Vendor says there is a condensing boiler, EPC says there isn't?!

[NeedAdvicePlzz]

Hi all, I've had an offer accepted on a house but I noticed a discrepancy. The vendor has informed us during viewings that the boiler is a condensing boiler (20 years old!), price reflects this. But, the EPC report says there is a non-condensing boiler in the property.

I emailed the EPC assessor directly and asked him about this. He said this is correct and there is a non-condensing boiler in the property.

I am so confused by this. Why would the vendor not know their boiler type (the estate agent also wrote to us saying it's condensing )? Is the EPC guy wrong? Is this normal?

I have no idea what my boiler is. How do you know the difference? Is it to do with having a hot water tank, ie are there other things you could ask about to confirm who is right?

Tell the estate agent there's a discrepancy and ask for the make/ model that should answer the question......

I'm not sure it makes much difference tbh. We had our old boiler replaced a couple of years ago and the new one is a condensing one as they installed a new bit of pipework to take the condensate away from the boiler. New boilers are condensing ones and that supposed to make them more efficient.

It's nothing to do with the actual boiler system as we still have a conventional boiler with hot water cylinder and feeder tanks alongside our new condensing boiler.

So basically they have an old boiler that isn't a condensing one. Not sure why it would be an issue to get worked up about as its going to be inefficient due to its age anyway.

When you replace it you will get a condensing one as all new ones are.

I don’t know what type of boiler I have, but I do know the age and the model. The age and model matters more.

I'd be inclined to believe the vendor over the EPC. The EPCs are done so quickly and it's such a basic thing, I doubt they look very carefully at the boiler.

If it's 20 years old you will probably want to get a new more efficient boiler anyway, whichever it is it won't make any difference to the house value as it is old.

My guess would be that the owners don’t really know and thought it meant combi boiler or similar. Go back to them and get the model details.

It's a 20 year old boiler.
How much does it matter exactly what type it is?
I'd be more bothered by a service showing it is working right now, and be expecting to replace it shortly.

A twenty year old boiler is a defunct boiler. You’ll replace it with a condensing one so it’s more about where it’s placed in the house and whether you’ll need to change the location that I’d be interested in.

EPCs are not to be relied upon. The house we’re buying has had two epcs done on it recently as one had the wrong address so needed redoing for our lender, and the report was different for house size and epc category, even though they were months apart.

If it concerns you, find out what the make and model are and search. Either way, as many have said even if in good order now, it might not have much life left in it. Many manufacturers stop making parts at around 15 years, unless they've continued to make very similar models. In fact, our old Ideal boiler wasn't so ideal as we had to write at 10 years as they'd stopped making parts!

Why does it matter? You'll definitely be replacing it, either way

Not sure I would be caring about this, it’s old either way and needing replacing anyway?

Surely all you need to know is that it's a 20 year old boiler? It'll need replacing anyway, so what difference does it make?

Does it matter? It’s priced to reflect a 20 year old boiler, so you’ll replace the thing anyway to make it more efficient. So… who cares?

I'd assume the EPC person knew which was which, but just ask for make & model.

A PP mentioned the condensate pipe, which needs to be plumbed into a drain (eg kitchen sink waste pipe). Fine if boiler is in the kitchen near the sink, not fine if the boiler is in a room with no drainage plumbing.

Another one who is wondering why it matters.
Whatever it is, it's 20 years old and you've had a price reduction to reflect this.