Buying a house with 18 year old boiler - renegotiate price?

MysteryMe

As someone has already said, if you want to live in a house with lots of new things you buy a new house. This appears to be a house where the agreed price is a fair reflection of the current market value. This is not a house in need of renovation where the cost of renovation is obviously a factor, so in effect this would be a buyer wanting a free boiler to replace a boiler that does not need replacing. No one knows when the boiler will need replacing and saying it will at some stage is flawed thinking.

Nearly everything in a property will need repair or replacement at some stage. Where does it all end, are you going to knock £20,000 off for the roof that may need replacing in 10 years, or maybe just a grand for a few slates that will become dislodged in high winds, another grand for fence panels that might get blown over and broker, £25 off for a couple of tins of wood preserver, another £10,000 for a new kitchen because the new kitchen it already has may look dated by then? £500 off because the electric shower will stop working at some stage?

Basically don't expect other people to pay in advance for the future upkeep and maintenance of your house. As a home owner you will have to replace and maintain, and the vendor in this instance has maintained the boiler. If you don't want to take on that responsibility then continue to rent or live at home with mum, whatever you are doing at present

No one knows the position of this particular vendor so the buyer may or may not hold all the cards. Not sure why some are claiming otherwise.

The buyer in this instance has already stated this is their dream home, so some saying they have nothing to lose by upsetting the vendor is incorrect They stand to lose their dream home if the vendor decides that the buyer is just an unreliable chancer.

It may be the case, as will the majority of transactions, that no one side holds all the cards so you negotiate. Most people are decent people and just want a fair deal. They will come to an amicable agreement which satisfies both sides. Don't be one of those cost of everything value of nothing types who just wants to screw the other side into the ground. Goodwill is priceless.

You may need the assistance of the vendor in future, maybe something trivial but important to you like knowing where they bought their bathroom tiles so you can replace the one you have just broken like for like. Simple things like that. Act like some on here suggest and what do you think the response from the vendor would be....

NewB

So... to round this off, my plan is to pay (myself) to have the boiler serviced before we exchange. In the questions before contract the vendor has said that the boiler was installed in 2001, and the system is in good working order, despite not having been serviced in recent years.

The house has been standing empty for some months, so I'd like to check that it does at least fire up, and have a recommended local engineer check it out to make sure it's working and safe. More from the POV of knowing what we're facing when we move, and whether anything needs to be tackled urgently. Unless the system is found to be clearly not in "good working order", then we don't plan to renegotiate.

Saw a friend today in the house they moved in to 9 months ago, and their boiler is around 50 years old, and working ok:rotfl: though her gas bills are huge!

PhilE

I'd advise against you servicing the boiler before exchange. If the exchange falls through, you've wasted money. Why isn't the vendor servicing the boiler?

An old boiler which hasn't been serviced in recent years... the least he could do would be to get it serviced!

lookstraightahead

I agree with Phil.

I'm not sure why you would do this? It's not your boiler until completion. That's a whole new can of worms. Remember you are in the front seat here, stop being so accommodating and ask the vendor to be fair.

lookstraightahead

MysteryMe wrote: »

As someone has already said, if you want to live in a house with lots of new things you buy a new house. This appears to be a house where the agreed price is a fair reflection of the current market value. This is not a house in need of renovation where the cost of renovation is obviously a factor, so in effect this would be a buyer wanting a free boiler to replace a boiler that does not need replacing. No one knows when the boiler will need replacing and saying it will at some stage is flawed thinking.

Nearly everything in a property will need repair or replacement at some stage. Where does it all end, are you going to knock £20,000 off for the roof that may need replacing in 10 years, or maybe just a grand for a few slates that will become dislodged in high winds, another grand for fence panels that might get blown over and broker, £25 off for a couple of tins of wood preserver, another £10,000 for a new kitchen because the new kitchen it already has may look dated by then? £500 off because the electric shower will stop working at some stage?

Basically don't expect other people to pay in advance for the future upkeep and maintenance of your house. As a home owner you will have to replace and maintain, and the vendor in this instance has maintained the boiler. If you don't want to take on that responsibility then continue to rent or live at home with mum, whatever you are doing at present

No one knows the position of this particular vendor so the buyer may or may not hold all the cards. Not sure why some are claiming otherwise.

