House rewire on a house we are about to buy

[timbo343]

We are in the process of buying our first home and the offer has been accepted, our mortgage company is happy to give us a mortgage and the solicitors have taken the money to do the searches.

 

Now, we have had a gas and electrical test done. The gas came back fine, there was only a minor problem but this was fixed but the electrics will need doing to the poi t where the house will need a full rewire.

 

Whos responsibility is this to have this done? Even though we have had them tested would the vendor have to pay for this work? Can we ask them to bring the house price down for the work that needs to be carried out?

[DEfrostphone]

Basically you are agreeing a price with the seller, when the surveys etc come back you would normally go back to the seller and renegotiate the price based on the faults which have been found some sellers will negotiate others will point-blank refuse. Ultimately if you choose to purchase the house that needs rewiring it is down to you to get the work do.

 

Just as a guideline the regs state that every electrical installation after 25 years needs to be rewired due to the possible breakdown of the plastic installation but in reality the plastic should be good for at least 50 years the biggest issue normally is in houses from the 70s and before there is no earth in the lighting circuit which can be dangerous if you have metal light fittings and switches.

 

The other thing to consider about having a full house rewire is that in effect all the decoration in the house will have to be redone as it means knocking out parts of walls and lifting floorboards etc. cetera much easier if it’s your first house to get it done before you moving but again remember to knock that of the price as you will have to redecorate.

[E_G_R2]

I'd ask them to bring the price down!

[timbo343]

How far? If the work needs about £2,500 to complete should i ask a bit more or should i see if they will go halves?

[jamesreedersmith]

ask them for the £2,500 off the price as you need to spend that after buying it or they need to spend it before selling!

[Edu-IT]

What's the reason for the full rewire? Is it unsafe?

[timbo343]

The earth is failing on both ring and lights, the db needs changing (its the domino style one) and by upgrading the db it would keep triping and the upstairs and downstairs is one big ring.

 

The house is a late 70s build.

[timbo343]

Basically you are agreeing a price with the seller, when the surveys etc come back you would normally go back to the seller and renegotiate the price based on the faults which have been found some sellers will negotiate others will point-blank refuse. Ultimately if you choose to purchase the house that needs rewiring it is down to you to get the work do.

 

Just as a guideline the regs state that every electrical installation after 25 years needs to be rewired due to the possible breakdown of the plastic installation but in reality the plastic should be good for at least 50 years the biggest issue normally is in houses from the 70s and before there is no earth in the lighting circuit which can be dangerous if you have metal light fittings and switches.

 

The other thing to consider about having a full house rewire is that in effect all the decoration in the house will have to be redone as it means knocking out parts of walls and lifting floorboards etc. cetera much easier if it’s your first house to get it done before you moving but again remember to knock that of the price as you will have to redecorate.

 

We have discussed all this already, its like you were in the room at the time . Between me and the OH we know a lot of people who can help us out and i love this type of stuff anyway.

 

We are planning on knocking the kitchen through to make it a kitchen diner instead of a lounge diner.

[MatthewL]

Basically the standards will not meet with current day standards, mainly like it has been said its down to earthing. I've just had mine done and I went from 10 sockets to around 70 with new distribution board and a couple of new fittings plus some outside works and it came in at £2700 and that was also 13 LED spot lights and bulbs and was using MK sockets and switches which are not cheap. Told him to leave the mess so cut costs I cleaned up and then just plastered over.

[m25man]

There is no "legal" obligation for the vendor to leave the property in a "safe" condition, properties are sold as seen and the price you are prepared to pay should reflect this.

 

Any works carried out to the property specifically must comply with Local Building Regulations applicable at the time.

If the property was re wired 20 years ago as long as it complies with the regulations of 1994 that's fine.

If anything has been added since it has to have been carried out by a competent person and signed off by building regs or one of the competent persons schemes.

