problems selling house due to electrics

[thomas123]

When a surveyor came to look at the house he said the consumer unit did not comply, so they sent an electrician out to look at it today.

He said that the consumer unit needs to be upgraded and so does the bonding.

I said that this only has to be upgraded when the property is going to be rented not when you are selling it.

Am I right?

If not what has to be done to conform with the regs when selling the house?

 

[thomas123]

thanks for the fast reply, is there a regulation that supports this as i can photocopy it and give it to them.

Could the mortgage company be the ones that want this? even though the regs say not.

 

[Theorysparky]

Nothing has to be done to the house

if there are any issues or concerns then the buyer gets a PIR done and acts on that

CU wont need upgrading just because the house is on the market nor does the bonding

both these would need to be done to bring them up to the current regs......whi8ch is not a requirement

Advisable for renting out as John suggests

 

[Theorysparky]

the buyers solicitors would normally (they do in most cases) as for any paperwork for electrical work done in the last 5 years

if work has been done but no paperwork the suggest a PIR carried out by the home owner not the buyer ( by NICEIC contractor,,, yeah right !!!!!)

 

[thomas123]

i need some written evidence for this, does anyone know if this is stated in bs7671? cant see nothing on the ESC site,

I'd be really grateful is someone could post me a link.

Cheers

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

thanks for the fast reply, is there a regulation that supports this as i can photocopy it and give it to them.Could the mortgage company be the ones that want this? even though the regs say not.

IMHO The regulation that is most applicable in this case is..

114 RELATIONSHIP WITH STATUTORY REGULATIONS.114.1 The regulations are non-statutory. etc.. etc..

page 13 of BS7671!!!

And thus...

they do not have to do JACK-ALL..

tho as has been said, they price would be adjusted accordingly if it is in need of re-wiring etc.. :Salute

 

[ktguk]

If there were alterations ie extensions done recently then there might be a case for asking for building control documentation, but as far as i know the buyer takes responsibility once they buy. It may be that the mortgage company are asking for the information for mortgage purposes for the new owners.

they want to know if the house is worth the money thier lending, have they paid for the cheaper survey by any chance?

 

[thomas123]

they are selling the house for a lot under what it is valued at. not sure, the surveyor was from the mortgage company

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Its not my house but the in laws,When the surveyor come to look at the house he said the consumer unit did not comply, so they sent an electrician out to look at it today.

He said that the consumer unit needs to be upgraded and so does the bonding.

They phoned me and told me, I said that this only has to be upgraded when the property is going to be rented not when you are selling it. Am I right?

If not what has to be done to conform with the regs when selling the house?

Your assumptions are perfectly correct...

IF it was that dangerous the electrician should have issue a formal warning and disconnected the circuits etc..

WHAT did his PIR actually say in the observations?

compare it with the guidance here..

http://www.niceic.com/Uploads/File1944.pdf

Note the picture on page 16 of the OLD rewireable fuse box.. and the comment underneath it?

ALSO look at Table 41.2 page 48 of BS7671..

note that 3036 re-wireable fuses are STILL an acceptable means of overload protection..

ALSO remember that the regs are NOT retrospective..

just like if you have an old car..

you do NOT have to go and buy a new one with air-bags & ABS breaking & seat belts all round!!!

In a similar manner you do NOT have to upgrade your electrical installation..

BUT if you do choose to do some alterations.. the alterations should comply with current regs!!

HTH..

:coffee :C

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:51 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:48 ----------

they are selling the house for about 10 grand under what it is valued at. not sure, the surveyor was from the mortgage company

If its only a fuse box & bonding that needs doing then -

 

[rugbymacc]

Its not my house but the in laws,When the surveyor come to look at the house he said the consumer unit did not comply, so they sent an electrician out to look at it today.

He said that the consumer unit needs to be upgraded and so does the bonding.

They phoned me and told me, I said that this only has to be upgraded when the property is going to be rented not when you are selling it. Am I right?

If not what has to be done to conform with the regs when selling the house?

A quick earner for the surveyor....... Dear sparky ...... I get you the work BUT I want a kick back

 

[kerching]

Tell them to show you the 'regulation' and then you will be able to act upon it...

Then post it on here as I would like to see it... :coat

 

[Theorysparky]

Specs

there wasnt a PIR !!!!!

back handers all round..........mines a pint......

makes me laugh

Spend 100k ish on a house

but dont bother with

 

[PC Electrics]

I'm guessing that since you are still at the 'negotiation' stage, then contracts have not been exchanged. So let's cut to the chase:

You do not need to do anything to the house to sell it. It could be falling down. It's simply a matter of value vs condition.

Simply tell the prospective purchasers that you do not intend to carry out any work. It is up to them to make their offer on it 'as seen'.

Maybe these prospective purchasers really like it but are trying their luck on getting the price down. if it's already going at 10 grand under, then hold out.

Remember, caveat emptor. You don't need the hassle.

 

[steptoe]

but also remember,

its a buyers market,

I have done a few CU changes (and new face plates) this past year for people selling houses, they are of the opinion that if it looks new then buyers will think it is new and not be too worried or even ask for the EIC,

its only worth what someone will pay for it, and we are all in the game so we know that estate agents overvalue houses to get more profit from their %.

 

[sellers]

I've noticed the housing game is finally cottoning onto electricity. Had to look at a few jobs on behalf of potential buyers pricing up a re-wire.

 

[steptoe]

I've noticed the housing game is finally cottoning onto electricity. Had to look at a few jobs on behalf of potential buyers pricing up a re-wire.

Good, at long last

 

[Sidewinder]

Probably the lenders or the insurance company in actual fact trying to cop out of any liability!

You do realise that the financial institutions will probably at best only make a Billion pounds in profit this year, not their normal Trillion plus don;t you?

They have to claw these losses back somehow.

They do this by ensuring that any small print allows them to wriggle out of claims!

 

[sellers]

I recently did PIR on a conservatory that was installed 4 years ago, the homeowner was selling the house and aparantly had to have a PIR done due to him doing the electrics himself. Aswell as taking out an insurance against the steel girder he and his mate put in when taking a wall out. Not sure who stipulated that he needed it doing?

 

[steptoe]

I recently did PIR on a conservatory that was installed 4 years ago, the homeowner was selling the house and aparantly had to have a PIR done due to him doing the electrics himself. Aswell as taking out an insurance against the steel girder he and his mate put in when taking a wall out. Not sure who stipulated that he needed it doing?

I would say not HAD to have it done, it was a condition set by the buyer/estate agent, Im sure if he knocked 30%/k off the price a lot of people would have overlooked these things.

 

[Sidewinder]

Steps,

Not necessarily mate, things are changing, IF you look back in my posts I did bring this up about a year ago.

The insurers are pulling in the reins.

IF a property is not acceptable for insurance due to "mods" then no company will insure it no matter what the discount on the buying price, it will need to be reviewed by "competent persons" and signed off as acceptable.

How ironic is that!