated!

HouseBuyer77

All sounds pretty good to me.

On electrics: Sounds like they got upgraded and crucially, certified, in 2007. Untidy wiring and loose covers aren't ideal but not a major safety issue.

Is the underfloor heating electrical or is it an electrical controller for a heated water system? If the former you should find out when it was installed, as it can be high power draw and if poorly installed (as potentially indicated by the untidy cables and lack of fuse-ways) could cause a fire.

Shed power being uncertified may not a problem. Ask the vendors who installed it and when. If done with the incorrect cable it could overheat or you might put a spade through it when working in the garden. Though if you're not fussed about shed power it's simple to remove (just disconnect the cable at the consumer unit).

On heating: Sounds like a creaking old heating system, but this shouldn't have been a surprise as you presumably saw it when you viewed. Budget to replace but you might get a fair few years out of it yet. Old systems can be very inefficient but they do keep hanging on and are simpler to repair than newer boilers (assuming you can source the parts). You might consider replacing purely for the energy savings.

On water: Shared stopcock sounds a little odd, perhaps the water board will upgrade it to two seperate ones if asked?

On damp/flooring: I guess if you lift the floor there's a possibility it's a right mess down there. Don't know too much about this area hopefully another poster will have some better advice

lmitchell

HouseBuyer77 wrote: »

All sounds pretty good to me.

On electrics: Sounds like they got upgraded and crucially, certified, in 2007. Untidy wiring and loose covers aren't ideal but not a major safety issue.

Is the underfloor heating electrical or is it an electrical controller for a heated water system? If the former you should find out when it was installed, as it can be high power draw and if poorly installed (as potentially indicated by the untidy cables and lack of fuse-ways) could cause a fire.

Shed power being uncertified may not a problem. Ask the vendors who installed it and when. If done with the incorrect cable it could overheat or you might put a spade through it when working in the garden. Though if you're not fussed about shed power it's simple to remove (just disconnect the cable at the consumer unit).

On heating: Sounds like a creaking old heating system, but this shouldn't have been a surprise as you presumably saw it when you viewed. Budget to replace but you might get a fair few years out of it yet. Old systems can be very inefficient but they do keep hanging on and are simpler to repair than newer boilers (assuming you can source the parts). You might consider replacing purely for the energy savings.

On water: Shared stopcock sounds a little odd, perhaps the water board will upgrade it to two seperate ones if asked?

On damp/flooring: I guess if you lift the floor there's a possibility it's a right mess down there. Don't know too much about this area hopefully another poster will have some better advice

Underfloor heating: Unsure as to whether it's the former or latter - would it be prudent to get the Estate Agents to ask the vendor or our solicitor?

Shed power: Same, I guess a quick question to the EA or solicitor should get them on the case with the vendor

Heating: Yes, we were aware that the boiler was rather old. It's not been serviced for 9 years which we'd ideally like them to do before exchange.

Water: Yes, it did sound somewhat odd but I guess it's rare that we will be using the external stopcock?

Lounge floor: It would appear the hollow boarded floor is surrounded by solid floors from all sides so our surveyor says obtaining ventilation will be nigh-on impossible. He's suggested a solid floor for the living room in the future?

lmitchell

Actually, in the Property Information Sheet it states there are no electrical certificates despite the fuseboard being labelled as last tested in 2007.

Are we at liberty to liaise with the EA and have a qualified electrician check things over?

lmitchell

Quick bump - just seeking a little reassurance as we're feeling a tad out of our depth at the mo!

HouseBuyer77

Underfloor heating: Unsure as to whether it's the former or latter - would it be prudent to get the Estate Agents to ask the vendor or our solicitor?

Shed power: Same, I guess a quick question to the EA or solicitor should get them on the case with the vendor

Ask the EA to ask the vendor or the vendor directly. Your solictor will send their solicitor a letter, it will take ages!

Water: Yes, it did sound somewhat odd but I guess it's rare that we will be using the external stopcock?

Well if the internal one is seized you will need to use the external one so the internal one can be sorted.

I also like to shut off at the external and then open the taps if I'm leaving the house for a week or more in winter (if you just shut off at the internal and it freezes before the internal you'll still have a massive water leak). You can't do this with a shared one.

