Help needed with some enquiries please

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We've had our enquiries come through from our solicitor, and I wondered if any of you have any experience of the ones we're unsure about (noted below).

The first is asking us to complete an electrical test. Can we say no? Or is it the norm for sellers to have this done in anticipation of moving out? Maybe they could pay for it...or is that cheeky? I imagine it'll cost hundreds. Sigh.

For the other three...what the heck. It sounds like our front driveway is in breach of something or other. It was here when we moved in, and wasn't flagged by our solicitor at the time, so do we just go back to our solicitor with a blank expression? Thanks!

1. Please ask the seller to arrange an Electrical Test and supply Electrical Test Condition Report prior to exchange.
2. Please confirm when the hardstanding at the front of the property was created and supply evidence of the Highway Authority consent for the dropped curb.
3. The parking on the front of the property is in breach of the Covenant at Clause 5 of the Third Schedule of the 1985 Conveyance. Please supply evidence of Covenant Consent.
4. Please confirm that the Sellers have been made aware of all covenants affecting the property and have fully observed and performed the same throughout their ownership.

I had number 1 today. My solicitor replied that I was under no obligation to provide such and wouldn't be undertaking it.

Legally you don't have to provide an electrical test- if they want one they can pay for it. However if it finds anything that needs fixing, they may want you to pay.

The other 3 sounds like your driveway never got permission for a dropped curb and as such you're breaching your covenants by parking there. Have you checked with the council to see if it was ever granted? Its hard to say for sure from what you've put here, but it could be that even with permission for a dropped curb parking is a breach of covenant.

It could be that your solicitor when you purchased never noticed/flagged this stuff (they do miss things sometimes), but now it's out there your buyer is probably going to want some reassurance.

What does your solicitor say? You may be able to pay for an indemnity insurance to cover this, if your buyers and their lender agrees, but your solicitor should be advising you on what to do.

Saying "not known" is an acceptable answer to an enquiry, but that doesn't mean your buyer won't want some follow up.

Hi, we've had similar regarding the number 3. We have a garage at the rear of our property as do our neighbours. We all park in front of own garages. Our buyers solicitor queried this as there is a covenant in place stating parking in front of garage is not allowed. We just replied saying that may be the case but in practice people on our estate all park this way. In our case I believe the covenant dates back to the 60's when car ownership was far less and people parked inside their garages!

Answer to 1 - the prospective buyers are more than welcome to conduct an electrical test prior to exchange if they wish to do so.

Answer to 2 - if the dropped curb was added by yourselves there should be some consent, if not advise the dropped curb was there when you purchased.

Q3 - you will need to investigate the type of covenants there are as some are no longer enforceable if it is not the original owner - there are so many different covenants best to ask your solicitor before replying

Answer to 4 - all the relevant information is detailed in the title and associated documents from land registry

At some point an indemnity policy will be mentioned as they are a great money spinner for solicitors!

I can’t answer 2,3, or 4. But number 1 we did pay for ourselves as buyers of this property. We just asked for permission for a particular electrician firm to be given access like you would a surveyor. I wouldn’t have even considered asking the vendor to pay. I want the electrician to work for me not the seller!

Tell the solicitor that they need to spell words correctly, and then you might consider their request.

Hey OP,

We were on the other side of this. We bought a place where the sellers had undertaken quite a bit of work (on a listed house!) that didn't have the correct permissions.

A simple, quick and low cost fix was for the seller to buy indemnity insurance. I believe it was under £100 and meant that the property was mortgageable again.

If the council advise that there are issues, I wonder if that would be a solution in this instance?

It is now commonplace to
Ask for an EICR electrical certificate.

Before selling
I would obtain an EPC.
Arrange for an EICR and complete any necessary remedial work but not mere "recommendations" for work such as new consumer unit unless it is plastic and located under the stairs, in which case it would need changing for a metal unit.

Look for any fensa certificates for replacement windows or apply for them if lost.
Service the gas boiler.
Check the wood burner has the correct regulatory paperwork and arrange to have the flue or chimney swept.
Arrange to have the septic tank or water treatment plant emptied.

Saves a lot of stress down the line.

It is good practice to carry out these checks for our own families not for the solicitors.

I speak as someone who bought a house from 2 lawyers. After many emails and enquiries through solicitors it turned out they hadn't had their gas boiler serviced for 8 years!

I was told by estate agent that I will be supplied with all the electric and gas tests as part of buying but I'm buying a house that until a couple of months ago was tenanted and as such needed annual reviews so they should already be there and not really be older than a year. I asked if they had then annual tests knowing the property must have had them done for the tenant and they said they would all be supplied before exchange and completion.

Thank you everyone for your comments!

We'll follow this advice and say no to the eletrical report - they can sort one if they want.

We'll go back to our solicitor and query what to say to the other points. Our buyer is a cash buyer so not reliant on a mortgage, but maybe the indemnity insurance will ease any concerns. Will see what our solicitor thinks.

You can take out insurance against problems. Talk to conveyancing people.

Getting an electrical report is the buyers'' job, not the sellers' job. I never know why buyers try it on by asking for one from the seller- if the buyer had any sense they'd know that if you want any kind of surveys/checks doing, you pay for them yourself and commission them yourself, that way the person doing the report is working for you not the seller, and responsible to you if there are problems later, as their contract is with you.

Thanks! That's interesting, did you have to sort indemnity insurance or were they happy with your answer?

No there was no indemnity needed. I guess the buyer and solicitor must have been happy with it. We've lived here 7 years and neighbours far longer and everyone parks in this way. The only access anyone blocks is to their own garage door so can't see it ever being an issue anyone would ever take up.