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Original poster

I have been a knob. Talk me down

32 replies

loveka · 19/04/2017 18:37

So, we bought a holiday cottage to become our full time job. At the same time we were buying a house to live in with another holiday let. That was dependant on our house selling and our buyer pulled out on the day of exchange. So the second purchase has been delayed - now nearing exchange. We had wanted both properties to go through at the same time. We decided not to have full structural surveys as we, and a fair few friends, have been badly burned by things not showing up. I think (thought?) they are a waste of money.

Anyway, we stupidly didn't have an electrical survey on the holiday cottage, and it turned out the electrics were buggered. It has cost us over 4 grand to put right. Along with other stuff that I really think a full survey would not have picked up we have ended up spending 10 grand. So totally our own fault I know, buyer beware and all that.

Now our buyer (of the house we live in and are selling) is asking us as the seller to pay for her to have an electrical survey. She had a survey which recommended this.

The house we are buying we again haven't had an electrical survey. I think it might be too late to get one now, it might freak the sellers out as we put in the offer a year ago and everything was ready to exchange last November until our buyer dropped out.

I think we have done this all wrong. In a nutshell I feel a bit resentful at having to pay out for my buyer to have a survey when I haven't had one! It feels like I will be paying twice. Which I will but my own fault.
I need some sense talking in to me.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 19/04/2017 19:16

If your buyer wants an electrical survey, they need to pay for it themselves. Caveat emptor is the general principle and it is down to a buyer to ensure they have what they need in order to go ahead. Tell them you just can't afford to pay for that for them at this stage of things having paid out for your own surveys (no reason for them to know you haven't had an electrical survey yourselves).

Maggy74653 · 19/04/2017 19:31

Yep I agree with pp the buyer should pay for the electrical survey not you. I think it is recommended as standard on any homebuyers report so I'd just say you weren't willing to pay for it.

Goldfishjane · 19/04/2017 19:36

Buyer pays
I had exactly this and told her to sort it herself.

Needmoresleep · 19/04/2017 23:31

Surely she pays. If the surveyor misses something obvious she can claim against his professional indemnity insurance.

Astro55 · 19/04/2017 23:34

We've paid for this before when buying

Our seller paid for the boiler service and we paid for the remaining oil -

There's room for negotiation

Sunnyshores · 20/04/2017 10:57

yep agree, buyer to pay for any surveys or checks they want doing. All quite normal.

Lilmisskittykat · 20/04/2017 16:47

Would be normal for the buyer to pay for it.

If only for the sake of them having confidence that the survey results were unbiased (not suggesting you would do anything but that's the point of them instructing)

Original poster
loveka · 21/04/2017 10:14

I really do need talking down now.

She said she would get the inspection done. She showed an electrician the survey and he said that from the photograph of the fuse box he can see the house needs a total rewire. It will be 8k he says.

Buyer has now said she wants this work done by us before she moves in , and also wants the cost of he accommodation paid by us as this will delay things.

This seems a huge amount for rewiring in a tiny cottage. And how can he tell from a photograph? I think he may be a chancer who thinks that as she is getting someone else to pay he can hike the price up. Also, we had the kitchen rewired 10 years ago!

I know I am pissed off because doing the electric work on the other house has cleaned us out, and it was unavoidable if we'd had the survey.

Would it be fair to say we want 3 quotes and to split the cost?

A few years ago we were told we should get a new junction box to meet current building regs (quoted £800) but that it wasnt needed for safety, just to meet current regulations. We didnt do it because we have been utterly skint the last 5 years as my partner got made redundant. I wish we had found the money somehow though. The skintness was why we didn't get a survey on the other house too.

I feel we are trying to make some kind of future for ourselves financially and that at every turn we make the wrong choice and it ends up costing us money. Sorry to ramble.

OP posts:
MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 21/04/2017 10:18

She sounds a chancer. He can't tell from a photo of the fuse box if the whole house will need a rewire.

As for paying for her accommodation - that's laughable.