 

The usual suspects requiring certification are Electricals (Part P), Gas Safe and Windows & Doors (FENSA)

 

If there is not a current certificate for these items then this will seriously impact the asking price.

 

A full rewire costs £2-3k but can easily knock £5k off a house price as do bathrooms and kitchens.

 

Ultimately it's the mortgage company that may withhold on you if the property value is adversely affected by these factors and any half decent survey will reveal this.

 

I would be asking for a discount unless you already believe you have a bargain.

[SpuffMonkey]

Yeah haggle for the full price of the work, but obviously bear in mind how much you want the house against how easy it would be for them to tell you to naff off and flog it to someone else...

[Trapper]

Be glad you aren't my in laws. Mid-1930s semi, the wiring hadn't been renewed since the ring main was first installed in the 1950s. All the rubber coating had perished. They were close to the whole lot going up in smoke.

 

Luckily when we bought our house (same vintage, same area) the wiring was late 1980s - thanks to the British Standard mark on the coating!

[sippo]

I'd get the vendor to drop the price to cover the full wire. If they don't I would pull out of the sale. You shouldn't have to pay a penny.

[timbo343]

Yeah haggle for the full price of the work, but obviously bear in mind how much you want the house against how easy it would be for them to tell you to naff off and flog it to someone else...

 

We were discussing that option last night. To be fair could rewire it in under a week.

[hardtailstar]

Be glad you aren't my in laws. Mid-1930s semi, the wiring hadn't been renewed since the ring main was first installed in the 1950s. All the rubber coating had perished. They were close to the whole lot going up in smoke.

 

Luckily when we bought our house (same vintage, same area) the wiring was late 1980s - thanks to the British Standard mark on the coating!

 

My house is late 1800's, I dont think the wiring has been done since it was first installed.

[Achandler]

Ahh the fun of buying a house/ or selling for them.

 

If the vendor isn't in the position where they have to sell then they might not be willing to negogiate on the price, especially if you have already knocked money off.

 

Remember, any house you buy will need work no matter what, you might get one whose electrics are tested and are fine, only to discover 3 months later that although they all test out fine, actually they were installed illegally etc.

 

You realise the worse thing about the full re-wire isn't actually the cost of it financially really, yeah its expensive (though I paid on £1600 for it in a 3 bed house (including fuse board)). It is money well spent in the end either way. However, remember it is a really messy job which means floorbooards up and plaster everywhere from chasing out the walls, also ask the electricians if they are gonna plaster the chasing back in (though the job they do will be garbage no doubt.

 

Buy bascially full rewire is usually followed by full re-decorate, you might be doign that anyway, but jsut a heads up.

[Michael]

In my opinion ask them to reduce the price and get your own electrician to do the re-wire. Not only can you re-position the fuse box, but you can also put sockets where you need them. This is exactly what we did when we bought our home.

 

To give you an idea, there weren't even sockets for the bed side table lamps, or anywhere suitable to charge my mobile phone!

[eyetea]

My partner and I are purchasing a maisonette and there are only a few sockets here and there, and in a few odd locations! Luckily her Dad is an electrician (Plus handyman) and has offered to relocated sockets + put them in where we want them and he'll plaster over the mess left behind. Luckily we are redecorating anyway!

[SpuffMonkey]

My house is late 1800's, I dont think the wiring has been done since it was first installed.

 

Yeah - mine was like that - we had an electrician in to do some bits - he saw the wiring and said that unless we committed to a full rewire immediately he'd have to issue an enforcement notice - and to be fair he was right - behind the fusebox, the wires came through the cellar wall with no insulation cover at all - could've gone at any minute..

[Bananas]

This is kinda the point of having a survey done, anything that comes to light affects the value of the house. I would show an extract of the report to the vendor and ask for that money off (and add another 15-20% to cover you) to get the work done. Ultimately it's covering your bum and it's a negotiating tool.

