Electrical inspection
 

It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Mark

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 19:23:31 +0000, Markmon wrote:

It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Mark

Yes.
Yes.
I doubt you would get it any cheaper. Like all surveys expect it to fail,
you need to spot the difference between the really serious failings and
the minor ones.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

Markmon wrote:

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Can't tell without seeing the place! If it's been built in the last,
say, 20 years, and noe indication of bodging, it looks like CYA; if it's
interwar, with fittings of a mixture of ages, the arse that's convered
might just be yours ;-)

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Certainly high for these parts - here in Bristol you're looking at more
like 80 quid for a competent local electrician to spend the 1hr+ doing
the inspection and writing out the NICEIC-or-similar Ree Port...

Stefek

"Stefek Zaba" wrote in message
...
Markmon wrote:

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Can't tell without seeing the place! If it's been built in the last, say,
20 years, and noe indication of bodging, it looks like CYA; if it's
interwar, with fittings of a mixture of ages, the arse that's convered
might just be yours ;-)

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Certainly high for these parts - here in Bristol you're looking at more
like 80 quid for a competent local electrician to spend the 1hr+ doing the
inspection and writing out the NICEIC-or-similar Ree Port...

Stefek

I paid about £70 3 year ago, so £200 seems a bit high


Dave

In message .uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 19:23:31 +0000, Markmon wrote:

It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Mark

Yes.
Yes.

I guess this is case of if you need to ask the question.....

The electric in this house were obviously in a poor way when we bought
it, a little bit of nosing around confirmed that. but an inspection was
pretty irrelevant because it was obvious it would need rewiring.

I suspect that they are most useful in older (say 20 years) houses
where the electric's might look superficially ok, but there has been
plenty of scope for mods of varying proficiency to have been carried
out.
--
Chris French, Leeds

On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 00:47:13 +0100, chris French
wrote:

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 19:23:31 +0000, Markmon wrote:

It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

I guess this is case of if you need to ask the question.....

True enough.

The electric in this house were obviously in a poor way when we bought
it, a little bit of nosing around confirmed that. but an inspection was
pretty irrelevant because it was obvious it would need rewiring.

On the surface the everything look ok - new consumer unit, fittings,
etc.

I suspect that they are most useful in older (say 20 years) houses
where the electric's might look superficially ok, but there has been
plenty of scope for mods of varying proficiency to have been carried
out.

It's a 50s semi which has been altered and extended over the years.
We've got a structural survey on the place booked for Wednesday, and
I'll get an electrical inspection done now as well.

Thanks.

Mark

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 21:56:45 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:

Markmon wrote:

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Can't tell without seeing the place! If it's been built in the last,
say, 20 years, and noe indication of bodging, it looks like CYA; if it's
interwar, with fittings of a mixture of ages, the arse that's convered
might just be yours ;-)

No obvious bodging, but who knows. We're getting a structural survey
done anyway so we'll have the electrics checked as well.

It was more the way the agent shoved a glossy leaflet at us that made
me ask. Especially as the leaflet seems to be aimed at landlords
rather than buyers.

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Certainly high for these parts - here in Bristol you're looking at more
like 80 quid for a competent local electrician to spend the 1hr+ doing
the inspection and writing out the NICEIC-or-similar Ree Port...

I would have thought it should be about the same price here in
Manchester, so I'll ring round a bit.

Thanks,

Mark

"Markmon" wrote:
It was more the way the agent shoved a glossy leaflet at us that made
me ask. Especially as the leaflet seems to be aimed at landlords
rather than buyers.

Are you planning on renting it out?

If so then I would get the inspection done.

Al

In article ,
chris French wrote:
I suspect that they are most useful in older (say 20 years) houses
where the electric's might look superficially ok, but there has been
plenty of scope for mods of varying proficiency to have been carried
out.

And a very difficult thing to check thoroughly given that most wiring is
concealed.

--
*Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 09:32:50 +0100, "Al Reynolds"
wrote:

"Markmon" wrote:
It was more the way the agent shoved a glossy leaflet at us that made
me ask. Especially as the leaflet seems to be aimed at landlords
rather than buyers.

Are you planning on renting it out?

No. We're just going to live in it ourselves.

I got the impression that the estate agent hadn't read them, but was
pushing them out to everyone that got to the survey stage. I wonder if
he gets a referal fee.

If so then I would get the inspection done.

Me too.

Mark

"Markmon" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 09:32:50 +0100, "Al Reynolds"
wrote:

"Markmon" wrote:
It was more the way the agent shoved a glossy leaflet at us that made
me ask. Especially as the leaflet seems to be aimed at landlords
rather than buyers.

Are you planning on renting it out?

No. We're just going to live in it ourselves.

I got the impression that the estate agent hadn't read them, but was
pushing them out to everyone that got to the survey stage. I wonder if
he gets a referal fee.

It is a good idea to get one done but I would certainly get a few quotes
before choosing who does it.

If so then I would get the inspection done.

Me too.

Mark

Ric wrote:


It is a good idea to get one done but I would certainly get a few quotes
before choosing who does it.

Fer sure - not that a simple inspection will be a whole "quoting"
process, more an "are you free and how much do you charge". Go for a
local outfit rather'n the electricity board (sorry, REC) - and do NOT
use anyone recommended by the estate agent. Their contractual obligation
is to act in the *seller's* interest, not yours; you want someone you
can talk to about what their written report means. Indeed, in the best
case, you want someone you can establish enough trust with that they'd
say "this place is a nightma if you want written chapter-n-verse
it'll be 80quid, if you want to save on the paperwork I'll take 50", or
"recent rewire all nicely up to spec: if you want chapter-n-verse it'll
be [etc]"...