The buyer in this instance has already stated this is their dream home, so some saying they have nothing to lose by upsetting the vendor is incorrect They stand to lose their dream home if the vendor decides that the buyer is just an unreliable chancer.

It may be the case, as will the majority of transactions, that no one side holds all the cards so you negotiate. Most people are decent people and just want a fair deal. They will come to an amicable agreement which satisfies both sides. Don't be one of those cost of everything value of nothing types who just wants to screw the other side into the ground. Goodwill is priceless.

You may need the assistance of the vendor in future, maybe something trivial but important to you like knowing where they bought their bathroom tiles so you can replace the one you have just broken like for like. Simple things like that. Act like some on here suggest and what do you think the response from the vendor would be....

This is exactly why you shouldn't fall in love with bricks and mortar before you complete. It takes common sense and a business head to buy a property, just as much as it does to sell it. I'm not sure a certain type of tile is really that important as a boiler that hasn't been serviced for years (which could also be dangerous actually).

Lauralou79

Our boiler is 13 years old, the heating engineer says it could run and run as it's workings are simple. We are prepared and have funds ready if it goes but it passed it service with flying colours. If it ain't broke....

lisyloo

I’m selling an empty flat and it was suggested to us to turn the heating on recently.
Firstly to avoid issues such as frozen pipes (less of an issue in a block of flats than a detached house), but also it proves the system is functioning.

Would it not be a good idea to get the EA to suggest to the vendor to turn the heating on? Doesn’t need to be full on to avoid froZen pipes.

chucknorris

lisyloo wrote: »

I’m selling an empty flat and it was suggested to us to turn the heating on recently.
Firstly to avoid issues such as frozen pipes (less of an issue in a block of flats than a detached house), but also it proves the system is functioning.

Would it not be a good idea to get the EA to suggest to the vendor to turn the heating on? Doesn’t need to be full on to avoid froZen pipes.

We are selling (sold subject to contract) at the moment (survey was done last week), we have the boiler on a timer for 30 mins twice a day at about 10 pm and 4 am, as you say to avoid freezing water issues.

MysteryMe

lookstraightahead wrote: »

This is exactly why you shouldn't fall in love with bricks and mortar before you complete. It takes common sense and a business head to buy a property, just as much as it does to sell it. I'm not sure a certain type of tile is really that important as a boiler that hasn't been serviced for years (which could also be dangerous actually).

The OP has drip fed information since my reply, my response was on the assumption of this boiler having been maintained not that it was in an empty house and the boiler had not been serviced for some time.

I'm not comparing a broken tile to a boiler either, it was just one example of what goodwill means.

I've bought and sold several properties and now mortgage free. Every one of those transactions has involved negotiation and FWIW overall I gained more than I lost but I was always fair.

You are very much mistaken if you think human reactions play no part in buying or selling a home. A home is not a business transaction in the conventional sense. You have to be aware of all elements that will be taken into consideration by the person you are negotiating with. I know those of a certain generation will find this hard to believe but it's not all about you. If you don't try to understand what is likely to motivate or trigger a reaction with the other side you don't know the best way to negotiate with them in order to get the best deal for yourself.

MysteryMe

NewB wrote: »

So... to round this off, my plan is to pay (myself) to have the boiler serviced before we exchange. In the questions before contract the vendor has said that the boiler was installed in 2001, and the system is in good working order, despite not having been serviced in recent years.

The house has been standing empty for some months, so I'd like to check that it does at least fire up, and have a recommended local engineer check it out to make sure it's working and safe. More from the POV of knowing what we're facing when we move, and whether anything needs to be tackled urgently. Unless the system is found to be clearly not in "good working order", then we don't plan to renegotiate.

Saw a friend today in the house they moved in to 9 months ago, and their boiler is around 50 years old, and working ok:rotfl: though her gas bills are huge!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but if you knew the house had been empty for some time then it would have been better to ask the vendor to have the boiler serviced at a very early stage of negotiation and that is regardless of how old the boiler was. Unfortunately whilst modern boilers are more efficient the build quality on many brands is nowhere near as good as it once was.