 

My parents got done by this before I was born, bought a house had a survey done the previous owner said it had been recently rewired and survey found nothing wrong. A few weeks after moving in all the electrics blew and the electricians said it was a death trap as the wiring was from when the house was built and the insulation was all breaking down and shorting.

 

I'd say to the vendor how about we get 3 quotes in from different companies, average the quotes out and take that figure plus say an additional 5% of the quote and take that off the house price?

[XiJ]

Unless you've you already bagged a bargain, I'd ask at least. If you're doing a full re-wire it's a perfect opportunity to put in cat5 or cat6 too At the same time. (With suitable containment and distance from electric of course)

[DPrince]

Generally speaking, you ask for a reduction in price. Personally, depending on the purchase price and how much you're over a barrel, I'd probably ask for them to drop the price by £5k (or to the nearest £5k) and leave it open to negotiation. As has already been said, you are asking for a price reduction to reflect the fact that you're the one organising the work (and will have to put up with the inconvenience and mess).

 

First rule is never be afraid to walk away.

Second rule is to remember that if your survey found it, and they won't take a reduction in price, they will have exactly the same problem with the next buyer. Unless you know you're getting a bargain, definitely negotiate, even if you have in the back of your mind that you're happy to pay for the whole thing yourself anyway.

 

Currently in the process of buying a new house myself - still awaiting survey results.

[featured_spectre]

There is no "legal" obligation for the vendor to leave the property in a "safe" condition, properties are sold as seen and the price you are prepared to pay should reflect this.

 

Any works carried out to the property specifically must comply with Local Building Regulations applicable at the time.

If the property was re wired 20 years ago as long as it complies with the regulations of 1994 that's fine.

If anything has been added since it has to have been carried out by a competent person and signed off by building regs or one of the competent persons schemes.

 

The usual suspects requiring certification are Electricals (Part P), Gas Safe and Windows & Doors (FENSA)

 

If there is not a current certificate for these items then this will seriously impact the asking price.

 

A full rewire costs £2-3k but can easily knock £5k off a house price as do bathrooms and kitchens.

 

Ultimately it's the mortgage company that may withhold on you if the property value is adversely affected by these factors and any half decent survey will reveal this.

 

I would be asking for a discount unless you already believe you have a bargain.

 

This man is right on the money. I asked the conveyancing department here, they said you can ask for a lower price, however if you have already agreed, then you have shot yourself in the foot. Also, doing a full rewire (and keeping the documents with the deeds of the house etc) will add value to the house.

[timbo343]

Unless you've you already bagged a bargain, I'd ask at least. If you're doing a full re-wire it's a perfect opportunity to put in cat5 or cat6 too At the same time. (With suitable containment and distance from electric of course)

 

Never thought about putting cat6 throughout the house. If i were to do that would need to make sure the main point is in a reasonable location. Now-a-days though its pretty easy just to buy the powerline kits.

[timbo343]

There is no "legal" obligation for the vendor to leave the property in a "safe" condition, properties are sold as seen and the price you are prepared to pay should reflect this.

 

Any works carried out to the property specifically must comply with Local Building Regulations applicable at the time.

If the property was re wired 20 years ago as long as it complies with the regulations of 1994 that's fine.

If anything has been added since it has to have been carried out by a competent person and signed off by building regs or one of the competent persons schemes.

 

The usual suspects requiring certification are Electricals (Part P), Gas Safe and Windows & Doors (FENSA)

 

If there is not a current certificate for these items then this will seriously impact the asking price.

 

A full rewire costs £2-3k but can easily knock £5k off a house price as do bathrooms and kitchens.

 

Ultimately it's the mortgage company that may withhold on you if the property value is adversely affected by these factors and any half decent survey will reveal this.

 

I would be asking for a discount unless you already believe you have a bargain.

 

By the looks of the wiring, it looks like it has never been rewired. By the side of the domino fuse box there is some fuse wire which looks like it goes into the box. The electrician couldnt get ring on the neutral. One of the findings came back as a C2. If we were to put a new db in it would keep triping the fuses.