AIBU to want to flush loos, turn on the heating and check sockets at a house viewing

[DeeLite]

We are viewing a house tomorrow that has been builder-refurbished. The finishing is a bit shabby. The vendor will be present. Can I ask him to turn on the heating and then check that all the radiators heat up and that we get hot water from all the taps, that loos flush and electrical fittings work?

Would he think me an unreasonable buyer and therefore go with another offer?

"If these cant be produced then walk run away."

Surely an older house wouldn't have these?

My friend bought a house in Summer and when they turned the heating on found out that the upstairs raidiators were connected to pipes but not actually connected to the boiler after that! So I would always check - seems a mad thing to check but it cost her a fortune to fix.

Same with other stuff ... but then I'd always avoid buying a house a "builder has done up shabbily" as you just never know which shortcuts have been taken. (And I know there are decent ones out there but they don't tend to do shabby - that's your warning bells alarm).

BunBaker - any newish work even on an older house must have building regs certificates.

?Construction of a building e.g. new dwelling.
?Extending an existing building e.g. kitchen extension.
?Making structural alterations to a building e.g. removing a load bearing wall.
?Converting a loft e.g. making a new room in the roof space.
?Installing services and fittings e.g. installing central heating.
?Changing the use of a building e.g. converting a house to flats.
?Erecting a large conservatory e.g. floor area greater than 30m2.
?Converting an existing garage to a habitable room.
?Window and /or door replacement (not repairs).
?The installation or alteration of electrical works

Any of the above done recently will have require building control approval. Any major elctrical work will have required building control approval since 2005. For most other works the building control approval will have been required for longer than that.

If certificates cant be produced then get the relevant piece of work checked out by an appropriate professional or walk away. Certificates arent just bits of paper, if someone didnt realise that there were building regs to follow then they probably havent got the appropriate planning permissions and may well have not done the work properly.

Nope, not U at all. I always check the water pressure too, especially if it isn't a power shower. Nowt worse than a dribbling shower! :)

Ah. I'm thinking of an older house that hasn't had any work done. Our last house was about 200 years old and had been extended in 1976 so there were no certificates. We had it rewired in 1997 and were able to produce the paperwork for it, but it wasn't a building regs certificate. It was a receipt with a list of the work done.

Get into the attic if you can with a torch and check out for any leaks, the water tanks, pipes and wiring.
Check the water pressure and how quickly water drains form the sinks etc.
Check the fuse box.
This is all from bitter experience.
Here in Scotland you have a few days to identify any major problems with heating etc and can claim for repair from the seller.

Our 'full survey' managed to miss the fact that a load bearing wall had been removed we can now slide fingers between our bedroom wall and DS2's as the ceiling is sagging..and we can't afford to sort it.

Oh and the downstairs loo..pipework was blocked (with a flowerpot!!) as we discovered many drain rods later....

Then there was the rotten bathroom floor that eventually fell thro....

I'm hoping never to move again, but if I do I shall be sooooooo obsessive!