House I was planning on buying failed electrical inspection - snag is, I can't get insured.

MrCheeseman

I previously posted about the house I was buying that got "unsatisfactory" and I was going to negotiate the price down. However (the house has 2 dangerous faults and 12 potentially dangerous ones) while looking at house insurance it stated the house needed to be in a good state of repair. I've rung two insurers who confirm that, due to this, they won't be able to insure the house. What's my next move? Pulling out is one option, but is getting the seller to get whatever work needs to be done to make it satisfactory another?

Bleon

Speak with an insurance broker, there are specialist insurers that would likely give you 30 days to make any updates required. Be prepared to pay more than normal though for the policy 

MrCheeseman

Bleon said:

Speak with an insurance broker, there are specialist insurers that would likely give you 30 days to make any updates required. Be prepared to pay more than normal though for the policy 

Thanks for the advice - not sure 30 days would be enough, though. I'd only be able to get actual quotes when I've got possession of the house.

EDIT: Unless there are insurers that give longer periods of time. I can look into this. I've dropped a line to my solicitor anyway, to see what she thinks.

Doozergirl

MrCheeseman said:

Bleon said:

Speak with an insurance broker, there are specialist insurers that would likely give you 30 days to make any updates required. Be prepared to pay more than normal though for the policy 

Thanks for the advice - not sure 30 days would be enough, though. I'd only be able to get actual quotes when I've got possession of the house.

For a full rewire? 

You only need floorplans, really.   Draw out what you want with different coloured pens 😬

Soot2006

they usually can make "make it safe" pretty quickly. E.g. I have some unsafe lights in my bathroom that are miswired, not suited to a bathroom, ect. So I had them disconnected so now they're "safe". Because they don't work at all.

greatcrested

Pulling out out over this is a over-reaction.

Getting the seller to do work is never advisable.

Get quotes before you Complete(no reason the seller won't cooperate I'd expect) and schedule the work for the first week you own.

MrCheeseman

I've spoken to my solicitor, who's advised caution - in particular, they've advised me not to accept promises that the work will be done between contract exchange and moving in.

I'm going to contact the vendor and ask them to get it sorted (not disconnected) before exchange of contracts. Not sure whether to press for a rewire or just fixing it - I've a feeling getting it "fixed" might add to the house's convoluted wiring. But I'm renting, so there's no real pressure on me to move, which gives me an advantage.

Soot2006

MrCheeseman said:

I'm going to contact the vendor and ask them to get it sorted (not disconnected) before exchange of contracts. Not sure whether to press for a rewire or just fixing it - I've a feeling getting it "fixed" might add to the house's convoluted wiring. But I'm renting, so there's no real pressure on me to move, which gives me an advantage.

The vendor would be mad to rewire their house on the promise of an upcoming exchange.

What did your survey say in terms of costs of putting things right? (or re-wire if that really is the only option).

davidmcn

I presume the only difficulty are the "dangerous" faults? What exactly are they? I doubt it means the place is likely to burst into flames any day now.

MrCheeseman

davidmcn said:

I presume the only difficulty are the "dangerous" faults? What exactly are they? I doubt it means the place is likely to burst into flames any day now.

Circuits that were live when they were turned off, loose cables in the coat area, overcrowded breakers, an isolator just sitting loose in a cupboard, a garage breaker that's not a ring. There were also two circuits

True, I don't exactly understand all of the issues but the jist of it that the electrician (who doesn't do rewires) recommended a rewire. He said it was possible to try fixing the issues but that it was a gamble - fixing one issue might lead to another, and he wasn't prepared to take the gamble. There were two circuits he couldn't test, too (can't remember the exact reason, think he said he was likely to cause issues by doing so).

Soot2006 said:

The vendor would be mad to rewire their house on the promise of an upcoming exchange.

What did your survey say in terms of costs of putting things right? (or re-wire if that really is the only option).

I see your point, though I wonder what will happen if I don't buy the house? Will the vendor and estate agent pretend the survey never happened? The survey's labelled the electrics as unsatisfactory, so it seems like sweeping that under the rug would be legally dodgy at best.

As for the cost, a rewire for the house would cost between £2,500 and £4,400. Because I didn't have access, I wasn't able to get a quote on fixing stuff. I know the inspecting electrician, who's been doing this for years, wasn't willing to take up the challenge due to how the electrics were. Seems like there'd been a few short term fixes/work that had become permanent.

davidmcn

MrCheeseman said:

davidmcn said:

I presume the only difficulty are the "dangerous" faults? What exactly are they? I doubt it means the place is likely to burst into flames any day now.

Circuits that were live when they were turned off, loose cables in the coat area, overcrowded breakers, an isolator just sitting loose in a cupboard, a garage breaker that's not a ring. There were also two circuits

True, I don't exactly understand all of the issues 

Admittedly I'm not an electrician either (and I presume neither was the call centre bod you spoke to at the insurers), but it doesn't really sound to me that those mean the house isn't "in a good state of repair" in the context of a buildings insurance policy. Bear in mind it's hardly standard practice to get an electrical report done anyway, so usually owners wouldn't necessarily know about such defects.