Help. Is it a money pit?

[Fritilleries]

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123592355?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=whatsapp#/&channel=RES_BUY

Needs rewiring, wall ties need checking, needs external rendering, roof needs checking, feels every inch of a century old. Not sure if scared of work.

Would offer 320 on back off work to be done as sale fell when buyer ran away from a survey, presumably with same jitters we have. Thoughts?

I think it’s a mumsnet thing. It’s weird as fuck. In real life rewires are rare.

these are the main reasons

Persistent burning smell.
Scorched or discoloured sockets or switches. ...
Fuses blow repeatedly. ...
Flickering or dimming lights. ...
Electric shocks. ...
Hanging sockets.

an old fuse board isn’t a reason, you just upgrade costs less than 500 quid.

The previous buyer might have been a FTB and nervous, or maxing their budget so easily put off, or pulled out for another reason and blamed the survey. A survey will always say the electrics need checking as they are not qualified to deem them safe.

I wouldn't be put off. It looks like it's been fairly recently plastered, surely they would have rewired before then if it was in need of it.

It's a shame the interior has few original features left, but apart from that it looks lovely.

Lovely house - no idea on pricing as don't know the area. But lovely house!

You say ab old fuse board. That can be replaced without a rewire. We bought a 60's house and electrics hadn't been touched since it had old fuse board with wires or something. We upgraded it and it cost about £600 that was about 14yrs ago so probably more like £1000+ now but def not a full rewire. We didn't even have to do that but chose to. Infact when we sold house there was still something in the report about the electrics being old but again very thing was working and it sold no bother.

The house looks lovely I was wks ting to see some ancient decor and falling apart!

As others have said you can replace the fuse board without rewiring. It costs about £500. I have just had the fusebox replaced and the electrician checked the wiring at the same time and said it was fine. The rest of the house in your link looks fine to me. Nothing that would overly worry me, it looks perfectly liveable as it is.

Rewiring - surveyor speak for we can't check it but are covering our asses
Roof checking - surveyor speak for our ladder isnt big enough
External rendering - can you say where/how big the area is?
Wall ties - what are they for?

Looks like other buyer was a ftb who tend to read surveyor reports as gospel. Our house still has the original wiring from 1950s. Only two owners. Probably next owner will do it but right now everything works . I think that house looks lovely!

If you look at the video tour you can see the sockets are all placed above the skirting boards - that's not old wiring - old wiring tended to have sockets on the skirting boards - it's fine!

I'd ask what the wall ties are for though and if the reason for them has been rectified.

Nothing there suggests they’d accept such a low ball offer. Looks perfectly fine! Have you seen a survey yet?

Rewire on that size would be 2-3k. It's an older property so I would expect a horror story of a survey, it depends on the reality of that. Our survey didn't pick up any of the actual electric issue in our house we just paid it after we moved in. 1998 house so not expected

It all looks brand new. What a lovely house .

Wall ties would be cavity wall ties I presume? That hold the two external walls together. They can perish and need replacing. That was the case in house I looked at. So find out which (if any) walls need wall ties replacing and get a quote. I guess the problem with walls moving apart (due in part to perished wall ties) is subsidence. Not at all saying that's what it is, but it could lead to not. Expensive...

You cannot offer 55k below asking on that lovely house! All houses have problems - all of them. Even new builds.

I bought my house last year, 1900 Victorian, and I was convinced by the survey that it needed a rewire otherwise it would be an exploding death trap.

Electrician came in, upgraded the consumer unit for £500 (South East). He checked the rest of the wiring and it "passed". It's a mix of 60s, 90s and 2000s and there are no issues. I've stopped panicking.

I’d do it but my family is full of tradesmen. So can’t comment on yours. On my income I wouldn’t take it on if I wasn’t born into this family tbh

It doesn't need any work..?!

@titchy , I think they are like metal rods or wires through the masonry of the cavity walls. I think they will be in there but may need to be checked or replaced. I'm not a builder so don't take my word for it

Recently was quoted £1100 for a new consumer unit (fuse box) and for all sockets, switches and light fittings to be replaced. If that's all that needs to be done, it's not nearly as expensive as rewiring.

Yes I know what they are! But OP needs to work out why they're there. Has a tree root system undermined a structural wall which has come away and is now tied back in - if tree removed then that would suggest no further issue.

Or are they there because there is an underground stream which has damaged the foundations?

Or are they just the bits of metal that ensures the two walls are stabley tied to each other which is a standard construction method and not an issue at all.

But that's what surveyors are for!

That is a gorgeous house. Near me in outer London suburbs it would be 3 times the price it's on for.

Lucky you, OP, I'd bite their arm off for that (I'd probably knock down the garage too as I dislike them)!

Looks nice though lacking personality and I don't like what appeared to be a shower in a cupboard. Other than that, really not seeing any need for much work.

@titchy I think they are standard in cavity walls, but you can also have wall ties for walls that need to be tied in. The former would not be a worry, and the latter will have been inserted to fix a problem.

OP are you daft!! A money pit cause it has an old fuse board? I got mine replaced and every plug socket in my house changed for £300 it’s not a big job.

Surveys often make people absolutely shit themselves as surveyors are desperate to not get sued or kicked out of RICS So they arse cover massively… because of buyers like you

All houses are money pits, but I wouldn't buy it, it's horrid. An attempt to make an older house into a new one so it's lost its character but has older house issues. Buy an old house or a new one, not some mash up.