New boiler or other option (house for sale)

FreeBear

ecraig said:

If you need to fit a boiler in order for it to actually sell, then you need to get a few quotes.
valiant or Worcester Bosch are always safer bets but I’d recommend to spec up technically. If the plumbers think you need a 28cdi based on the number of rads or bathrooms, perhaps spec up to a 30csi or 32cdi. Don’t bother with the fanciest controls though because this is where people might have to their preference for wireless, smart or indeed nothing fancy. 

A combi boiler should be spec'd based on the cold water flow rate, not the number of radiators - Most houses will only need 7-8kW for heating, and a small terrace would probably need less. A WB 28CDi is good for 11l/min @ 35°C, and the 32CDi will do 13l/min. However, with a minimum CH power of 7kW (max 24kW), it will be short cycling in the OP's small property.

It is worth looking at the minimums when selecting a new boiler - There are a few that go down to 3.2kW (Viessmann 050 being just one) which would be better suited. And a new boiler install would require a suitable programmable thermostat that supports modulation (OpenTherm, EMS, or Mbus). Unfortunately, a decent boiler with a good modulation range (min:max heat output) is not cheap.

Scot_39

Get it replaced ASAP - as quoted - would be my advice.

It's not exactly cheap - but an easy way of turning a negative into a positive that might cut then cut  sales times by weeks or months - during which your possibly still paying that mortgage.

At best it will impact asking price and then risk offers below it.


Its been cold enough indoors this week here in EM to keep indoors above insurance mins (15C if empty on direct line blog) and damp mould avoidance (generally 14C in many articles).

No GCH won't stop a lender offering a mortgage to any prospective buyer - but it will be a factor in their valuation - if they do a proper survey.

Your likely marketing to already stretched FTB on that sort of home - few I suspect will want to be adding the cost of new heating on top of other upfront costs.

And it risks casting doubt on the general maintenance and condition.  If someone willing to tolerate something as essential as heating failing - what other things have they let slip - would be my first reaction.

I wouldn't waste my time viewing. And when assisting my niece last year - as such she wouldn't have either.

Few will be as fussy about brand / model as they will be about no working heating at all. 

When have you ever seen an estate agent list the model on a properties details  vs those simply highlighting new or recently upgraded etc wording.

It might well end up attracting some fixer upper speculator types - who will offer bottom price to maximise their profit.

ecraig

The only extra comment I’ll add about brand/model comment is related to where I live.
i bought my home as a new build and my 2 year warranty on the boiler has concluded. Same for many of my neighbours. 
obviously I had no choice in what boiler make or model was fitted but on our neighbourhood chat we have endless amounts of people experiencing the same errors which come with a relatively expensive bill. We all have the same brand of boiler but some have a system boiler, others with a combi. The lower technical spec boilers experience the biggest number of complaints it seems. 
Heat exchange, gas valve, circuit boards.
Little support from the developer and little support from the manufacturer outside of the warranty.
So whilst I am thankful that they installed a boiler in my brand new shiny house, I do curse that they installed this crud and for just a couple hundred pounds more they could have installed something way better.
these cheap boilers seem to have a ticking time clock and they develop the issues as soon as the warranty expires.
Buy something good. 

Reed_Richards

If I were buying your house I would rather you knocked £1,800 off the asking price and allowed me to make my own decision as to what to do about the old boiler.  When we surveyed my current house with a view to buying it, it turned out that it needed rewiring.  The vendor was going to do that at their own expense but I persuaded them to knock the price of the rewiring of the asking price so I could supervise the work and make and tweaks and adjustments I wanted. 

Zandoni

Reed_Richards said:

If I were buying your house I would rather you knocked £1,800 off the asking price and allowed me to make my own decision as to what to do about the old boiler.  When we surveyed my current house with a view to buying it, it turned out that it needed rewiring.  The vendor was going to do that at their own expense but I persuaded them to knock the price of the rewiring of the asking price so I could supervise the work and make and tweaks and adjustments I wanted. 

The trouble is a lot of buyers wont be able to get the money together, it will be much easier if it's in the house price.

_Sam_

Thank you all, it looks the best option is to get a new boiler (if the new owner is tech savvy they would still have a brand new appliance and can change it later to suit their preferences)