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Vendor blocking us having electrical survey

59 replies

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 19:05

We are deep in the process of buying a house. Over all the house is in good condition and looks nice (its not a renovation project etc).

Our survey revealed some questions over electrics and fire safety. In addition the vendor has no part p certificates.

Note the property has been extended several times by different owners and no one has obtained building completion certificates so one can assume the electrics may not have been formally checked then either.

Have asked to send in an electrician, vendor insisted on having their electrician and they have suggested £2k of work which the vendor wants to do before we move in.

We want to do our own electrical survey based on the surveyors notes (covering more than what as been checked by the sellers electrician). She is refusing to let us do this. We have said we prefer to do any works when we move in as we can oversee it. She prefers she do it and not for our electrician to visit til she has completed the work (which doesn't cover all that needs doing).

We are all working to an agreed date, and this will throw that date off completely.

I feel like its very odd we cannot have our electrician survey - its at our cost after all!

Any insight or opinions welcome

OP posts:
JudithHarper · 15/10/2022 19:08

I'd be pulling out. You need your survey and your electrician to do the work.

Blue2021 · 15/10/2022 19:09

I would consider pulling out. If she isn’t going to allow this, I would be asking what she is hiding

Tontostitis · 15/10/2022 19:12

Drop your offer or walk away it's clearly a big project house if it's been priced as such I don't see why they'd do the house just do it when you move in.

girlmom21 · 15/10/2022 19:16

Tell her to knock £5,000 off the asking price.
That'll cover a rewire on an average sized house.

GoldenGorilla · 15/10/2022 19:17

Pull out. Odds are she has reason to think there are electrical problems that will cost much more to put right, and doesn’t want you to find out. Tell her you absolutely cannot proceed without your own full check.

FWIW - we once spent about £60k completely redoing the wiring and electrics after purchase. Our own fault, we were naive and didn’t get a full electrics survey. Now we always do!

MaydinEssex · 15/10/2022 19:17

Not sure if you will be having a mortgage on the property, but I'd be inclined to say your mortgage lender insists on you having your own electrical survey carried out and the mortgage offer is reliant on the findings, if no mortgage is involved than say your solicitor has strongly urged you against proceeding unless you get your own electrical survey as there will be no comeback later if a problem was to come to light, not to mention the safety aspect, whatever you do don't let your seller fob you off, sounds dodgy to me

girlmom21 · 15/10/2022 19:20

GoldenGorilla · 15/10/2022 19:17

Pull out. Odds are she has reason to think there are electrical problems that will cost much more to put right, and doesn’t want you to find out. Tell her you absolutely cannot proceed without your own full check.

FWIW - we once spent about £60k completely redoing the wiring and electrics after purchase. Our own fault, we were naive and didn’t get a full electrics survey. Now we always do!

£60,000? Were you re-wiring Buckingham Palace? Or does that include all types of fittings including posh lights?

Pixiedust1234 · 15/10/2022 19:24

Note the property has been extended several times by different owners and no one has obtained building completion certificates so one can assume the electrics may not have been formally checked then either.

^^I would be more concerned about that tbh. Who's to say the foundations are any good?

Shmithecat2 · 15/10/2022 19:30

GoldenGorilla · 15/10/2022 19:17

Pull out. Odds are she has reason to think there are electrical problems that will cost much more to put right, and doesn’t want you to find out. Tell her you absolutely cannot proceed without your own full check.

FWIW - we once spent about £60k completely redoing the wiring and electrics after purchase. Our own fault, we were naive and didn’t get a full electrics survey. Now we always do!

£60k!?!?! We spent £12.5k on a 5 bed/3 storey house. They saw you coming Confused

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 19:32

Yes that is a worry but surveyor things its structurally sound and we can take insurance against this. Not ideal but the only other option is not buying and we have been on a long buying journey already with other house chains breaking.

OP posts:
GoldenGorilla · 15/10/2022 19:48

Shmithecat2 · 15/10/2022 19:30

£60k!?!?! We spent £12.5k on a 5 bed/3 storey house. They saw you coming Confused

@Shmithecat2 - I don’t think so, we had several quotes and that’s just what it cost. Big house with annex, outbuildings etc. Electricians were there for weeks.

GoldenGorilla · 15/10/2022 19:51

girlmom21 · 15/10/2022 19:20

£60,000? Were you re-wiring Buckingham Palace? Or does that include all types of fittings including posh lights?

