Probate property - cannot check utilities

[FTB2024]

Hello,

My partner and I are in the process of buying our first home and have had an offer accepted on a property that has recently gone through probate.

We have a Level 3 Home Survey booked but this only checks the structural integrity of the property.

I am concerned regarding the gas/electric/water. The boiler seems relatively new but the property has been empty for around 12 months so the water and electric have been turned off.

The questions in my head are:

1. Is the boiler safe to use? The sellers apparently have no information on when the boiler was installed or when/if it was last serviced.
2. Are there are leaks? We won’t know this as the water is turned off and we cannot check.

I have seen some suggestions regarding getting a qualified Gas Engineer to service the boiler before we exchange contracts but he won’t be able to do this if there is no water to the property.

Could anyone advise on how we can move forward with this?

Thank you.

It is usually pretty easy to turn water on in a property. A plumber or tradesman would know how to (or even just someone quite practical).

You will need the Executors permission to get boiler serviced before exchange as they could be concerned it won't be done correctly.

The problem with surveys, a hidden leak can develop, boiler part might fail, other problem and you'll have no idea unless you really have honest sellers. I think you accept it's a risk you take. When we purchased our present property (no boiler in our previous two homes) we arranged for a trusted engineer to inspect after completion - nothing wrong with boiler but thermostat not working to correct temperature - that would not have been picked up on a survey. From my experience there are always things that weren't quite as they seemed on viewing/survey and you need to prepare for that.

I would leave your boiler off and get a gas engineer in to do a service and restart it. It depends on whether the water was drained from the whole system, but I wouldn't run the boiler until it was checked.
A service shouldn't be extortionate and its much cheaper than your boiler going bang

Water might just be turned off at the stop cock. This is standard if a house is empty as you don't want leaks when no one is there to deal with it. Check under the sink. Often the mains valve is there. Run the water for a good while if its been sitting in the pipes for ages

We just turned water at DMs house off at the stopcock, turning off the utilities is often a condition on the insurance.

OP- Try to find out whether the home has been empty for 2yrs. If so, you only pay 5% VAT on goods/services to get it back into a livable condition. This would include things like new boilers, heating, flooring and other permanent fixtures. Its a little known exemption to get empty homes usable again.

Have you tried turning the stop cock to see if the water returns?

Stop cock is likely under the kitchen sink, under the stairs or near the boiler. Our 1930s home didn't have one and you have to turn it off from a manhole in the driveway, unfortunate for us as we discovered that while a skip was on top of it.

If you still can't find it, ask the neighbours where their s are.