It's not been serviced for 9 years which we'd ideally like them to do before exchange.

I suspect they'll ask you to pay for the service.

Actually, in the Property Information Sheet it states there are no electrical certificates despite the fuseboard being labelled as last tested in 2007.

It may be they lost the certificate, or it may be the installer slapped a sticker on it to give it the impression of a certified install when it actually isn't. You need to look at the sticker, does it mention an inspection or test? It should say which electrician conducted it, google them. If they're still around check to see if they have the proper 'Part P' registration for electrical installs. You could even try phoning them and see if they have a copy of the old certificate (not all that likely but no harm in trying)

Are we at liberty to liaise with the EA and have a qualified electrician check things over?

Sure you can ask for whatever you like. The vendor is at liberty to refuse but an electrical check is perfectly normal so rather unlikely they would. You however would be expected to pay. A proper check takes several hours so they're not super cheap (I paid £180 for mine, electrician was in the property for 4 hours and had to write up a detailed report following that).

lmitchell

HouseBuyer77 wrote: »

Ask the EA to ask the vendor or the vendor directly. Your solictor will send their solicitor a letter, it will take ages!



Well if the internal one is seized you will need to use the external one so the internal one can be sorted.

I also like to shut off at the external and then open the taps if I'm leaving the house for a week or more in winter (if you just shut off at the internal and it freezes before the internal you'll still have a massive water leak). You can't do this with a shared one.


I suspect they'll ask you to pay for the service.


It may be they lost the certificate, or it may be the installer slapped a sticker on it to give it the impression of a certified install when it actually isn't. You need to look at the sticker, does it mention an inspection or test? It should say which electrician conducted it, google them. If they're still around check to see if they have the proper 'Part P' registration for electrical installs. You could even try phoning them and see if they have a copy of the old certificate (not all that likely but no harm in trying)



Sure you can ask for whatever you like. The vendor is at liberty to refuse but an electrical check is perfectly normal so rather unlikely they would. You however would be expected to pay. A proper check takes several hours so they're not super cheap (I paid £180 for mine, electrician was in the property for 4 hours and had to write up a detailed report following that).

Thanks very much.

The fuseboard was labelled as 'tested' in 2007.

We have asked the EA to query underfloor heating and to ask if the vendor would mind if we arranged an electrician to carry out an electrical check.

Hoploz

That all sounds good to me. Just a lot of bum-covering twaddle about what they did not inspect, and suggestions of what you might want to get somebody else to inspect. Pretty self-explanatory. Get your own checks on things if you want to, but there's nothing there that will prevent you buying at the agreed price or living there fine, although there may be expenses on the boiler before long.

lmitchell

Hoploz wrote: »

That all sounds good to me. Just a lot of bum-covering twaddle about what they did not inspect, and suggestions of what you might want to get somebody else to inspect. Pretty self-explanatory. Get your own checks on things if you want to, but there's nothing there that will prevent you buying at the agreed price or living there fine, although there may be expenses on the boiler before long.

Yeah I had read long ago that HomeBuyers Reports are very much full of scaremongering info to ensure the surveyor can't be taken to task re. future issues.

However, it's all too different when you're sat there reading your own report - lot more worrying!

Do you think a Pre-Purchase Damp Report would be useful? Might be good to get to the bottom of the slight damp in internal walls of the kitchen and living room?

Hoploz

Well the report seems to say that the slight damp is likely to be due to the ground level being quite high on the wall in question. It could be penetrating through the cavity to the inside if there is some old rubble etc inside. Or if there's cavity insulation then perhaps through that.

Tbh it says it s only a little bit so I wouldn't stress about it. Is it possible to reduce the height outside? Eg remove and/or lower paving slabs if it's a patio, or dig out if it's a flower bed etc. or even put in a drainage channel between the hard surface and the wall. Lots of possibilities to consider in the medium term.

Chanes

I'm a nervous buyer but that report wouldn't trouble me at all, I've read some horrors! My only nagging concern would be the stopcock issue that's seems to be a party valve. Everything else is check able and fixable for not so much I would guess. Enjoy the house!