Using survey to bargain price

Smalltownhypocrite

Albermarle said:

Sarahspangles said:

H337 said:

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that as it's still the vendor's property, shouldn't it still be the their responsibility to ensure the service and test the gas and electrics are up to date? And if not, can I request they do so before sale?

Houses aren’t like cars, they don’t have MOTs. The sort of certificated tests that landlords are required to do - to keep their tenants safe - are optional when it comes to homeowners. Your budget needs to factor in ongoing servicing and eventual replacement of the electrics and boiler. The surveyor’s report gives you a feel for how long before the first big bill is likely to come up. 

Boiler replacement is normally quite straightforward and not that expensive, but rewiring a house is a pretty big job.
However the electrics have to be in quite a bad state for this to be necessary, and it is a job that can often be put off almost indefinitely, apart from maybe updating the consumer unit.

We had to have our old fuse board updated, a few lights (bathroom etc...) brought up to code and half of our house rewired (the newer extension not the Edwardian part oddly although everything had to be checked) and it took a few hours, really wasn't that hard or a big deal.

EssexHebridean

We bought our house with no current service paperwork for the boiler - just worked on the basis that we would want our own heating engineer to look at it anyway, so we would just get the service done when we moved in, and if - worst case scenario - he said that the boiler was nearing end of life then fine - we were prepared to have to replace it. As it is, he said it is a fair age, but it’s a decent make and he reckons it will do a bit longer yet. He just said that if it goes wrong, we should bite the bullet and replace, rather than trying for repairs, because at the age it is (probably approaching 20 years old) chances are once one thing goes wrong, there will be more problems waiting in the wings. It’s certainly been fine all through the winter…well, so far, anyway! 😆

Albermarle

Smalltownhypocrite said:

Albermarle said:

Sarahspangles said:

H337 said:

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that as it's still the vendor's property, shouldn't it still be the their responsibility to ensure the service and test the gas and electrics are up to date? And if not, can I request they do so before sale?

Houses aren’t like cars, they don’t have MOTs. The sort of certificated tests that landlords are required to do - to keep their tenants safe - are optional when it comes to homeowners. Your budget needs to factor in ongoing servicing and eventual replacement of the electrics and boiler. The surveyor’s report gives you a feel for how long before the first big bill is likely to come up. 

Boiler replacement is normally quite straightforward and not that expensive, but rewiring a house is a pretty big job.
However the electrics have to be in quite a bad state for this to be necessary, and it is a job that can often be put off almost indefinitely, apart from maybe updating the consumer unit.

We had to have our old fuse board updated, a few lights (bathroom etc...) brought up to code and half of our house rewired (the newer extension not the Edwardian part oddly although everything had to be checked) and it took a few hours, really wasn't that hard or a big deal.

I think some rewiring jobs can be very invasive, resulting in replastering in places and full redecoration.
So you were lucky !

propertyrental

my boiler stopped working last Friday (I'm an owner occupier). My engineer is sourcing a part that he thinks (fingers crossed) will fix it.

The boiler is 30 years old. I knew that when I bought the house last year so factored in that I'd have to replace it at some point, but there's no knowing when.

Because I knew the age of the boiler I didn't bother asking for certificates etc, just got it serviced when I moved in. I checked it was working (hot rads and hot water) and safe (left my CO alarm next to the boiler during a viewing.

As for the electrics, if you have concerns about them, pay an electrician to inspect/report, but don't be surprised if they don't meet today's standards - no one updates their electrics each time the standards change (every 5 years or so?). As long as they're safe, you're good.

Re-negotiate price based on this survey? If I was your seller I'd walk away and find a reliable buyer if you insisted.