Buying a house - boiler has been placed At Risk

Aristarcus

Hi,

Hoping for your steer here...I am a first time buyer, my partner has bought and sold a few homes. We have had the home buyers survey and other such things, I also opted for a gas safety certificate inspection which resulted in the sellers boiler being deemed at risk because the flue is literally next to the back door, a little above head height. The boiler is also apparently around 18 years old. (Gas safety engineer didn't turn off their supply though as I thought that would not be well received )

The sellers have advised 'there is nothing wrong with the boiler, British Gas service it every year'. I have asked our solicitor to ask for an additional £2k off the purchase price to cover the boiler, partner does not want to bother as 'they've said BG advised its safe and we'll probably want to replace the boiler soon anyway.'
Am I being too first time buyer cautious / hung up on details / not seeing the bigger picture?
Thanks for your thoughts....

AdrianC

The boiler does not conform to current regs.
But whether it conformed to the then-current regs at the time it was installed is another question. Regs change - and few require retrospective compliance. Even if it didn't meet the then-current regs at the time of installation, there's nothing can be done about it after 18yrs. It is what it is.

Asking for the complete asking price of a new boiler is cheeky, at best. It's an 18yo boiler, and you were aware it was not new. It's near the end of its life... and you admit to being aware of this.

B'sides, even if you did find the flue location an issue, it's entirely possible it can be easily fitted with a pipe to relocate the exhaust.

If I was the vendor, you would not be seeing £2k from me...

Slithery

Aristarcus said:

I have asked our solicitor to ask for an additional £2k off the purchase price to cover the boiler

Why have you asked your solicitor? Any renegotiation should be done through the EA.

Aristarcus

Slithery said:

Aristarcus said:

I have asked our solicitor to ask for an additional £2k off the purchase price to cover the boiler

Why have you asked your solicitor? Any renegotiation should be done through the EA.

Because I'm a first time buyer and clueless

princeofpounds

What AdrianC said. In addition, 18 year old boilers can work just fine; many have very replaceable parts in fact that can keep it working indefinitely. Might not be the most efficient but there may be no need to replace it at all for quite some time.

davidmcn

It's not clear what exactly isn't compliant about the flue, but isn't there a way of solving it which costs less than £2k? What's the logic in replacing the boiler, if the boiler works and it isn't the boiler itself which is the problem?

xylophone

I had a Potterton Netaheat that worked perfectly (annually serviced and with a couple of parts replaced ) for close on thirty years.

unkle

xylophone said:

I had a Potterton Netaheat that worked perfectly (annually serviced and with a couple of parts replaced ) for close on thirty years.

Snap, I have an ideal mexico that was put in, in 1981, the most reliable boiler i've ever had. Been here 13 years and only had to replace the pump which was the grand total of £30!

Soot2006

We bought a house last August 2019 with a 25 yo Potterton boiler. It didn't conform to many modern regulations, but since there was a family of 4 living there, looking healthy and happy, and there was hot water coming out of the taps, we decided it was our risk to taken on. We actually kept the boiler a full year since we only just had it changed last week.  Other than making a lot of noise, not being energy efficient at all, and not meeting current regs, it was a great boiler . The only annoying thing about the replacement job was that the gas pipe was too narrow and some other situating issues, but it worked out for the best as we ended up moving it tucked away in the loft and it's so quiet! Tl;dr, sorry!

Aristarcus

davidmcn said:

It's not clear what exactly isn't compliant about the flue, but isn't there a way of solving it which costs less than £2k? What's the logic in replacing the boiler, if the boiler works and it isn't the boiler itself which is the problem?

Apparently there is no manufacturer plume kit available to fit the boiler to move the flue opening away from the back door (the flue opening is on the wall right next to the back door rather than more than 300mm away from it) to render it no longer at risk / ensure combustion gases aren't entering the house. My only concern would be would a service engineer disconnect it / render it unusable if it has already been flagged as At Risk by another gas safety engineer or can you just continue to use it?
As mentioned, I'm a first time buyer and don't know what you stand your ground on and what you let slide / isn't an issue and wouldn't want to be kicking myself afterwards for doing something in ignorance.

another_casualty

Just before I purchased my present flat , the surveyor told me that the boiler is dangerous due to its location and positioning . It was located just below the window in the spare bedroom . This is also not ideal , because part of the bedroom is lost so to speak.
It was a concern to me , when I saw this ugly box sticking out of the wall.

What I did , was to find a local reputable gas safety person to investigate before proceeding at a small cost . The engineer said not to worry , and that it's a nice flat etc 
so I went ahead and am now living here . 

The annoying thing is that the boiler started breaking down at the worst times , such as the beast from the east . In the end after much expense and the insurance co telling me it would cost hundreds more to fix, I managed to get rid of it and now have a nice Worcester boiler . If I had known the troubles I'd be having before hand , I'd have got a new boiler asap. Then again , I'm on universal credit and the Worcester cost me £240. 

That horrible boiler was a glow worm flexicom . 

Potterton myson boilers were great when I used to have them .
If the boilers are room sealed , there shouldn't be any problems , so it is said.
I would say , arrange for a reputable local plumber to check it out before proceeding with purchase , plus be prepared to buy a new boiler if you do go ahead with the purchase .

i just reread and you have had the safety check . Must slow down . If you like the home apart from the boiler , then you're probably best to buy a new one when you move in , if you proceed with the purchase