FTB almost at exchange for newly renovated house - advertised rewiring hasn't been done

canaldumidi

Five_Alive said:

....... The reason for no completion certificate is that the work was done by a friend of a partner (who is now no longer a partner) and has had a couple of different people working on it since then - so no competent person scheme completion certification or anything like that.

So a bodge job by Tom, !!!!!! and Harry.

Pull out and find another property. This will not be the only issue. It just happens to be the only issue you've so far become aware of.

Five_Alive

canaldumidi said:

Five_Alive said:

....... The reason for no completion certificate is that the work was done by a friend of a partner (who is now no longer a partner) and has had a couple of different people working on it since then - so no competent person scheme completion certification or anything like that.

So a bodge job by Tom, !!!!!! and Harry.

Pull out and find another property. This will not be the only issue. It just happens to be the only issue you've so far become aware of.

My understanding here is that if the ECIR states it's safe then it's safe, unless I don't trust the ECIR? And the major renovations has local authority approval with Building Regs, so it seems more like cost-cutting than out-and-out bodging. But I guess I'm swayed by wanting the property. The survey highlighted multiple issues, all which have been taken into consideration when I revised my offer, and there's nothing to say the next property I put an offer on won't be in an even worse state - I hate this whole process!

Anyway, I've seen the videos now and there is indeed evidence of the rewiring done with all the plasterboard removed and exposed brickwork. My main concern at this point is was it actually done or do I need to rip it all out, and the videos seem to imply it was. Of course they don't show the actual wires going in, and I'm not a sparky so I could be looking at anything, which is why I need to get this confirmed myself.

The next step is to get an independent electrician out to confirm that the '30 years' comment on the wiring only refers to the wiring that I already knew hadn't been done, and maybe another ECIR that I can trust rather than this one from the seller where I can't even find contact details for the original company. It may all be above board but it can't hurt to be thorough.

scoot65

I can't really comment on the building works side of this situation, but I'd like to say .......

You've said that this is the house you want, and that probably means that you're emotionally tied into it. Consider what others have said, be careful that this property has not just been 'renovated' on the cheap and the nice new paintwork etc masks a multitude of sub-par work.  I'd hate to think that once you move in you find that after a few weeks various issues start to appear and you start to regret your purchase.

There's always other properties which may turn out to be better buys.

     

Five_Alive

@scoot65 Yeah I'd say emotionally invested is probably the right phrase to use to describe it haha. 

So another update: I managed to get a friend of a friend who is a qualified electrician to come and have a look to give his opinion, just for my peace of mind, especially as this is supposed to be a brand new installation. The seller decided to start playing silly games and told me I had til before Christmas to exchange or he was gonna pull out of the sale... completely unreasonable as we are only 9 weeks in, I'm doing my due diligence and I have been very prompt with all my paperwork and such. In reality, due to the Christmas break this gave me maybe 4 working days to actually resolve the issue on my end so I was understandably quite frustrated by this.

I nearly walked away just to spite him, as I've seen another house that looks half-decent and worth a viewing anyway. But I decided I'd let fate decide - if I could get my electrician to come out before then then I would exchange on the final day allowed before the Christmas break (assuming all is well). As it happens, he can, so I've signed and sent the deposit over, but won't be actually exchanging until Tuesday once the electrician has confirmed the word of the seller.

If he's telling the truth then there's nothing for him to be worried about. He really made what should have been a simple transaction extremely complicated and stressful.

TheJP

Five_Alive said:

@scoot65 Yeah I'd say emotionally invested is probably the right phrase to use to describe it haha. 

So another update: I managed to get a friend of a friend who is a qualified electrician to come and have a look to give his opinion, just for my peace of mind, especially as this is supposed to be a brand new installation. The seller decided to start playing silly games and told me I had til before Christmas to exchange or he was gonna pull out of the sale... completely unreasonable as we are only 9 weeks in, I'm doing my due diligence and I have been very prompt with all my paperwork and such. In reality, due to the Christmas break this gave me maybe 4 working days to actually resolve the issue on my end so I was understandably quite frustrated by this.

I nearly walked away just to spite him, as I've seen another house that looks half-decent and worth a viewing anyway. But I decided I'd let fate decide - if I could get my electrician to come out before then then I would exchange on the final day allowed before the Christmas break (assuming all is well). As it happens, he can, so I've signed and sent the deposit over, but won't be actually exchanging until Tuesday once the electrician has confirmed the word of the seller.

If he's telling the truth then there's nothing for him to be worried about. He really made what should have been a simple transaction extremely complicated and stressful.

Good head on those shoulders! I hope everything from now is smooth and enjoyable for you. 

Five_Alive

Just an update for anyone who was following the saga... the electrician came, all is well, new wiring in all the places I was promised, and exchanged the same day