Buying house - Electric & gas certificates

Arsenal2019

Hello

currently in the process of buying a house and in the latter stages. 

I’ve just had the L2 home buyers survey back and the gas and electric reports have come back as red due to them not having a gas or electric certificate.

i know that it’s not a legal requirement for the sellers to have in order to sell the house but they do not want to pay for the certificates themselves which I guess is fair enough.

i don’t believe that there’s an issue with any of it as I’ve been to the house multiple times and I’ve seen the electrics on, heating on and hot water on. But obviously I dont know if there’ll be any underlying issues in the future& have to folk out for fixes at a later date.

fyI the house is only 20 years old

would it be silly to finalise the purchase of the house without these certificates or should I pay and organise for them to be done? If I should, does anyone know how long these things take as I really want the house to be finalised and move in quick?

thanks

 

user1977

Not "silly". Most people don't bother. I wouldn't unless I had already noticed particular concerns.

FlorayG

I have to get them for a property I rent out and you can get them done next day if you 'know a bloke' who has the relevant qualifications to do them and is available. Basically, how long it takes is down to how available a tester is. The certificate is done immediately on completion of inspection
Having said that, I've never had one done on a house BEFORE buying it, but considering the cost of the certificate compared to the cost of the house maybe it's worth while

chrisw

The certificates don't take long to do, it's as quick as the gas man and electrician's availability. They can issue the certificate there and then.

They can give piece of mind but also cause unnecessary worry, there are usually a few issues raised, particularly on the electrical checks.

BarelySentientAI

Arsenal2019 said:

I’ve just had the L2 home buyers survey back and the gas and electric reports have come back as red due to them not having a gas or electric certificate.

Gas and electric will be red on every L2 survey because the surveyor is not a qualified electrician or gas engineer.

If this is worrying you, getting the certificates will worry you even more.  I guarantee that the electrical certificate will identify at least one place where the electrics do not comply with the regulations.

Have you ever had an electrical/gas certificate for the house you are in now?

Maahes

My L2 survey came back with five red items including gas, electricity and heating. None bothered me and didn't change my view on the property. Since I bought I have had the boiler serviced and had an electrician look over the consumer unit when he was fitting a replacement shower. Both are fine.

Arsenal2019

BarelySentientAI said:

Arsenal2019 said:

I’ve just had the L2 home buyers survey back and the gas and electric reports have come back as red due to them not having a gas or electric certificate.

Gas and electric will be red on every L2 survey because the surveyor is not a qualified electrician or gas engineer.

If this is worrying you, getting the certificates will worry you even more.  I guarantee that the electrical certificate will identify at least one place where the electrics do not comply with the regulations.

Have you ever had an electrical/gas certificate for the house you are in now?

Nope never- when I sold my previous house i lived in for five years, I never had anyone round for it and the buyers never asked me to buy one. I don’t know if that’s because the previous owners had it done?

user1977

Arsenal2019 said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Arsenal2019 said:

I’ve just had the L2 home buyers survey back and the gas and electric reports have come back as red due to them not having a gas or electric certificate.

Gas and electric will be red on every L2 survey because the surveyor is not a qualified electrician or gas engineer.

If this is worrying you, getting the certificates will worry you even more.  I guarantee that the electrical certificate will identify at least one place where the electrics do not comply with the regulations.

Have you ever had an electrical/gas certificate for the house you are in now?

 I don’t know if that’s because the previous owners had it done?

It's much more likely because nobody was bothered.

Exodi

Guessing you may be a first time buyer as it's commonplace for surveys to come back with disclaimers around gas, electric, etc and suggesting specific inspections.

I expect most people don't pay for inspections on these things, unless there was a notable point of concern (for example, the heating or lights don't work).

Arsenal2019 said:

But obviously I dont know if there’ll be any underlying issues in the future& have to folk out for fixes at a later date.

One thing that will be certain is that you will have to fork out for fixes at a later date, it's part of being a home owner. Having an inspection tell you that the "boiler is approximately 10 years old; likely to need replacement in the medium term" doesn't achieve much as you'd be hard pressed to convince the seller to effectively subsidise improvements to the house for you through a discount (and it rubs people up the wrong way).

FreeBear

I'd be more concerned about when the gas boiler was last serviced.

If it had been done recently, safety checks would have been done even if a CP12 wasn't issued.

Arsenal2019

FreeBear said:

I'd be more concerned about when the gas boiler was last serviced.

If it had been done recently, safety checks would have been done even if a CP12 wasn't issued.

The boiler is 8 years old allegedly