Stefek

"Markmon" wrote in message
...
It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Mark


We charge £100 = vat for 3 bed property in Portsmouth Area.

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 13:52:54 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:

Ric wrote:

It is a good idea to get one done but I would certainly get a few quotes
before choosing who does it.

Fer sure - not that a simple inspection will be a whole "quoting"
process, more an "are you free and how much do you charge". Go for a
local outfit rather'n the electricity board (sorry, REC) - and do NOT
use anyone recommended by the estate agent. Their contractual obligation
is to act in the *seller's* interest, not yours; you want someone you
can talk to about what their written report means. Indeed, in the best
case, you want someone you can establish enough trust with that they'd
say "this place is a nightma if you want written chapter-n-verse
it'll be 80quid, if you want to save on the paperwork I'll take 50", or
"recent rewire all nicely up to spec: if you want chapter-n-verse it'll
be [etc]"...

I managed to get an electrician from the local paper to go round this
morning at the same time as the structural surveyor. He has charged us
85 quid and has already faxed through the "executive summary", with
the full report in the post.

Nothing too major on the electrics it appears, at least nothing that
will cost a lot to fix. He did flag up a few minor issues and a couple
of worrying ones - All the brass sockets in the kitchen have live and
neutral reversed and the dimmer switch in the lounge has no back box -
it's screwed onto the plaster with rawlplugs and wood screws instead.

We're not going ahead though, as the surveyor recons that the kitchen
extension is pulling away from the rest of the house and sinking.
Almost certainly beacuse it has inadequate foundations.

Thank you everyone for your advice,

Mark

"Markmon" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 13:52:54 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:

Ric wrote:

It is a good idea to get one done but I would certainly get a few quotes
before choosing who does it.

Fer sure - not that a simple inspection will be a whole "quoting"
process, more an "are you free and how much do you charge". Go for a
local outfit rather'n the electricity board (sorry, REC) - and do NOT
use anyone recommended by the estate agent. Their contractual obligation
is to act in the *seller's* interest, not yours; you want someone you
can talk to about what their written report means. Indeed, in the best
case, you want someone you can establish enough trust with that they'd
say "this place is a nightma if you want written chapter-n-verse
it'll be 80quid, if you want to save on the paperwork I'll take 50", or
"recent rewire all nicely up to spec: if you want chapter-n-verse it'll
be [etc]"...

I managed to get an electrician from the local paper to go round this
morning at the same time as the structural surveyor. He has charged us
85 quid and has already faxed through the "executive summary", with
the full report in the post.

Nothing too major on the electrics it appears, at least nothing that
will cost a lot to fix. He did flag up a few minor issues and a couple
of worrying ones - All the brass sockets in the kitchen have live and
neutral reversed and the dimmer switch in the lounge has no back box -
it's screwed onto the plaster with rawlplugs and wood screws instead.

We're not going ahead though, as the surveyor recons that the kitchen
extension is pulling away from the rest of the house and sinking.
Almost certainly beacuse it has inadequate foundations.

Shame you arranged the two for the same day really - would have saved
yourself £80 if you hadn't!

Thank you everyone for your advice,

Mark

On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 13:17:24 +0100, "Ric" wrote:


"Markmon" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 13:52:54 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:


Markmon wrote:

I managed to get an electrician from the local paper to go round this
morning at the same time as the structural surveyor. He has charged us
85 quid and has already faxed through the "executive summary", with
the full report in the post.

---

We're not going ahead though, as the surveyor recons that the kitchen
extension is pulling away from the rest of the house and sinking.
Almost certainly beacuse it has inadequate foundations.

Shame you arranged the two for the same day really - would have saved
yourself £80 if you hadn't!

Yes, sod's law really. We'd no idea that there was anything wrong
structually and were just trying to speed things up a bit. With
hindsight it would have been better to wait.

I suppose being first-time buyers we got panicked by the agent saying
he had other people interested, and that the owner was looking for a
quick sale.

Shows the importance of getting surveys done though.

Mark

Markmon wrote:
It has been suggested that we get an electrical inspection done on a
house we are thinking of buying.

Is this a good idea anyway or is the estate agent just covering his
back?

Also how much should we expect to pay for this? I have been told about
£200 but this seems a bit high.

Mark


Do what I did, ask an electrician to go round and quote for any work
that needs doing. Most do a free quote.

Steve

Steve Jones wrote:

Do what I did, ask an electrician to go round and quote for any work
that needs doing. Most do a free quote.

well, there's dubious ethics there (if you've no intention of getting
the work done); and you may get away with it multiple times if you live
in the smoke or similar large city - in a smaller place you'll exhaust
the supply of goodwill among the few sparkies willing to do speculative
quotes (many are too busy doing paid work anyway).

Sorry if this sounds sanctimonious - you may well have asked for a quote
in good faith. But we can't out of one side of our mouths bemoan the
difficulty of finding reliable tradespeople to do smallish jobs, and on
the other abuse them by getting free advice in the guise of quotes...

cheers, Stefek

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Steve Jones
saying something like:

Do what I did, ask an electrician to go round and quote for any work
that needs doing. Most do a free quote.

You mean deliberately waste someone's time?

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Steve Jones
saying something like:

Do what I did, ask an electrician to go round and quote for any work
that needs doing. Most do a free quote.

You mean deliberately waste someone's time?

Maybe that explains why we get so many people complaining about tradesmen
who won't give free quotes!