Electrical inspection

[rebl]

We've had an electrical inspection done on the house we're in the process of buying and we got the report and quote for work back. There is £1000 of urgent and safety work that needs to be done. Its a part rewire. The quote seems reasonable considering the work. We viewed the house again on Saturday and made a point of looking at where was highlighted as being the problem. On Saturday I took one look and thought to myself that it was a wonder that they hadn't killed themselves or set the house alight! There is no way we are going to use that part of the electrics until they're fixed.

Do you think I should be going back to the vendors and asking for a reduction off the agreed price? The problem area was hidden from view on general inspection and we had to ask to be shown it and then they moved empty boxes which were piled up in front of it that in hindsight could have been put there to hide the problem so we could see it.

We've been pushed to our limit on money with buying the house and we don't have £1000 to do the work if we move in without reducing the price by that much.

I think I would want a reduction in this instance.

We had to have our house rewired but it was obvious that some work was required when we looked round. The fuse box was old-style, upstairs had old light switches etc. so we had factored that into our offer. There was more work that our electrician anticipated though - the £1000 quote will be based on what they can see. When they start lifting floorboards etc it might turn into a total re-wire as it did with us.

Also, if it looked that dangerous I'd worry that they've probably bodged other areas too. Our electrics were a death trap, and the plumbing was a shambles as well - the toilets flushed hot water for instance . Luckily fil is a plumber so it wasn't that costly for us.

Thank you bamboo. I can't imagine flushing a loo with hot water, would make it smelly I can imagine! I hadn't thought that it could be a good indicator of the general way things are in the house. The house is 60 years old and has only had these owners so I guess there could be a lot of hidden bodge jobs.

We've not got our homebuyers report back yet so I don't know if the surveyor has found anything but I'm hoping to get that back in the next day or so.

So would it be best to wait until I see that as well and then go back with a list so to speak?

Yeah, definitely wait.

Homebuyers surveys tend to be so vague and yet alarming at the same time though, don't they? They'll recommend getting experts in to check everything. I've no experience of reducing offers though- hopefully someone else will be along in a moment .

I would wait until you find out about other areas in the Homebuyers eg central heating/boiler and any plumbing issues. We had to have a rewire on our house and it is VERY messy, disruptive and at £6k expensive!! Plus then everywhere needs replastering, carpets relaying etc. Not trying to scare you but it is alot of work. Definitely do it before any decorating!

It is always worth going back and asking for money off, esp for things you can't see. When we sold our house the survey identified some roofing probs which we got some quotes for, and took £3k off the price. In this market, we didn't want to lose the buyers and knew that the next buyer would just ask for the same anyway.....

Good luck

I got the full detailed report today, not just the quote. I'm actually scared to use some of the electrics in that house now. One point that was picked up, they've tied the earth wire to a gas pipe . They've used lighting cable instead of the right sort of cable for wiring in part of the house. Housebuyers still not through, maybe tomorrow.

Thanks penona - So this quote I've got I'm guessing doesn't cover the replastering etc.? So we need to add on more to account for that then?

I think rewires rarely include putting the house right again - different trades. If you need to replace e.g lighting cable you will most likely channel out from the ceiling rose down to the light switch, that whole wire will need replacing. The ceilings can often be spared by taking up the floorboards of the room above - but the wall down to the light switch will have a big hole in it. We should know - just had whole house rewired and is a total mess everywhere! Also some of the floorboards broke (is Victorian house) and the carpets all needed professional relaying (about £25/ room).

I am not trying to put you off! Just giving you some more info to start a negotiation with the vendor.

Thank you, its very much apprechiated. I hadn't thought about the putting it right costs. We're going to sit down and try and work out roughly that will cost. We still don't have the survey back and its been over a week since it was done now.

I reckon you're looking at around £6k for a rewire and back to usuable house too having had it recently done.

Fortunately we were able to move out for 10 days whilst the bulk of the work was done - electrician wrking 9/10 hour days though!

House had to be virtually emptied, then plastering had to be done, then yes total redecoration & recarpeting. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Are those prices London prices? We just got back the results of our full structural survey and the surveyor is saying something similar, dodgy electrics and dodgy plumbing. They have used tape to tape on the earthing switch. Also, I have just found out that the vendors want to take out the Aga that is heating the house. Which I'm not happy about because they didn't mention it when showing the house and went on about the virtues of the Aga. What will heat the house if we don't replace the Aga? I'm now not sure if we should now proceed with the house purchase.

I'm in Surrey so SE prices

Rox73 - Will they take a payment in the fixtures and fittings for the aga?

Are prices substantially different across the country? We're in Cheshire.

They will take a payment but I think they misled us, they should have said it was not included in the price when they were telling us that the aga heated the house. how will we heat the house if we don't want an aga?

i think there is a London premium for everything.

my husband wants to now pull out of the purchase.

i'm a bit fed up now with this whole house buying process. the only upside here is that we've exchanged and will need to move by end of oct. we're moving to SW London to be closer to good schools, we need to enrol our DD1 into school by Dec.

Agas only do the heating if they have the special boiler unit attached, otherwise they are cooking/hot water only.

Rayburns can do central heating.