expectations of heating

Kitten868

Is it normal that property to buy doesn't have central heating or a boiler? Seems like every house we look at doesn't have them. I just now accept that we will have to fork out thousands when we move in and have all the floors pulled up. But everyone I talk to seem shocked by it. So now I'm not sure if I'm being silly buying one.

Thanks for any help xxx

AdrianC

It's very normal in flats. In houses, it's less common.

But it's not as if it's going to come as a surprise part-way through the legals - or when you move in. So place your offer in the expectation and knowledge of what a CH installation will cost. Then be thankful you have a brand new system and boiler that meet your exact requirements, instead of wondering if it's on its last legs...

Kitten868

That's what I was thinking. Thank you for your answer. It's all houses. The most recent one doesn't have a boiler but does have a larder, a coal shed and an outdoor loo so it's very much stuck in the past anyway. I think the larder as a selling point haha x

Peter333

I think that's weird. I have never known a place we have bought have no heating system. I can't imagine it, unless it's maybe a 200 year old listed building that's not been modernised - ever!

Very unusual IMO.

That said, most properties will require the boiler repairing or replacing not long after moving in. Sometimes, even the whole heating system. Not many people will spend money on a new boiler, and heating system, and then move house!

It's a costly thing to repair or replace, so many people don't bother, and will put up with the not-so-great boiler/heating system until they move. Especially as they know there's a high chance they'll have to spend money on the heating system in the next house!

Edited to say kitten, from your last post ^^^ it sounds like you are looking at fairly old houses. Coal shed! Larder! Outdoor Loo! Bet they're solid houses though eh

AdrianC

Kitten868 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking. Thank you for your answer. It's all houses. The most recent one doesn't have a boiler but does have a larder, a coal shed and an outdoor loo so it's very much stuck in the past anyway. I think the larder as a selling point haha x

RM link...?

Glover1862

Have you checked if gas is available in the area? Still some places without supply and some in quite built up areas.

AdrianC

Glover1862 wrote: »

Have you checked if gas is available in the area? Still some places without supply and some in quite built up areas.

We aren't on mains gas.
We have a gas cooker and a gas central heating boiler.

missbiggles1

Glover1862 wrote: »

Have you checked if gas is available in the area? Still some places without supply and some in quite built up areas.

You don't need mains gas for central heating.

Davesnave

It sounds as if you're looking at the lower end of the price range for the size of house/area you want; hence you see a lot of unmodernised property which may offer value at the right price.

Back in the1970s I bought a house like that and had all the joys of adding modern facilities, but I could have dodged those problems by buying in a less salubrious road. Later, I was glad I'd given those other houses a miss,

Recently my daughter did likewise, taking my advice to 'buy the worst house on the best road' almost literally, but I'm sure it'll pay off for her, just as it did for me. She now has a kitchen and a bathroom!:rotfl:

Waterlily24

Davesnave wrote: »

It sounds as if you're looking at the lower end of the price range for the size of house/area you want; hence you see a lot of unmodernised property which may offer value at the right price.

Back in the1970s I bought a house like that and had all the joys of adding modern facilities, but I could have dodged those problems by buying in a less salubrious road. Later, I was glad I'd given those other houses a miss,

Recently my daughter did likewise, taking my advice to 'buy the worst house on the best road' almost literally, but I'm sure it'll pay off for her, just as it did for me. She now has a kitchen and a bathroom!:rotfl:

Same here but it was in the late 60s, gutted the place completely and when we put it on the market a few years later the estate agent said it was a housewife's dream lol. We've always bought bad condition, good area and done it up. Except once when it was brand new.

lincroft1710

I came across loads of houses in the 1970s which hadn't or had only just had bathrooms added, but I thought that by the 1990s all houses would have bathrooms. Obviously I was wrong!