Hi, I am looking for some advice. Am selling my house and buyer sent round a family friend to check electrics on Wednesday. By way of introduction he said that he was checking if the house needed a Rewire so he could get the buyers a price reduction. At the end of his "inspection" he said the following work was needed cost of £200-300 in order to pass. My buyer was meant to exchange today and didn't instead she sent a message after 6pm saying the house didn't pass the electrical check and it needed £350-400 to remedy everything. She wants a price reduction. She is paying £5k less than asking price. Can anyone please tell me if the things below would require remedial action with a C1 or C2 rating on a condition report? They will not provide the report or any further details until Sunday and I must exchange on Monday. The small bedroom socket was not earthed. I have bought a cheap tester and it is earthed so maybe I misunderstood and the earthing isn't providing sufficient protection? The cables feeding the kitchen are unsecured on the floor beneath the kitchen cupboards. The fuse box doesn't offer sufficient protection to cover the oven. It is a Crabtree 63A RCCB 30mA trip 240v 2 Pole with BS4293 printed on it. The cooker is on a 40A rcd. I have put an image on.
Does this "friend" have any sort of qualifications?? If you have tested the socket and it's ok then that's sorted. I suggest you get the "electrician" to check this again. Loose cables under kitchen cupboards may need tidying up, or a few cable clips, but it's not a safety issue in my opinion and it's not breaking any rules. Re cooker circuit. The RCCB has nothing to do with the cooker. The cooker is protected by the 40A MCB. 40A is plenty big enough for everything but the most monster cooker. What is the rating of the cooker? It will probably be on a label that you can see when you open the oven door. If the electrician said it would cost £200ish, how come the buyer wants a £400 reduction? Sounds like they want you to pay for the inspection too! My opinion is that they are trying it on. You've allowed them £5k off the price, say thats the offer (easy for me to say).
Thanks for you reply Don't know about qualifications, the guy turned up looked me up and down in a very obvious way on the doorstep, dragged the wires out of light sockets and then put the earth wire on the metal box instead of on the chrome switch. Am I right in thinking this is wrong? He had the minimum amount of numbers written in his notebook and nothing official like a proper form to complete. Is it possible the earth impudence (? Google, I have no real understanding of the term) is too low? The cooker is 2450w definitely not a fancy monster oven. Think it would be quicker and cheaper and much less unpleasant than being confronted by the man to pay for a proper electrician to carry out my own EIRC and it give it to them but if the issues are there I risk paying the cost of the report and the repairs. The house I am buying needs rewiring, boiler, kitchen tanked and refitted and a new bathroom, should I send a friend round to price that up-um no I got a reduction on asking price.
It sounds to me that, by leaving it to the last moment, they are trying to hold you over a barrel. Yes, it's possible that the earth impedance is too low ( ) but the guy should have had readings to hand over to you for this. Without these readings - on a properly certified report document - his claims are meaningless. As to he "put the earth wire on the metal box instead of on the chrome switch..." I presume you mean he removed a metal-fronted light switch, removed the earth FROM this front plate and instead reattached it to the metal back box in the wall? If so, that's crazy - the earth wire should ideally be connected to the back box, but there should also be a short link betwixt that and the front plate - or else the metal front plate (which, after all, is the part that's gonna shock you) is relying solely on the fixings screws for earthing to the bb. You presumably have a solicitor working for you? I'd instruct them to inform their solicitors "Thank you for the electrical report - please forward a copy of this report along with the accreditation of the electrician who carried out the survey so that I can consider this matter." or summat like that. If the guy ain't accredited, his report is worthless. Loose cables - as Baz says - is sloppy work, but not a hazard since they are effectively inaccessible (a bit like laying cables over joists and not clipping them down. The question you need to ask yourself - if they are insistent about the discount - is what's it worth to you; the collapse of this purchase chain? If it ain't worth the risk, then perhaps offer the smaller discount to hopefully keep the sale going - £200.
You didn't mention that in your OP, but a low earth impedance is fine. In fact the lower it is the better. the concern is if it is too high. I agree with Satan's friend, above. You need a copy of the full report, together with confirmation of the "firends" credentials. Ideally he/she should hold a City and Guilds 2391 or equivalent qualification. That's an exam in Testing and Inspection. Also he/she should be a member of a competent electrician's scheme such as NAPIT. NICEIC, etc. There are too many so-called electricians wandering around who have done a 2-week course in electrical things and think (assume) that they know stuff. Turning up at one minute to midnight is unreasonable, did you really agree to that? DA's suggestion of £200 to keep the sale may be a reasonable one - don't forget that they are under pressure too!
My solicitor said don't budge because in his experience this is possibly the start of continued requests to reduce. They were pushing at the beginning got the homebuyers on 19/4 and are now saying they got the reports because they were recommended in that. Guess said friend wasn't available until 2 days prior to exchange. Wondering if getting a proper report will stop them trying it on anymore without alienating them. Guy could falsify figures- I think they are that bent totally lost trust. Their solicitor doesn't have any funds from them or the signed contracts ready for exchange so no chance of exchanging Monday to complete Friday. My purchase, I am effectively kicking the woman out, she will rent her purchase till the sale is through, and I received an offer 3k over asking but as I had given my word I didn't entertain it. I am feeling a real fool, four kids on my own and I robbed us of 8k for this! I accepted their offer 3 days after it went on the market! Really want to take the sold off it and see if I get a higher offer to cover the lost money and some of the price of repairs on my new place but needed to move to get high school place for September. Cutting off my nose to spite my face?
They are pulling your chain. Its your decision, I'm afraid. Bear in mind that a proper EICR, with a report, will probably cost you £200+ I had a buyer for my last house, strange old guy, lived with his mother all his life, she died. he had never bought a house before. he messed around for so many weeks not exchanging that i eventually told him that the house was going back on the market. We exchanged 2 weeks later!
If I agreed a price reduction would the solicitors have to redo contracts and then wait for signing again before exchange?
Landlord certificates offers a report for £99 wonder if they will do one for me. I'm not generally a petty person but I smell a rat and need to exchange Monday not start trying to get through to solicitors to change the contracts!
A landlord certificate for £99? Thats a 'drive-by' inspection then. Where are you located? Maybe a friendly proper electrician on here can give a second opinion.!
I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time on what is almost certainly a fools errand! The only thing is the socket earth. I know it definitely has an earth wire from my new favourite toy plug in tester! ( would put smiley here but they don't show) They are refusing to send basic info and making me wait their official electrical inspection report. I have even practically begged for the guys number and they have refused!
If you plugged in your tester and got goo lights then the socket is connected properly with an earth present. End of. Nothing else is a C1 or a C2. Its all cosmetic. They want a perfect house? Tell them to go and buy a new one.
If the electrician wasn't at your house for at least 3 hours then he ripping you off, if I were you I'd tell them to f off, you shouldn't pay for anything without a certificate, they are blatantly bullying you
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