Issues after survey

Alducko

Our homebuyers survey came back with quite a few 3s. The worrying ones are lead pipes, missing lintels and windows needing to be replaced, rewiring needed to some extent, dubious flue liners. I suppose my question is whether it is normal to expect the vendor to take some responsibility for any of these? For example, they had some electrical work done in 1998 but no certificate and no testing since. The solid fuel range was fitted in 2001 but no hetas certificate or tests since. Can I ask that they deal with this at least? I expect to have to get quotes for the rest but feel they have some responsibility for not having maintained add they should. Any advice for how to approach this. Also, any experience of having any of these jobs done? Thanks in advance.

anode_seller

As a seller, I would get the Electrical Installation Conditions Report (EICR) done that will cost me £150, but I won't reduce any transaction price or anything else.

I will only tell you about this EICR if it came out all good. I won't tell you before hand that I am going to get this done.

ciderboy2009

OP - it sounds like you are a first time buyer - is this correct?

There is no requirement for homeowners to have regular checks on wiring and/or open fires/woodburners.

Also, and I'm sure that somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not certain that certification for woodburners or electrical work was a requirement that long ago. At the end of the day, if it's all still working at that age then it's unlikely that certification will prove anything now.

The lead pipes are only really a concern if they're throughout the house - on a large number of older houses you will find that the supply pipes are still lead - on the whole the other pipes within the property will have been replaced with copper/plastic over the years. I would only be concerned if all of the internal pipes were also still lead.

Did you get the house at a good price? (ie: a price which included the fact that there were some defects). If so then, if I were the vendor, then I would be unlikely to accept a reduction in your offer. Nor would I offer to get anything fixed for you (I would never recommend getting the vendor to do any work anyway as there's no easy way of telling what has been done and how well).

In my view it sounds like a normal report for any older house.

Alducko

Yes FTB. It's a difficult decision whether we can afford to make good the necessary things with only and £7-10k spare. That's for everything, moving costs, decoration, new carpets. It's tight. Time to get some quotes.

Davesnave

Alducko wrote: »

Yes FTB. It's a difficult decision whether we can afford to make good the necessary things with only and £7-10k spare. That's for everything, moving costs, decoration, new carpets. It's tight. Time to get some quotes.

That's probably the wrong way to view an older property, which will always be higher maintenance and require more of a rolling programme of renewals/repairs. There isn't a fixed amount of money; for most people things are done as and when they become possible or urgent, so there isn't some end point when nothing needs doing.

You are either comfortable with that, or you go for a more modern low -maintenance property.

enjoyyourshoes

Surveyors will protect themselves with justifications of no certificates etc. However many items raised will be merely self-protection. You pejoratively mentioned dubious flue lining, but then said 'no certificate', which is it?

If you are not comfortable with the house or the report merely pull out and look for a house that is new or has all the certificates you want to make yourself happy, I ma sure this can be done by a few questions before arranging viewings.

Rambosmum

Go back, have another look.

Firstly, the windows needing replacing should have been obvious to you on viewing - they are in plain sight and it is easy to spot dodgy seals and ask how old they are. (electrics always come back as a three as surveyors are not electrical engineers).

The range and electrics I wouldn't expect to have been tested since installation/ last altered, that is normal and not of concern.

Lead pipes - sometimes, when new pipes were installed, the old lead ones were left in place and not removed - they've been cut off or clamped and have no water running through them. When you go back, take a look under the sinks and in places where pipes are visible (near the stop !!!!, by the boiler, under the bath - are these all copper?) a surveyor will raise lead pipes as an issue if they see a lead pipe, connected or otherwise.

The lintel - if you are having the windows replaced anyway, it isn't going to be a huge job to get a lintel done at the same time, if it even needs one, older houses often didn't have them due to the windows not being so large.

Nothing you have said would worry me without further investigation, and as a seller, I'd tell you to investigate further if you want but not reduce my price or sort anything out.


Re-wiring needing doing - again, things such as how old the fuse box is and the style of plug socket should have been obvious to you, and if they have been changed, then chance are everything is ok.

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

That's probably the wrong way to view an older property, which will always be higher maintenance and require more of a rolling programme of renewals/repairs. There isn't a fixed amount of money; for most people things are done as and when they become possible or urgent, so there isn't some end point when nothing needs doing.

You are either comfortable with that, or you go for a more modern low -maintenance property.

There is an end point where nothing needs doing imo. My (second/final?) house will be finished in a few weeks time at last - but it will have taken 4 years to get it finished (and the garden still needs doing properly....:(). It's a 1970s house in West Wales and that's how long it's taken - and well into 5 figure amount of money to get it "normal". The house has been brought up to 21st century mid-price range standard - ie "normal" imo standard. Nothing at all fancy - no internal doors changed/have left existing doubleglazed windows and exterior doors (rather than replacing with the more "classy" ones I would have chosen personally). Existing exterior walls left as concrete block rendered (rather than brick)/floors left as concrete (rather than swopped to wood planks).

Hence - I would agree that you probably need to look at houses in more normal/modern condition and that this particular house has, quite possibly, been priced already to take account of all the work needing doing on it.

Doozergirl

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

There is an end point where nothing needs doing imo. My (second/final?) house will be finished in a few weeks time at last - but it will have taken 4 years to get it finished (and the garden still needs doing properly....:(). It's a 1970s house in West Wales and that's how long it's taken - and well into 5 figure amount of money to get it "normal". The house has been brought up to 21st century mid-price range standard - ie "normal" imo standard.

Hence - I

If it were true that there is an end point then houses would never need renovating. You've disproved your own point.

Even a completely new or modernised house will need ongoing maintenance and items replacing, regardless of ones own standards. A house that has been brought up to a standard with certain items that haven't been replaced will need addressing sooner. It's an ongoing cycle, much like the circle of life.

moneyistooshorttomention

There is an end point as regards that particular owner. Hence I'm reaching my own personal end point on the house shortly.

Previous owners were quite happy to live in a right dump that was barely liveable in - so I guess had reached their own personal "end point" or given up hope of ever having the money to get the work done and therefore given up on doing the work.

Someone else's end point on this particular house might be to knock the whole house down - and rebuild one in brick/with wooden floors/slate roof (ie what I always assumed my final house would be like) - rather than shrugging resignedly and thinking "If I could afford that sort of money - I'd have bought one like it in the first place as per plan".

On the other hand - someone else's "end point" could have been just to redecorate and recarpet it and regard it as finished.

What I've proved is that end points are, to some extent, personal to the owner concerned - though we'd probably all agree on maintenance work being done/kitchens and bathrooms swopped if they've not been done since a previous era/etc.

After the final bit of work on house shortly - then all I plan to do on the house for the rest of my life is yearly gas service and redecorating, say, every 10 years. Fingers crossed no further maintenance work will come up. The next owner will come in and take one look at it and go "Pure 2010's style - better rip it all out" doubtless.

Alducko

Thanks. That's really useful. You say things should be obvious but when you've rented for years in old falling down properties, it's not that obvious. The Windows I thought would need changing at some point, and they were a 2, but the lintels were a 3 and cracks above two Windows made me think this is urgent. The seals seemed fine but the opening mechanisms were stiff or loose around the place.

Electrics. There are modern fuses and plastic covered wires but the sockets are surface mounted and not enough of them by modern standards. Probably not a full re wiring job but some improvement required. There is a lack of earth cross bonding whatever that means.

I'm going to obtain quotes from an electrician, window firm and plumbing and heating specialists and take it from there.

Much appreciated