Would no central heating put you off?

Ditzy_Mitzy

Having lived through the cold winters circa 2009 to 2010 in a flat without central heating, indeed without gas of any description, I'd advise you not to consider a place without a proper boiler and central heating system.  The winters turned the flat into an ice-box, with relief only achieved by paying extortionate amounts to run electric heaters.  Even my hot water, provided by an ordinary immersion heater, was chilly.  A downstairs neighbour had to resort to using a portable heater fired by Calor gas.  

RHemmings

BungalowBel said:

If the property was priced accordingly, and I was in a position to not have to live in it whilst the work was done, then it would not put me off.

Quoted for agreement. I would consider this annoying, but the silver lining would be a fully modern system to my specification. 

I see in other posts that the price of the property is not discounted. In which case: make an offer of what you think the property is worth. If it was me doing so, I would include a quote for a full central heating system as part of the calculation of how much I offer. 

ciderboy2009

Bigphil1474 said:

....... Don't forget that new gas boilers are gonna be extinct in a few years......

They're not actually - the government abandoned those plans back in January.

prettyandfluffy

We have bought 2 houses with no CH and had it installed.  If you like the house and location and the price is right, then I would buy it.  The disruption isn't that great if you plan to have the work done before doing other things such as flooring and decorating.

FlorayG

RHemmings said:

BungalowBel said:

If the property was priced accordingly, and I was in a position to not have to live in it whilst the work was done, then it would not put me off.

I see in other posts that the price of the property is not discounted. In which case: make an offer of what you think the property is worth. If it was me doing so, I would include a quote for a full central heating system as part of the calculation of how much I offer. 

Of course it also depends on how badly the OP wants this particular property. If it's otherwise perfect, then offer the asking price. If it's only going to be perfect with central heating installed, price this up and offer this much less than asking price. Vendor may say no, in which case OP doesn't buy the house. How upset will OP be at not getting this particular house? That's the real consideration

WIAWSNB

mcplumb said:

As per the title, how much of a turn off would no CH be?
In their wisdom someone has removed the gas ch system and replaced with panel heaters and electric open vented cylinder.
Open market costs for CH would be 8/9k plus making good/pipe boxings etc. So let's say 10k all in. On top of the cost is hassle and disruption of flooring removal, dust etc.
How much is the hassle worth in real terms?  Basically the agent didn't seem aware and no one else has commented on it apparently (really? )

Nore info, please, McPlumb.

Is this a house or flat? Is there outdoor space for an ASHP? What is the asking price for the property? And, do you reckon the vendor will be prepared to drop this by any commensurate amount?

In most cases, this would not put me off at all. Yes, it'll be disruptive, but you'll presumably be carrying this at the very beginning, before you arrange all your furniture?! And, you should end up with a brand new and highly effecient heating system. That's got to be a good thing, surely? And depending on the cost of the house, is  £10k that significant?!

There's a thread on the DIY forum about someone whose new boiler is kaput, seemingly due to sludge from the old rads and pipes. There is another thread on there from someone with a brand new boiler - working fine - but who's discovered it doesn't heat his home as well as the old one, as the rads are undersized for a modern HE boiler.

So, these two folk have Gas-Fired CH and new boilers, but are suffering due to the age and antiquity of the rest of their system.

Personally, I'd welcome the opportunity of having a brand new CH system, but would try and negotiate to some degree. That, of course, partly comes down to the overall asking price.

sheenas

I am sure the estate agent is always going to say that no one else has commented most people will have discounted it before viewing others after, but i am sure there have been comments 

Electric in my experience is expensive, just look at your electric price per kw compared to gas, it's going to be roughly 5x more expensive. 

Installing a new system with radiators will be expensive depending on size and by a heat pump with grant may be an option. Starting from scratch with large radiators or under floor heating would be a decent option. Done before you move in and the disruption will be minimal.

As with all thing and others have pointed out, price is the key factor here. You might have a good bargaining position here.

user1977

ciderboy2009 said:

Bigphil1474 said:

....... Don't forget that new gas boilers are gonna be extinct in a few years......

They're not actually - the government abandoned those plans back in January.

Nevertheless, I wonder about how many years before gas becomes more expensive and/or outmoded and buyers start worrying about the future cost of ripping out a gas system and replacing it with electric...what's the payback time in the OP's case for installing a new system?

ComicGeek

I wouldn't spend £10k putting a gas CH system back in. I would spend £10k putting in standard AC split/multi-split units or condenserless units - at least 4 times as efficient as direct electric heating, and comparable in running costs to gas CH. Also provides cooling in summer, and much quicker to heat up a room than radiators.

I'm a big fan of the condenserless heat pumps like https://www.powrmatic.co.uk/products/air-conditioning/powrmatic-vision/ - no need to run pipework all around the house. One in the living room, one in each bedroom that is used. 

Unfortunately the home owner is likely to have fallen for one of the many electric heating scams and paid a premium for the panel heaters - may not be willing to accept a price drop for their mistake.

Murphybear

Loads of households don’t have  central heating.  The Census 2021 found that around 2.1 million households across England and Wales said they had electric-only heating, around 9% of all households.

We have storage heating, the HA updated it last year to the latest state of the art heaters.  It’s supposed to be very good and cost 40% less than the old ones but we’ve not actually used it yet as the house is really warm.  

When I was growing up in the 50s the only heating in our brand new council house was one coal fire  . It was lovely for roasting chestnuts