Buyers having Electrical Report

victoriavictorious

We are about 6 weeks into our sale. It's a Victorian property. The full building survey came out pretty clean with only minor issues, and mortgage offer spot on. However, as the electrics were done in 2003 (previous owners) and not checked since, the buyers now want to get an electrical check done. We have been sent a copy of the relevant part of the survey and this what it says:
"In general the electrical circuits seen are in fair condition. Pvc cabling was observed at the property and the socket face plates and switch plates are of a suitable modern quality.
However to some rooms there are an insufficient number of sockets for modern living standards, this means a level of new circuitry or rewiring may be required. Other observations:
The consumer unit MCB switches were not labelled.
The consumer unit is a modern unit with MCBs but no Residual Current device."
(Followed by the usual back covering standard surveyor recommendation to carry out an Electrical Installation Condition Report.)
The bit about there being insufficient sockets is incorrect, as there are at least 6 + sockets in every room (some are hidden by furniture so the surveyor may have missed them) so the reference to new circuitry & rewiring may well be panicking the buyers unnecessarily. They are ftb buyers and jittery enough as it is.
We know they will use this report to try and get the price down and we have already reduced £5K below asking.
My questions -
* How can we (if indeed we can) ensure that this electrical report will not be biased and possibly recommend unnecessary work that we cannot either prove or disprove?
* Does any of the above sound potentially expensive / disruptive / a deal breaker?
* Any other helpful pointers warmly welcomed!
Thanks,

Browntoa

Most electrical reports will throw up "not to current regs"

It's safe , as stated , and I'd resist any price reduction . Label the switches yourself now , you probably know what they all are anyway.

victoriavictorious

Browntoa wrote: »

Most electrical reports will throw up "not to current regs"

It's safe , as stated , and I'd resist any price reduction . Label the switches yourself now , you probably know what they all are anyway.

Thanks but I'm not sure I do. Does this labelling refer to rooms?

davidmcn

Anything rewired in 2003 is going to be substantially better than the average property. Number of sockets is going to be personal preference (and something the buyers should have checked for themselves by now).

davidmcn

victoriavictorious wrote: »

Thanks but I'm not sure I do. Does this labelling refer to rooms?

It's what the relevant circuit is - "downstairs sockets", "cooker", "upstairs lights", etc.

Browntoa

Normally

Cooker
Upstairs/downstairs lights or ring main
Shower etc

edit, beaten to it

theartfullodger

Purchaser is at liberty to require whatever changes, including price, that they wish.

Seller is at liberty to refuse whatever changes, including price, that they wish, or indeed inform purchaser of a price increase: (.. and at liberty to give such reason or none as they wish...)

m0bov

Just tell them the property is priced to reflect the condition of the property. Its not a brand new house.

Smodlet

VictoriaV, when you and your OH/another adult have a few minutes, you can find out what each socket on the board is for by turning off just that one socket and then turning on downstairs lights, upstairs lights, using a power socket downstairs, then upstairs, turning a ring on on the cooker (only if it's electric, obviously) Whatever does not come on is fed by the socket you have turned off so you can label that one. Repeat the process (not forgetting the shower) until you have found what each socket is for by the process of elimination. HTH.

ETA: Just tell your buyers/their EA the number of sockets in each room and offer a second viewing so you can point them out to the poor, jittery, little things. There are such things as double connectors, after all...

Fed

Sounds fine, if they take issue all you can do is highlight that the circuits are in fair condition and there are sufficient sockets. Nothing to warrant a price reduction

ProDave

If it was rewired in 2003 it would have been to the 16th edition and I would expect an RCD protecting sockets and showers etc. If there is not, I suspect it is a lot older than 2003.

This looks like a surveyors report, not a proper "Electrical Installation Condition Report" which will have coded "faults" as C1, C2 or C3.

Insufficient sockets is not a reason to fail an EICR

Labeling them yourself is easy. Turn them all off. Then turn just 1 on at a time. Go round the house and see what works and label it accordingly. Repeat for each mcb 1 at a time. You will end up with labels like "downstairs sockets" "upstairs lights" "cooker" "shower" etc etc. For no cost, just bit of time, you have removed one "fault"