Help need - buying a house

savingman

Hello,
I am buying a 1930's house. our offer has been accepted.
I was wondering what all thing I should be careful for? I was told by my friend that I should insist for electric and gas certificate (?) as one of the relative of owner do some sort of building work so there is a possibility that they might have cut few corners. My friend adviced me that although we can't get everything checked but i should ask seller to get these certificates.
Another thing that is bothering me a lot and need your advice.
at the moment loft is partly boarded and loft access is from bathroom. I think that I should get this changed to landing area (before we move in) otherwise steam will escape to loft and damage stuff there.
I am planning a below:
get it fully boarded , change access to landing area.install pulldown ladder access. I can spend some money but I don't want to spend lots of money before going in.
my question is am i on right track? do i need to do anything else? and how much it costs? We don't have many friends who own houses to advise us.
Another thing I noticed that in loft there are wodden pillers all over the place (for support the roof. someone said that a builder should be able to easily remove the pillers and make sure that the balance is not disturbed and we can have more space in loft. someone else suggested that it have to be in consultation with architect
what is the best way to aproach and how much it will cost (roughly) for a 3 bedroom flat.
Agent has arranged a builder to visit the property tomorrow evening. If you give me few idea i can ask him to look into this.
Any reply is much appreciated
thanks in advance

mije1983

You can insist for the certificates, but they don't have any requirement to provide them. If they won't provide them what are you going to do? Pull out? If you are worried about it, then you can always offer to pay for it before exchange.

I would have thought that if a relative had done the work, it is highly likely to be of good standard (depending on age of course). After all, would you do a shoddy and possibly dangerous job for a relative that had to live in the place?

If you've got a builder going in tomorrow, then just ask them to look at your loft idea and see if it is feasible and the cost. He'll have a much better and more accurate idea than some randoms on the internet who haven't seen the property.

G_M

savingman wrote: »

I am buying a 1930's house.
.... insist for electric and gas certificate (?) as one of the relative of owner do some sort of building work so there is a possibility that they might have cut few corners.
If YOU want to get the gas & electrics checked, then YOU employ a gas engineerand sparkie to do a report for you.

Personally, I'd inspect the Consumer Unit (fuse box) myself. If it is an old-fashioned type with fuse wire, I'd simply assume the property eeds re-wring and budget £1-2K for this. If it is a modern unit with trip switches, I'd be happy. See http://www.the50plus.co.uk/tech_support/UK_fuseboxes-consumer_units.pdf

Same with boiler - how old is it and is there a service history? If not, get it inspeced.

My friend adviced me that although we can't get everything checked but i should ask seller to get these certificates.
If the seller has them (unlikely - most people don't) then great. If not, its down to you to pay for inspections.

Another thing that is bothering me a lot and need your advice.
at the moment loft is partly boarded and loft access is from bathroom. I think that I should get this changed to landing area (before we move in) otherwise steam will escape to loft and damage stuff there.
Rubbish.
1) just mak sure the loft hatch is insulated as it should be to stop heat loss, and that will prevent vapor rising too
2) some minimal vapour in the attic is no problem if the attic is properly ventilated - checking that is much more important!
I am planning a below:
get it fully boarded , OK - good for storing junk and moving around. Make sure it is well insulated too.
change access to landing area.install pulldown ladder access.
No need, but if you want.
I can spend some money but I don't want to spend lots of money before going in.
If money is tight, do it later at your leisure - there may be other things to spend out on once you move in
my question is am i on right track
do i need to do anything else? and how much it costs? We don't have many friends who own houses to advise us.
ring 3 local independant GasSafe engineers if you want gas reports and get quotes
ring 3 local independant NICEIC sparkies if you want electric reports and get quotes

Another thing I noticed that in loft there are wodden pillers all over the place (for support the roof. someone said that a builder should be able to easily remove the pillers and make sure that the balance is not disturbed and we can have more space in loft.
:rotfl:

Please - don't knock your new house down. The supporting beams were put there for a reason!
someone else suggested that it have to be in consultation with architect and Structural Engineer.
what is the best way to aproach and how much it will cost (roughly) for a 3 bedroom flat.
If you must do this, it will be expensive. Since you seemed concerned above about the cost of an attic hatch/ladder, I suggest you give up this idea!
Agent has arranged a builder to visit the property tomorrow evening.
NEVER rely on the agent for independant advice. He works for the seller, not you.
Use your own surveyor, builder, gas engineer etc.
If you give me few idea i can ask him to look into this.
Ask the builder not to bother - he is a mate of the agent and will simply reassure you how easy/cheap everything will be so that you buy the house, which is all the agent cares about.
Any reply is much appreciated
thanks in advance

Cancel the builder.
Employ your own professionals to advise you.