@girlmom21 - not quite a palace, but big old house, annex, outbuildings. We were renovating it into a few properties, it was big! And yeah we did choose relatively expensive fittings. It can be really really expensive, that’s why we always get electrical survey now.

girlmom21 · 15/10/2022 19:59

Ah fair enough @GoldenGorilla - I can see how it all added up!

Wonnle · 15/10/2022 20:06

If she is having any electrical work done it needs a part p certificate when completed otherwise it's illegal

Gribbit987 · 15/10/2022 20:13

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 19:32

Yes that is a worry but surveyor things its structurally sound and we can take insurance against this. Not ideal but the only other option is not buying and we have been on a long buying journey already with other house chains breaking.

Insurance is usually indemnity against building regs enforcement. Do you really have a policy covering poor structural building work post completion? Never heard of a policy like that!

How old is the most recent work? Is this electrician responsible for some of the past work? Why isn’t he certificating?

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 20:38

Thank you, that is a question I need to ask about the indemnity policy! But from what you say it's unlikely.

The owners have only been there 2 years so I doubt this electrician has any connection to previous work, there are no records of past electrical work.

OP posts:
Herejustforthisone · 15/10/2022 22:00

The owners have only been there 2 years so I doubt this electrician has any connection to previous work, there are no records of past electrical work.

Well that’s a big fuck-off red flag in itself. Only two years? I wonder if they bought, discovered a ton of electrical issues, decided to sell up and are now trying to fudge it before you get in there and taking the hit of a couple of grand.

Insist upon survey, or demand a drop in price that will allow for a full review or (this would be my choice) cut your losses and pull out.

Herejustforthisone · 15/10/2022 22:01

Rewire* not review.

Goawayangryman · 15/10/2022 22:09

Two years? Absolutely no way to them using their own contractor. It's probably someone they know/ a family member and there are very likely issues they know about.

Upshot is, can you afford any remedial work? Is it seemingly ok aside from this? I'd want to know why they were moving after such a short period. I'd want documentary evidence of whatever the reason was, ie, divorce, verifiable employment contract, financial issues, etc. 2 yrs is nothing. It cost me £35k to move with fees and removals. Not doing that in a hurry ahain.bI'd want to know why they are contemplating spending out in this situation.

Diyextension · 15/10/2022 22:44

Lol 60 grand on a rewire… that would buy all the materials and a full time electrician for a whole year……….. you get a lot of work done in a whole year. Think someone made a big profit on that job 💸💸💸

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 22:45

They gave a valid reason for the 2 years, two families joining in a bigger house etc.

there are other issues

lack of building completion certs for 3/4 modifications which they didn't get from
previous seller.

kitchen built ontop of shared drainage without any permission to build on top letter from water company - which is what your supposed to do apparently.

smaller certificates and things not obtained when they purchased

OP posts:
Herejustforthisone · 15/10/2022 22:45

Diyextension · 15/10/2022 22:44

Lol 60 grand on a rewire… that would buy all the materials and a full time electrician for a whole year……….. you get a lot of work done in a whole year. Think someone made a big profit on that job 💸💸💸

It was a large old property with multiple outbuildings, if we’re to read all of that poster’s posts.

Herejustforthisone · 15/10/2022 22:46

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 22:45

They gave a valid reason for the 2 years, two families joining in a bigger house etc.

there are other issues

lack of building completion certs for 3/4 modifications which they didn't get from
previous seller.

kitchen built ontop of shared drainage without any permission to build on top letter from water company - which is what your supposed to do apparently.

smaller certificates and things not obtained when they purchased

Christ. Consider pulling out. It sounds like a headache.

Fenella123 · 15/10/2022 23:39

Do NOT let desperation and frustration with previous purchase attempts influence you into making a poor choice now.
Don't buy a house that you can't then sell.

Things can change in a flash - new job; someone is disabled; neighbours from hell move in next door; - and you do NOT want to be stuck with a place which everyone but you is smart enough to walk away from.

ClaudineClare · 15/10/2022 23:46

Curlyfifteen · 15/10/2022 22:45

They gave a valid reason for the 2 years, two families joining in a bigger house etc.

there are other issues

lack of building completion certs for 3/4 modifications which they didn't get from
previous seller.

kitchen built ontop of shared drainage without any permission to build on top letter from water company - which is what your supposed to do apparently.

smaller certificates and things not obtained when they purchased

Blimey OP, the red flags are billowing.

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