House needs new boiler and full rewire

[Stargirl90]

We are purchasing a house, as first time buyers, we had gas and electric certificates carried out, gas has come back saying boiler in poor conditon, needs replacing, along with hob also needing replacement. £1.5-2k

Electrical results are a nightmare, house needs a full rewire, quoted £2.5-3k

So up to £5k for the lot, which we cannot afford to foot ourself. We are going to ask the seller to either pay to get them done prior to selling, or if that fails is it possible for him to accept for example 5k below selling price and then use that 5k from the mortgage to fund the repairs? Is that even allowed?

The house in not safe to live in until the electrics are at least sorted. This came as a huge shock, was not expecting any major issues at all.
If neither are possible we will have to back out 🙁 surely it shouldn't be the buyers responsibility to fix the electrical issue

We don't rent (used to), living with parents to save for deposit.
The house is practically empty, the owner lives down south (we are north) it say practically because he doesn't live in it but there are just the bare essentials there (fridge, sofa, bed) he is leaving the appliances behind, I'm assuming no one lives there he just uses it occasionally but not sure.
We paid 2 companies we found ourself to carry out the checks. The report states that the boiler initially didn't work, gas man got it going, it had a leak so be fixed that and got it working but its said to be 'poor condition,needs replacing'

The electrical report there were21 faults. Some less serious and a few major ones, I don't understand the lingo much but it says theres little to no earthing at all and it's not economical to repair, RCD switch doesn't work, upstairs lighting they were unable to collect readings (?) Earthing conductor size in potentially dangerous condition urgent remedial action required, provision of earthing/bonding labels at appropriate locations in potentially dangerous condition urgent remedial action required ..etc etc
There's too many to list but there's 5 points on the list that say urgent remedial action required.

Never thought about the mess it makes having the wiring done, we are in the lucky position of not being on a time limit to move out of where we are so could have all work don'e before we even moved in. But we can't afford to lay out the 5k + for repairs , prefer not to use a credit card/loan, the seller won't reduce the price, so it's time to start again I think. I think we would look at a slightly higher priced property in a more definite lived in and 'ready to move in' state

the problem with starting again and looking for a new place is that every house you look at will need some repair and maintenance. Maybe on the next one it won't be wiring, but will be roofing or window repairs. Surveyors always err on the side of caution, so what looks like a scary list of problems may well not be something you need to panic about.

Owning a house involves ongoing maintenance, so if you really can't afford to do any of that it might be a good idea to wait till you have some savings put aside for these costs or look for a house that is cheaper so that you have some budget left for maintenance costs.

Your quotes seem rather low, I would have thought you'd be looking more likely at a minimum of £2.5k for a new boiler and a minimum of £5k for a full rewire.

And remember a full rewire is likely to require full redecoration also.

We bought a house which we had fully rewired plus all new double glazing before we moved in. But the electrics were such a state our mortgage was conditional on us replacing them before we moved in.

10 years later we’ve nearly finished the rest of the renovation work needed.

As a PP said, surveys highlight issues. You also need to know, if the boiler, and the job, is unsafe, they disconnect it there and then as gas safe registered tradesman must do. Big sign left on gas appliances to that effect.

As regards the electrics, does the report recommend full rewrite of the entire house, is it recommending a new fuse box of grounding? Common items in reports particularly when codes change but previous fuse boxes are still fine

Does your report actually say that the house is unsafe to live in?

It really sounds like first time buyers jitters
All houses have some type of issue - even brand new ones need snagging
How much have you spent to date on this one ? Or are you just off the idea of this particular house ?
All surveys will show problems - that's what a survey is for a snapshot of all the wrongs in a property - lots that probably wouldn't be addressed anyway

Also what capcapcap said

You could look on the positive side. Full rewire will allow you to have every single light, switch and socket where you want them. You can build in potential future alterations that you may want to make.

Yes, it is a messy process but if you aren't living in the house while it is being done then you won't have to live with disruption.

All houses have hidden bodge jobs of some sort. New switch and socket covers can hide decades old wiring. This house is showing you its warts. Other houses will be hiding theirs.

Actually, that sounds fine to me. If it were my. Perfect house I'd buy it, then plan to do the work when I'd saved up for it. Get the retire done before you move in if you can as it's very messy. The bonus side to a rewire is that you get to have all the sockets and switches where you want them! I put up with no sockets in my very long hall for years and only single sockets in every bedroom.
Have more sockets than you think- in the living room, you need at least 3 for the tv, and one in every corner. You can have USB sockets fitted too.
If you push the vendor, they might reduce the price a bit, especially now they have seen the inspection report.

Jemi those prices the OP mentioned sounds about right , I'm also in the north. A work colleague had a boiler changed that was £1800. A friend had a rewire in a 3 bed house that was £2k. Clearly there is a massive regional variation in costs.

OP I would go for this house if you like everything else apart from the boiler /electrics. I would get a loan or borrow from family if possible. At least you know what's in front of you.

No earthing is definitely a dangerous fault code 1 but i don't see how it can be uneconomical to repair, it's essential and would be economical to do unless you're in a floating bubble.
No labelling is not a dangerous fault it would be c3 at best.
Sounds like the lighting circuits are not earthed which is only dangerous if there are metal light fittings or switches, but they can be changed.
You need to post the report so we can tell you which things are essential.

Chickencellar - There is no way a full rewire on a 3 bed house would cost only £2k unless it was done at VERY generous mates rates.

You might possibly just about get a very cheap gas fitter to fit a very cheap boiler for £1,800, if it's just a straight forward replacement with no complications.

(I'm also in the north and know plenty of tradesmen)

Haven't RTFT but we have just got the keys for a house needing a new boiler and full rewire (among other things...)
Total will come in at 6.5k, and that's at decent up north prices.
We're then spending 1.5k having nice switches and light fittings, and a few smart rads.
I'd say go for it if you can haggle the price down when you buy the house. At least you'll get it how you want it. The boiler we've just had fitted comes with a 12 year warranty and we've chosen where it's installed etc. It's great to get things as you want from the start.
However - be prepared to do a lot of research and planning, and have to make decisions quickly as making changes halfway through a job really pisses tradesmen off! Don't underestimate the stress, mess and time of all that.

JEMI the boiler was an ideal so middle of the range ? My friend had the rewire , she had 2 quotes both around 2/ 2.5k. I've no reason to disbelieve her , neither of them were mates.