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IMO the quality of the house has little to no influence on its price (assuming its fairly well kept and not falling down). It maybe cliche but, location location location. In any house i have purchased i have never asked for any form of certification for anything, and i only perform minor searches to ensure its not built on a mine.It is my own responsibly (and that of who ever is buying a property) to look at the condition of the building when i put an offer in, and that offer will reflect how i feel about it and what work i believe may need doing. if it needs loads of work i just knock loads off my offer :)
Dan, but some people rely on the expertise of others and that's why they pay to be guided. She thought this house was ok, I've told her she needs spend 3-6k, she has no money left and was shocked it needed work doing as nobody had told her.

 
Dan, but some people rely on the expertise of others and that's why they pay to be guided. She thought this house was ok, I've told her she needs spend 3-6k, she has no money left and was shocked it needed work doing as nobody had told her.
Very true, i suppose i was a little biased in my opinion :coat

 
I don't think I have done any PIR's just visuals you can gain a bit of work even doing visuals sometimes leads to rewires I find.

 
IMO the quality of the house has little to no influence on its price (assuming its fairly well kept and not falling down). It maybe cliche but, location location location.
I think that depends a lot on what you are buying and why.

If you are buying an "ordinary" 3 bed semi, on an estate full of hundreds of near identical 3 bed semi's with near identical sized gardens, and you are buying it as a buy to let, so you don't even care if it has a nice outlook. Then I think condition is important, and you would choose the best one on the market at the time (or the cheapest if you want a doer upper)

But if you are seeking a tranquil detached house in the country and you want views, peace and quiet and nice (or no) neighbours, then you choose on location, and what house and what condition it's in, is almost irrelevant, as the house can be made into whatever you want, but if the plot is wrong, you can't change that.

 
I think I've made the mistake on this thread by assuming things to be black and white. Buying a property (whether for yourself or as an investment) is obviously more complex than whether it is in the right place, or if the fuse board is 30 years old. There are many things to think about and consider.

Firstly buying an investment is completely different from buying a home, and secondly i think buying any property is completely different for an "ordinary" person, as apposed to somebody with a skilled trade.

In my experience of property investment I have always started out with wanting to provide a home for the prospective tenant. It is my philosophy that if I provide a good environment for a tenant, they will in turn care for the property as if it were their own. Ideally I want a long term tenant and the best way I have found to do that is to appeal to families, couple of kids and a dog.

Following on from that it is important that I pick a property in a nice area to attract my target market, something with a garden at the front of the house is one thing I look for.

When it comes to the actual property itself and it's condition, I only really check that its structure is sound. Everything else will be renovated to ensure its long service. I have favoured terraced houses because they are relatively cheap to kit out.

The above is just a snippet of my experience with property investment, and to swing it back to some form of relevance, if I can see that a property (regardless of whether it's a home or rental) needs work of any sorts, that will be reflected in my offer as I've previously said.

I agree with what's been said that if an ordinary house buyer, who has no idea about the structure and engineering in the property, needs some professional guidance from fine fellows like yourselves.

BUT, I also think that if somebody is making a property purchase, a massive financial outlay is being put down. The buyer should have educated themselves enough prior to house hunting of what to look for in a house when buying it. Anyone can tell the difference between a board of 3036's or a breaker board; checking if doors close is usually a good sign of the structures integrity; and the level of dust above door frames will tell you how cared for the property was.

So, do I think a house needs a full set of certificates? No. Does this hinder an ordinary house buyer? Not if they have common sense. (wiring no good? Put a lower offer in or request work is done) and I also think in most cases, somebody buying a house is usually more bothered which way the sofa will go and where is the best position for their 42" plasma is.

Any who, that's my two cents on the matter, make of it what you will. I hope onoff enjoys his new house and we get to see some nice photographs :)

Ps if you guys are so concerned with all these properties being sold without atleast a visual then why aren't you out leafleting the houses with for sale signs?!

 
Just to clarify to danmoriarty that I'm not finding anything that I didn't really expect in terms of the electrics. On the pre purchase look around I noted the 3036 board along with the new kitchen and bathroom outside lighting etc and voiced concerns to the missus. When the search came back with the vendor stating that 1) no electrical work had been done since 2005 and 2) there were no electrical certificates for anything I KNEW there would be some issues. We did talk about going back and asking for an EICR with a view to a price reduction but the missus was concerned the sale could fall through / they would not accept the offer. The key to all this is that the property is in very sound structural condition. Roof, windows front and rear gardens need NOTHING doing to them. Decor needs minimal work. It's a short stroll to a mainline station and will be an easy let. Bottom line it IS a buyer's market and for the minimal work required it was too good to let go. Looked at a number for the same sort of money but needing more extensive works in other areas. Here, the kitchen (and CU I know) is the main area that needs tidying electrically and I'm on the case with that now. However, even though the electrical work was expected I'm still coming across some "novel" approaches to this (electrical works) by the kitchen fitters that DESERVE pictures etc. At first glance a VERY nice kitchen install but a real "what lies beneath" one. Will follow up with before / after pics in due course. Cheers.

