Check water tank (buying a flat)

BridgetLo

Hello all,

Thank you so much for all your valuable help when it comes to buying the flat. Please, can I ask you another thing I am wondering??? The flat I am buying is from the 60s and I have the feeling nothing has been done.. (electricity, water...) I have just booked for a electricity survey as the vendor does not have any paperwork, it is my third survey on the flat!!! and I wonder if I would check the water too. The bill sounds a bit expensive to me and the tank is very old. If so, do you know who checks the water tank and level?

Thank you so much

davidmcn

As already queried on your previous thread, which "water tank" are you talking about, and what do you want it checked for?

AdrianC

Take a glance at the fusebox/consumer unit. Is it old bakelite rewireable fuses, or is it breakers?

I'd be surprised if a flat had its own cold water tank, so I presume you're talking about hot. If you're doing work to the place, put in a combi boiler (assuming gas is available).

pinkteapot

Is the flat on a water meter? If not, the bills probably will be higher than you're used to if you live alone and are a fairly light user. My bills dropped when I left a non-metered flat and went to a house with a meter.

If the hot water tank or any of the pipework were leaking badly enough to cause high bills then someone would have noticed - likely a neighbour if it's a flat!

Mutton_Geoff

AdrianC wrote: »

I'd be surprised if a flat had its own cold water tank, so I presume you're talking about hot. If you're doing work to the place, put in a combi boiler (assuming gas is available).

Good advice. Spending too much money on surveys is eating substantially into your budget for putting right things that you could reasonably assume need doing anyway.

Just assume the worst and budget accordingly for a rewire/combi and whatever else you feel needs doing to bring the place up to your standards.

I guess the current occupiers are living there without electrocuting themselves and able to wash/shower and flush the loo without too many problems?

pinkteapot

OP said in the other thread that the flat is all-electric (no gas).

Various mentions on both threads of a boiler. Some all-electric flats have no boiler - mine didn't. Heating was by night storage heaters and water heated by an immersion heater.

OP - ask how water is heated and what type of heating the flat has. As others have said, in a lot of flats you'll only have a hot water tank - you won't have your own cold water tank. But the vendor should be able to tell you for sure. Once you know exactly what you're getting people can better advise on what checks you can have done.

AdrianC

No gas currently doesn't mean no gas is available, of course.

macman

Water bills can vary up to 250% dependent on region. Metered or RV? Having a plumbing survey isn't going to reduce your water bills! Complete waste of money. What other surveys have you commissioned? If it's a leasehold flat with no gas supply, then I fail to see why you need more than a valuation survey, unless there are visible structural issues?

M_Python

macman wrote: »

Water bills can vary up to 250% dependent on region. Metered or RV? Having a plumbing survey isn't going to reduce your water bills! Complete waste of money. What other surveys have you commissioned? If it's a leasehold flat with no gas supply, then I fail to see why you need more than a valuation survey, unless there are visible structural issues?

I think that might be explained by three words ......... First Time Buyer!

The OP has just commissioned their third survey and now talking about a fourth. If I was the vendor, I would be getting mightily fed up with them.

BridgetLo

Thank you so much for this!! M_ Python, I understand as first time buyers we are more unsure about everything, and as you can see I am very lost!! but the vendor cannot get fed up with us, we are still waiting for him to send all the paperwork to my solicitor!! So we are doing it in the meantime...
This is what is says in the survey:
We would recommend that the services to the property primarily the electrics, the heating and the hot water are checked by a suitably qualified contractor prior to entering into legal commitment to purchase.
Hot water is provided to the property via a hot water cylinder which is located in the cupboard within the bathroom. The hot water cylinder was of a pre lagged type and incorporated an electric immersion together with a thermostat being noted. The hot water is assumed to be on an Economy 7 tariff but this could not be confirmed at the time of inspection.
A metal header tank which has a metal lid is provided directly over this area.
We would advise that the hot water is now serviced by an appropriately qualified contractor prior to entering into legal commitment to purchase and should then be serviced on an annual basis in the future.



Thank you!!

PasturesNew

BridgetLo wrote: »

This is what is says in the survey:

We would recommend that the services to the property primarily the electrics, the heating and the hot water are checked by a suitably qualified contractor prior to entering into legal commitment to purchase.

Hot water is provided to the property via a hot water cylinder which is located in the cupboard within the bathroom. The hot water cylinder was of a pre lagged type and incorporated an electric immersion together with a thermostat being noted. The hot water is assumed to be on an Economy 7 tariff but this could not be confirmed at the time of inspection.

A metal header tank which has a metal lid is provided directly over this area.

We would advise that the hot water is now serviced by an appropriately qualified contractor prior to entering into legal commitment to purchase and should then be serviced on an annual basis in the future.