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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Selling, is this the norm?

48 replies

StressedMover · 09/05/2017 11:57

In the process of moving. Our buyers have requested both a boiler service and electrical testing at our expense.

Whilst I don't want to risk our sale but don't feel this is our responsibility. Is this the norm?

OP posts:

pansydePotter · 09/05/2017 12:05

We had to provide a Gas Safe certificate which I think is quite normal. Quite easy to get, your sol will advise you. Not the electrics though and it was a very old house we sold.

NeedMoreSleepOrSugar · 09/05/2017 12:06

Boiler, yes, especially if gas as usually part of insurance requirements, we've been asked to do this but it's always been up to date anyway. Not for electrical though - what kind of testing? Is it an old house?

moonlight1705 · 09/05/2017 12:06

We had the electrical survey done ourselves when we bought as it was brought up as an issue in the main survey. However the vendors did then pay half of the electrical work amount.

Firstwomanonthemoon · 09/05/2017 12:12

The house we moved into had unsafe electrics despite having building certificates and I'll ask for this in our next move. The house we sold had both gas and electric testing as it had been rented out. The cost shouldn't be too much to get this done and if this sale doesn't come through you will have it for future purchasers.

spongebob5 · 09/05/2017 12:16

Yes it's normal, I had both done when I sold my house last year

Original poster

StressedMover · 09/05/2017 12:21

The house is just outside NHBC 10 year warranty so not old. My question is should it be at our expense? My conveyancer says I have no legal obligation to.

OP posts:

PenCreed · 09/05/2017 12:22

We had to replace our boiler 3 months into owning our house because the previous owner hadn't had it service even once in the 10 years since she'd installed it. That meant a simple fault had become irreparable over time, it was her fault but we had to shell out for it. I wouldn't ever buy a house now without ensuring the boiler had been serviced, and would advise everyone else to do that as well. If we asked for it and the seller refused, I'd be extremely suspicious - depending on budget and other house issues it might even affect continuing with the purchase.

SouthPole · 09/05/2017 12:23

They can ask - everyone does. You don't have to capitulate.

Huskylover1 · 09/05/2017 12:25

I have bought & sold 6 houses, and this has never come up (on either side).

ThePants999 · 09/05/2017 12:25

Absolutely NOT! Astonished that people seem to think it is!!

In a house transaction, whatever checks / investigations / surveys the buyer wants done are for the buyer to arrange at the buyer's expense. Any seller who pays for them themselves is a mug, and any of you who have managed to get the seller to pay for them was lucky to be buying from a mug.

ThePants999 · 09/05/2017 12:29

On boilers specifically: as the buyer, you should absolutely ask for and expect to see the certificate from the install, and proof of servicing. If it hasn't been serviced, you could ask for it to be done if you wanted, but this falls into the same category as any other remedial work, where the standard advice is "get it done yourself after you move in". Even if you can convince the seller to do it, their interests are in having it done as cheaply as possible, not in having it done properly.

Scottishchick39 · 09/05/2017 12:29

I'm an estate agent in Scotland so it may be different, but here the buyer always put their own heating engineer out to check the boiler etc before the settlement date. May be different in England though.

Original poster

StressedMover · 09/05/2017 12:30

pants so you think they are most certainly chancing their arm? Didn't think the onus would be on our side- solicitor seems to confirm such!

I suppose if you do have them in place before you market is does make it more desirable though?

OP posts:

ThePants999 · 09/05/2017 12:34

They might not necessarily be chancing exactly - they might just not understand the done thing.

Having proof that you've performed appropriate maintenance on your house, including the boiler, is a good thing to have, yes.

Electrical inspection? Not only would it be highly unusual to have that done as a vendor before you market, I wouldn't even trust it anyway as a buyer, I'd want my own done (if I felt it was warranted).

Doodlebug5 · 09/05/2017 12:35

Exactly the same situation I have found myself in. Told them no

ScarlettFreestone · 09/05/2017 12:35

Is it worth losing the sale over though?

Goldfishjane · 09/05/2017 12:36

I showed the last boiler service certificate which was about three months old
But with electrics they wanted to do a full check, I told them to pay for that, they did.

Original poster

StressedMover · 09/05/2017 12:44

I'm thinking of getting the boiler serviced but leaving the electrics to them.

The buyers are getting our house at a very good price anyway!

OP posts:

Solo · 09/05/2017 12:44

Work for EA and this is being requested more and more.

Kokusai · 09/05/2017 12:46

Electrical test - their cost

Boiler service - you really

Cloudhopping · 09/05/2017 12:51

You should service your boiler regularly anyway shouldn't you? We're selling and if we hadn't have got it serviced we would pay for this to be done before we go. We are buying a house where the boiler is 20 years old and hasn't been serviced for 3 years. We will be asking for it to be serviced and for that to be paid for by the seller. If they said no, it would make me very suspicious.

wickerlampshade · 09/05/2017 12:54

no that's bollocks. buyer pays for any surveys they want to do including on electrical safety.

NoSquirrels · 09/05/2017 12:55

You "should" be able to prove that you've had the boiler serviced - i.e. it's something most people would expect you to have, as it's a yearly check for most people, so you'd usually have a certificate on hand to prove your boiler wasn't dodgy. If it hasn't been serviced in an age, how can the buyers know they're not staring a huge future bill of £000's in the near future? I would expect this as a buyer, and ask for it if it wasn't done/there wasn't a certificate within 2 years, say, so I would be happy to pay it in order to sell - be about £50-80 or thereabouts?

Electrics I think on a 10-year-old house I wouldn't expect there to be an issue, so I wouldn't require it as a buyer, and wouldn't give in to it as a seller. Different if you're buying a house where you have reasonable doubt about them, but 10 years they should be fine.

Thingirlstuckinfatsuit · 09/05/2017 12:56

I think it's quite common for mortgage companies to request this now, so that's why your buyers may have asked. Personally I would pay an unbiased, recommended plumber/electrician to do it, otherwise your buyers may instruct their own and use their findings to renegotiate their offer. Or, if the sale falls through, you will have it ready for the next buyer.

mayrat · 09/05/2017 12:57

We met our sellers halfway. We asked for the boiler to be serviced and the gas safety certificate done, but we paid for it, ourselves. This would've turned up any problems, plus we could use a contractor of our choice, as we were footing the bill. It was about £70 from memory.

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