Buying a flat as a FTB - didn't know it only had electric underfloor heating

Jungleflow

Hi everyone, I'm a FTB a bit stuck with whether to follow through with the flat that I am purchasing or to walk away. Still living with parents so there is no rush to move out, - could have work done before I were to move in if needed (although ideally would love to be living in it of course).

Just had the survey done which revealed that it only has electric underfloor heating and that the two bedrooms have no source of heating at all.

Can only imagine that the bills would be astronomical and that replacing the system would cost a packet too. 

Would it even be worth trying to renegotiate on price?

powerful_Rogue

What did the advert say? 

What was said when you asked when looking around?

You can always try and negotiate, however the seller can easily say no,

user1977

The underfloor heating doesn't stretch to the bedrooms? How did you think they were heated?

Robin9

Did you owner share any details of running costs with you ?

Need not to be too expensive to run -  you just need to learn how to run it.

Changing would need the freeholders consent -  gas is probably not available. air source  may not be practical, storage rads would involve rewiring/redecoration. 

sgthammer

Sounds like where I spent my teens, doing homework wrapped up in a quilt next to a freestanding convection heater that smelled of burning dust. No double glazing either. Looking back I can see why Mum never saved any money. The underfloor system itself was great as far as it went, although in the era of deep-pile carpets I think we got more heat from the flat above than from our own. The council eventually modernised the block with storage heaters, new windows and extra exterior cladding, but it sounds like the place you're looking at was a casualty of Right to Buy before similar improvements were ever mooted.

It wasn't the worst childhood, but I wouldn't go back to those conditions by choice.

Jungleflow

Unfortunately, I was very green (having never even rented before) - I was told on looking around that it had underfloor heating (I didn't ask what kind or if it was throughout - definitely wont be making that mistake again).

I got very lucky that the sellers were in when the survey was done which is how the surveyor found out that there was no heating in the bedrooms, as they noticed dehumidifiers and portable heaters in there. Winter hadn't hit yet when I viewed, so these weren't out at the time (not that I would have thought to ask).

Asking for details of the running costs is an idea! Thanks for suggesting it - may give me some clue on whether it's managable

Tabieth

I now own a house with gas central heating, the last place I lived in was a flat with electric underfloor heating throughout. It was awful! I hated it and, when house hunting, I wouldn't view anything that wasn’t gas. Never, never again. 

The problems were two fold. Firstly was the cost of electric heating. I was on Economy 7 and any electric heating during the day cost me a fortune. I had a smart meter and so could see that if I turned my boiler on during the day it was - literally £10 an hour to heat up. 

The second problem was the underfloor heating. I can see it being lovely in a bathroom. But not in a whole flat / house. The problem is that it takes ages to heat up and ages to cool down. So one really has to plan ahead to a ridiculous degree. You can’t just decide it’s too cold and turn up the thermostat. Instead, you have to think - what would I like the temperature to be in eight hours time. I don’t want a hot or too warm flat but nor do I want to shiver. It really was impossible to get any degree of control. 

So I had a flat where, on a cheap spring / autumn day, I was paying £10-£12 a day to heat (£20 in winter), and I had limited control of how hot / cold it was. I was miserable. Never again. 

My advice is if you can install gas central heating, then fine. If it’s an eco home that costs £5 per annum to heat, then fine. Otherwise run far, far away.