 
OnOff

If you have to make alterations to the kitchen electrics and need to remove the tiles then I would say that it would be well worth investing in a multitool (of the Fein type) with a RIF blade to remove the grout and then just pop of the tiles with a wide thin blade (scraper/filler knife). I've done this loads of times and have hardly ever broken a tile

 
OnOffIf you have to make alterations to the kitchen electrics and need to remove the tiles then I would say that it would be well worth investing in a multitool (of the Fein type) with a RIF blade to remove the grout and then just pop of the tiles with a wide thin blade (scraper/filler knife). I've done this loads of times and have hardly ever broken a tile
TBH, if as I suspect, this twin 1.5mm brown in the back of the ring sockets is feeding the under cupboard lighting then very shortly there will be NO MORE under cupboard lighting!

Thanks for the tip. Not delved too deep yet, tonight possibly, but it seems there are 4, 230v under cupboard lights. Each light has it's own fcu in the cupboard above. The fcu's are fed in the twin 1.5 taken off the back of the local ring sockets above the worktops! For the work that's gone into it you have to wonder. A nice grid switch on the wall would have done the job instead of having to shift tins of beans or Cornflakes x4 just to switch the lights on! Findings so far:

5A fuse - Lights upstairs and down

15A fuse - Originally for immersion, now feeding one double socket in airing cupboard for gas boiler (and re-chargeable hoover!)

30A fuse - Upstairs sockets

30A fuse - Downstairs ring AND Kitchen ring - as in 4 reds in the top of the fuse.

 
Sorry onoff, I wasn't trying to push my experiences on to you or others, was just bored at home alone and thought I'd just tell my story a little.

As noted by others though, I would encourage anybody and everybody to try to buy if they can right now :)

Just not round by me, they're mine :p

 
Sorry onoff, I wasn't trying to push my experiences on to you or others, was just bored at home alone and thought I'd just tell my story a little. As noted by others though, I would encourage anybody and everybody to try to buy if they can right now :)

Just not round by me, they're mine :p
No worries. Probably been there and done that! I've let to family (don't), psychos who default then barricade themselves in (despite glowing, initial references), ones who are a pain to get hold of for inspections etc. Worst tenant, a professional couple who split up leaving her in the place. She jacked her job, defaulted and had a string of ex-boyfriends creating grief for the neighbours and trying to kick the front door in etc. Best tenant ever, a mate of a mate with CCJ's against him and no bank account who I initially turned down as in "not with a barge pole". He offered 6 MONTHS rent UP FRONT and he was in that place for 7 years. Never an ounce of trouble and paid early EVERY month. They only left due to another kid. He was a genuine guy who was down on his luck and was getting back on his feet. You never can tell. Now we pay a letting agency initially to find and vet a tenant. Do the initial contract for a year with a solicitor then deal direct after that. Seems to work though it's all long term for us. Can't say I'm impressed paying 40% tax on my half of the rental income though. The price for doing it legit I suppose.

 
Can't say I'm impressed paying 40% tax on my half of the rental income though. The price for doing it legit I suppose.
I prefer to pay my friendly accountant and hide from the tax man, he isnt my friend

 
I dont earn anything
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Old, single MK back boxes on the ring with no earth lug. En route to replacing them & possibly fitting doubles, note the interesting use of 1) cardboard to "pack" behind the box, already taken a load of it out - pity it wasn't newspaper I could have dated the "install", 2) the use of conduit (imperial?). I say "use" as it has no coupler or bush and it as loose as f*** in the wall. You can grab the conduit and give it a wobble and hear the whole lot banging under the floor. Lime plaster of course. Luckily, only 4 (maybe 5) like this in the two upstairs rooms.

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Ref my last post. For 4 or 5 sockets I'm REALLY NOT wanting to have to get under the floors to extend these cables on the ring. Fitted carpet in one room and LAMINATE floor in the other. Trying to keep the making good to a minimum. (I know I want it all ways!). So tonight I'll put some connector blocks on in place of the removed sockets and do my dead tests. IF it checks out then I'll look to extend the existing wires.

Concerned firstly with the T&E exiting the non bushed conduit - sharp edges and all that. Thinking maybe a brass female bush on the end of the threaded conduit. Then new grommeted back box 35mm deep (maybe 47's even). Trim back the existing T&E for 10mm sheath projection into the box then extend the cables. Wagos or crimps with heat shrink over? Favouring crimps with some of those nice self adhesive heat shrink crimps that "glue" themselves to the cable.

Buy Solder Sleeves Blu watertight crimp splice,1.5-2.5sq.mm RS SUMISEAL-BAG #2 BLU online from RS for next day delivery.

Of course if it tests duff the floors will have to come up! Already doing that in the lounge for bonding the main services!

 
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