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House sale without Electrical Certificates

Susieee
Susieee Posts: 48 Forumite
First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
in House buying, renting & selling
Would you buy a house with no electrical certificates?

I have fallen in love with a house which was rewired 25 years ago. I am worried that some parts of it do not look safe.

What would you do?
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Comments

  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,803 Forumite
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    Commission an electrical report. It's what you're supposed to do anyway.

    Elements of it won't be compliant with current regs but that doesn't mean it isn't safe.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • need_an_answer
    need_an_answer Posts: 2,812 Forumite
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    Factor it in to any renovation costs going forward.

    You could always commission your own electrical inspection,in fact I would recommend that over anything that the vendor may wish to supply.

    To put things into context many houses wont come with any or even recent certification.
    I had a property completely rewired around 5 years ago which now does not conform to up to date regulations,thats how fast these things change.
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  • Niv
    Niv Posts: 2,467 Forumite
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    Susieee wrote: »
    Would you buy a house with no electrical certificates?

    I have fallen in love with a house which was rewired 25 years ago. I am worried that some parts of it do not look safe.

    What would you do?



    In which case the certificate is pointless anyway as it would not magically look safe because you had a piece of paper.


    As suggested above, commission a report if you feel it necessary.
    YNWA

    Target: Mortgage free by 58.
  • foxy-stoat
    foxy-stoat Posts: 6,879 Forumite
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    If its a dream house then get any work done necessary to make it look safe - not many dream houses out there and a some bare wires poking out of the wall shouldn't stop you buying it.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    Susieee wrote: »
    I have fallen in love with a house which was rewired 25 years ago. I am worried that some parts of it do not look safe.

    What would you do?


    I would rejoice if all that was wrong from a first inspection was the look of some wiring!

    I probably wouldn't bother with an electrical report initially, as I'd assume some major updating would be in order, along with the attendant re-decoration. You might need more reassurance. A report is relatively cheap.

    I'd get a full buildings survey first if I didn't know much about house construction. There are potentially more expensive things to consider than rewiring, which might be £4 - 5.5k on a middle-sized house.
  • plumberpaig
    plumberpaig Posts: 65 Forumite
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    As above, find a good local registered tradesman to carry out an electrical installation condition report for you. The cost should be about £150. If faults are found you could even use the report to your advantage, getting a little bit of money off the price!

    Odd wires hanging loose doesn't automatically mean an installation is safe, it could just be redundant wiring that hasn't been removed. If the house is in good condition otherwise, then there might be cause for a little bit of concern.

    An EICR will reveal all.

    Do let us know how you get on...
  • ForumUser
    ForumUser Posts: 26 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    plumberpaig wrote: »
    If faults are found you could even use the report to your advantage, getting a little bit of money off the price!
    Is the seller selling the house with full and current electrical certification? If not, then why would they give you money off?
  • Susieee
    Susieee Posts: 48 Forumite
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    Thank you everybody for your replies. I am going to go ahead and have the gas and electrical safety certificates carried out by a competent engineer.

    Will let you guys know how I get on.
  • KL0001
    KL0001 Posts: 92 Forumite
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    I!!!8217;d factor that there is the chance or repairs/updates required. Most houses will have older electrics, chances are the whole house doesn!!!8217;t need rewriring and maybe just parts of it updating.

    Unless your buying a new build house or a newly renovated older one, electrics are just part of the ongoing maintainace of owning a property.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    Susieee wrote: »
    Thank you everybody for your replies. I am going to go ahead and have the gas and electrical safety certificates carried out by a competent engineer.
    Make sure you understand the difference between
    * 'not to current standards' (which will inevitably be on the report) and
    * dangerous


    The standards change regularly but houses do not need to be continuously updated to reflect them.


    Example. My house was built in 1851, with very shallow foundations as was typical at the time. It has survived 150 years. Today's 'current standards' would require foundations twice the depth but no one expects me to deepen my foundations!
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