Putting an offer in for a flat when not sure re what needs doing

[Alice1988x]

Hello, I’m a bit of a novice to all this so just looking for some advice! I have viewed a flat that I’m thinking of putting an offer in for, however it needs a fair bit of work doing it to it which I THINK is mainly aesthetic (new flooring, plastering etc) - that’s fairly straightforward and I’ve got money put aside for that sort of thing. However my question is how do I know if the flat may need other stuff doing to it - rewiring is the main concern, it’s not something I know much about but I noticed the plug sockets were pretty old looking although they did work. Is this something the survey would cover and (if so) would the surveyor need access to the inside of the property to determine this? Another issue was that the tiles in the bathroom and hallway were incredibly cracked and I wonder if there is some underlying ground issue which could be causing this. Again, is this something a survey could tell me more about?

Get a survey done.

A full structural survey will cover the whole building and will categorise issues based on whether they need immediate remedial attention, or whether they are things which will need attention in due course. If you’re a novice it’s then a good idea to get a trade opinion on whether the works are necessary and to what extent: surveying is as much a legal process as anything else and surveyors will err on the side of caution (i.e. will tend to advise that something may need future attention rather than say it doesn’t need attention.)

A survey should identify whether e.g. damp or a leak in the bathroom might be affecting the integrity of the surface the tiles are laid on hence the cracking; in the absence of a specific issue being identified, it can’t give a definitive answer as to why the tiles are cracked.

Oh! Sorry! Yes, the surveyor will need internal access.

A survey won't tell you about the electrics you'll get a standard back covering clause about that. You'll need an electrician for that.

Yes, surveyor will need internal access but the vendor will be expecting that. As pp said, you will also need to arrange an electrician to have a look separately as this won’t be covered in the survey

You could ask before you make the offer when the boiler was last replaced and when the electrical consumer unit was replaced and/or inspected.

Or ask for another viewing and ask where the fuse box (ie electrical consumer unit) is. Look for a sticker dated in the last 5 years.

Or ask to see the property information form. Though usually they will wait till after wn offer. They need to give you that. As it is a flat you should also be getting an LPE1/management pack about the building.

A full structural survey is probably overkill for a flat. Your surveyor would not be able to get access to all parts of the building and a lot of the information you need should be covered in the LPE1.

@Jarstastic thank you so much that’s really helpful, I will ask about both the boiler and fuse box!