Gas survey help

EssexHebridean

MikeJXE said:

The buyer may ask for one before exchange with to the cost to the seller 

Depends how desperate the seller is to sell 

The seller would generally be advised to decline to pay though - it’s not necessary for a vacant possession sale. 

housebuyer143

I believe she's means the property has a prepayment meter that is on debt and because of this the gas won't come on and the boiler can't be checked. 
Not sure why they seller won't clear it because they are going to be chased by the supplier after you buy and it's cleared for you. 

Not a lot you can do apart from refuse to continue with the purchase until it's done. 

MikeJXE

EssexHebridean said:

MikeJXE said:

The buyer may ask for one before exchange with to the cost to the seller 

Depends how desperate the seller is to sell 

The seller would generally be advised to decline to pay though - it’s not necessary for a vacant possession sale. 

True,  but having been a buyer and a seller I would offer to give one and would want one to be safe,  plus of course to make sure the appliances are up to standard  

Polmop

Yes. The supply has been cut off and I want one for peace of mind. I am so close to completion that I can't afford to walk away. I wasn't sure if the energy company would just put supply back of for the check and issue of the certificate

AskAsk

if there is no gas supply then you won't be able to get the gas safety check.  is it just the boiler or more than one thing that needs to be checked?

you could ask that the seller gets a check done between exchange and completion as part of the sale, or you could knock off some money from the offer price for expected costs of fixing the boiler etc, if they turn out to be broke.

housebuyer143

Polmop said:

Yes. The supply has been cut off and I want one for peace of mind. I am so close to completion that I can't afford to walk away. I wasn't sure if the energy company would just put supply back of for the check and issue of the certificate

You need to check if it's actually been cut off or not. I say this because if it's been cut off you will have to pay to reconnect it and it might not be cheap or quick. This is something I would insist is back on before you exchange.

MikeJXE

I'm not a gas fitter but is it more likely it's sealed rather than actually cut off, ?

Could an engineer unseal it, test it then reseal it ?

Jonboy_1984

We bought last year with a nine month old gas safe certificate (coming off the rental market). Had it serviced three months later and then a few weeks later it had a £500 breakdown….depending on how old the installation is you may not gain much with a new certificate.

If their meter is set to part pay usage, part pay debt you might find that putting £10 on give a couple of quid to test with, probably depends how many outstanding days worth of standing charges there are…

propertyrental

Jonboy_1984 said:

We bought last year with a nine month old gas safe certificate (coming off the rental market). Had it serviced three months later and then a few weeks later it had a £500 breakdown….depending on how old the installation is you may not gain much with a new certificate.

If their meter is set to part pay usage, part pay debt you might find that putting £10 on give a couple of quid to test with, probably depends how many outstanding days worth of standing charges there are…

OP has not said there is a pre-payment meter, though several of us have suggested this and asked.

All we know is that the gas 'has been cut off'.

It seems highly unlikely the seller will get it reconnected. OP has to decide whether to walk away, buy at agreed price and take a gamble, or renegotiate the price.

diystarter7

Hi OP

In the scheme of things, how important is the GSC?

Unless I have misunderstood you, you will be staying/doing up to sell/rent etc later?

In London where we live i dont often se a an aprtment for less than 400k - if there was a problem with the boiler/cooker etc, and the price looked good, not having a GSC would never put me off

Good luck   I hope it works out for you.!!