Tell her to jog on.

TheCrowFromBelow · 21/04/2017 10:20

Definitely get another quote. And she is holding things up, not you.
I would not accept doing the work either - she needs to do it, she may have other work she wants doing at the time and she'll know where she wants power points etc.
what has your estate agent said?
Most properties need work especially electrics etc so she should really have expected that. Everyone in the chain will have increased accommodation costs if she holds it up because of this - no reason you should pay at all.

wowfudge · 21/04/2017 10:21

What she has been told or has interpreted is bollocks.

As you've said, an old fuse box or consumer unit just means it isn't to current regs. It doesn't mean it's unsafe. You can have a new consumer unit and there can be ancient wiring in the place! The electrician is on the make. £8k is excessive. Get the EA onto this. It needs to be explained to her. This guy hasn't even been to the house, is that right? What's his name? Check if he is registered under a recognised scheme. Request a copy of the quote.

This kind of thing makes me mad.

futuristic1 · 21/04/2017 10:22

Nobody updates their electrics every time 'current' regulations change - you'd be updating every month.

Bluntness100 · 21/04/2017 10:25

This isn't right, firstly she pays for the survey. And secondly we bought with an old wire type fuse box and we had it replaced and certified. Cost was about 300 quid. No way he can say the place needs a total rewiring by looking at fuse box. They are trying to take you for some money,

Bluntness100 · 21/04/2017 10:25

Oh and I also hate people like this,

wowfudge · 21/04/2017 10:25

She can take a running jump. Anyone buying anything other than a new build expects things will need renewing/upgrading, etc. We've just had half of our four bedroom house rewired for a fraction of £8k.

Spadequeen · 21/04/2017 10:30

When we sold our flat the buyer wanted us to reduce the price by £500 due to the electrics not meeting current standards. We got our own electrician in to tell us that there was nothing wrong with the electrics and even if we did what she said, in 6 months time it would meet the new criteria.

We told her no. I'm hoping it was first time buyer nerves rather than a chancer but you never know.

I would also be telling these people no.

scaryteacher · 21/04/2017 10:30

No house, unless a brand new one will be wired to current regulations. We had to have one done before letting, it looked horrendous, but all we had to get done was to move a switch for the immersion to outside the airing cupboard. We then moved to Belgium, where you have sockets positioned near the sinks inn the bathrooms....

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 21/04/2017 10:32

We have a beautiful consumer unit. Half the house needs a rewire (checked by an actual electrician) and most of the spotlights put in fairly recently were a fire risk to the Victorian ceilings.

We had a full structural survey. Loads of issues not picked up but it is structurally sound

Original poster
loveka · 21/04/2017 10:41

Thanks all! That has cheered me up.
I think she has now got it into her head that it needs a rewire, just from this 'quote'.

The electrician was recommended to her by the estate agent. I will look in to him, but my gut feeling is he knows she will try and knock the price down, so thinks he will charge what he wants.

OP posts:
neonrainbow · 21/04/2017 11:04

Sounds dodgy! I wonder if the estate agent gets a back hander from the electrician.

Instasista · 21/04/2017 11:10

She's not a serious buyer. No one with any brains expects to be buying a perfect house. Either she accepts she may need to rewire or she pulls out.

I suspect the electrician has simply seen you have an old style fuse box and therefore assumed a re wire is needed. However it's actually fairly unusual to need a fully rewire these days so she's probably exaggerating

wowfudge · 21/04/2017 11:12

The EA works for you. This is a conflict of interest if they have introduced him and he is now making your buyer think she can reduce her offer.

Astro55 · 21/04/2017 11:23

Estate agents get paid on the asking price not the selling price - so technically the sold price is irrelevant to the EA

We had an electrical survey - around £80 - one bedroom needed the plugs doing

Instasista · 21/04/2017 11:23

Eh? Estate agents are paid on the selling price!

usernumbernine · 21/04/2017 11:25

My estate agent got paid on the selling price, not the asking price, never heard of one that goes on asking price.

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