Seemingly nice flat but electricity only

whatnext18

Hello everyone,
I'm very new to the whole buying property scene as FTB and even though I have spent nights reading up on things to ask or look for, I am starting to find it way harder to translate into real actions.

I have seen a flat today. Should be built around the 60s-70s and it's just 400 sq ft.on the groundfloor The size itself is okay for what I can afford, but it's leasehold and electric only.
I have been asking for advice and reading up.

The owner is claiming to spend on average £50 a month on electricity which seems more or less honest, as I have seen a similar one and got a figure of £60.
The owner seems to be using convector heaters at home.

However, over the internet there is a very big divide on whether electric heating is acceptable or not, and I am at a loss.
I understand it costs more in using electric heaters, the figures varies greatly but some people say it works well enough and some hate it.
That's before going into the sort of heater that's okay.

EPC done in Feb gives E52, though the place is double glazed.


I am getting to understand why it's so hard to keep rational when looking at flats. It just is.

There's hardly enough time to look around. The EA book the viewings very tightly so I don't really much time to look carefully, and usually miss things that should be checked
I guess the only way is to request further viewing, hoping the flat is not taken yet?

Having clicked into the forum makes me realise there is still so much more I have read, tips and tricks I need to know.
Though one of the thing mentioned is to obtain the lease on your own and see it. Is that commonly done ?


I still have so many questions but better not make this a massive essay, so thanks in advance!

moneyistooshorttomention

Monthly heating bill sounds okay to me. That £50/£60 is presumably for all the electric use - ie not just the heating.

I pay around that amount for my fuel (with the central heating being gas).

Personally - I wouldn't let an EA hurry me out of a place I was viewing - if I knew in my own mind I was taking a reasonable amount of time to look at it (ie not there for as long as a couple of hours or so). I would have kept on looking until I'd finished looking and ignored their frowns/tuts/whatever.

PasturesNew

If you don't want to be rushed at a viewing .... turn up with a stick and limp, they won't dare hurry you up! Milk that limp....

Red-Squirrel_2

Don't let the estate agent rush you, its their fault if they've not allowed enough time, just carry on looking and asking your questions, it would be different if it was the current resident showing you around!

I spent years in flats with just electric heating. Its not ideal but its perfectly manageable and I wouldn't want to live in a block with gas and be relying on others not to blow the place up!

It should be an economy 7 meter usually, and if there are storage heaters that's usually the best way to do it, they heat up through the night while electricity is cheap and then release the heat through the day. A couple of energy efficient 'top up' heaters are good for colder evenings, and you'll have to learn good habits like wearing slippers and bed socks in the winter and get a few good quality heavy blankets.

On economy 7 you can also save a fair amount of money by heating your water overnight (if its a tank not a combi) and setting your washing machine/dishwasher on timers to go at about 3/4am. This is late/early enough that your neighbours will be deeply asleep and the slight noise of your appliances shouldn't disturb them. Charge things overnight and don't use them plugged in during the day etc.

If its a good flat and suits otherwise, electric only shouldn't be a barrier.

HampshireH

Electric heateing will suit you depending on your needs.

If storage heating with no boost and you feel the cold you may find it not as warm as you like in the evenings. Using the boost is expensive. I found convector heaters equally as expensive and would need to keep turning it on.

If you don't currently live in a warmer environment at home then you will probably be ok.

I am always cold and for me living in 2 flats with storage heating when I was younger was expensive. (My winter quarterly bill one year was £350 and the flat only had 3 storage heaters in it)

Additionally if you take on the flat and these are the original heaters, replace them. Newer all electric heating is more efficient.

kylej64

I have a flat with electric storage heaters. The one piece of advice I would give is check the weather forecast regularly. With storage heaters you need to set them the night before, and due to not paying attention, I got caught out by a few sudden cold snaps in the first year.

They wouldn't be my first choise but storage heaters do the trick.

knightstyle

The amount you spend on heating will be affected largely by how well insulated the flat is. Does it have recent double glazing? Are the walls insulated? If top floor what insulation is there above the ceiling?
DD had a two bed flat, middle floor and hardly had the heating on at all.
The person below was disabled and kept their flat nice and warm all day.
Remember, a perfectly insulated house or flat needs no heating at all! Our bodies and the lights give off heat and you only need to replace heat lost.

bouicca21

Lots of flats are electric only, so it may be worth you exploring Rightmove a bit further just to confirm whether you are ever likely to have a choice. If electric only is what is available then you are going to be stuck with it.

I pay a similar amount for a very much larger flat, but mine does have gas central heating, is well insulated and I'm more likely to put an extra layer on than turn up the heating.

BrassicWoman

I'm on economy 10, no storage heaters just normal ones. £50 a month for my 2 bed flat is bang on. I donlt heat all the rooms in winter, the one I am in mainly, and use hot water bottles to warm the bed. I also have a combined washer/dryer (too small for seperates) and run that 3 times a week - cos I don't like damp clothes round the place!


Really it's down to how well insulated the place is. 9/10 months of the year the heating isn't on at all except the hot water tank helping the temperature along.

tgroom57

Take a checklist with you, (EA always have checklists!)
Definitely book more than one viewing, the first is to see if you might be interested, the second is to give it a good checking over.

I am in favour of electric heating. I have oil-filled radiators - they have their own thermostat controls and I plug them into time-switches. You don't have to have storage heaters. Economy 7 is good provided you keep an eye on what time it comes on.
With electric if the heater goes wrong (very rare) you just unplug it and buy a new one ~£70. If something goes wrong with gas (quite usual, and you have to pay for yearly boiler maintenance- remember to ask about that cost) you are tied to paying for someone else to fix it, and £70 is going to be just the call-out fee.

need_an_answer

I think its a case of what you are comfortable with heating wise.
The key thing is that electric is electric and if you do prefer gas then its a case of walk away you cant change it at a later stage.


I'm firmly in the camp of gas central heating for myself but having said that am a LL to 2 properties that are electric only and I have to say I've never had a problem renting or maintaining either.

Ive never had a tenant say that the flats were cold or that being electric only produced excessive bills,I will say that a few have taken time to get used to the economy 7 storage heaters but there are some very good ones on the market now that are much more heat efficient than the old style and are more in the style of radiators.