Electrics in possible house

[Random stranger]

I've had an offer accepted on a house.

Background info - the info the estate agent gave me. Old woman has moved in to a care home and family member who does not live in this city is selling the house. According to estate agent there is no paperwork for anything. I have took a few photos of the house and I'm concerned about the electrics I wrote an email to the estate agent yesterday and she replied that they have received a quote for £3.8k for a re-wire.

I need to have another detailed look with trade people but thought I'd post here as this site was recommended to me.

Here's the email I wrote late last night so it's a bit crap

The surveyor will also point out (pictures 1 and 2) that in the rear living room there is electrical lead which is plugged in to a socket and is then fed through the wall and appears to have been attached to the wall below the window to enter somewhere else, maybe to supply electricity to this socket (picture 3, the TV cable is coming from the roof) there is also an unswitched fused connection close by for what reason? There are several of these unswitched fused connections around the house.View media item 99726View media item 99727View media item 99728
The electric socket in the under stairs cupboard (picture 4) is receiving electricity from where, also it appears the washing machine cable has been fed through the wall to this electric socket.View media item 99729
The front living area has a lead coming through the wall and fed underneath the carpet, I’m not sure what this lead is (picture 5)View media item 99730
There is a cable which is coming from the roof and has been fed through the brickwork in to the rear bedroom (picture 6) another cable is fed through this brickwork and enters the base of the kitchen window (picture 2) I’m not sure if this is TV cable as there is no suitable place to have a TV in the kitchen.View media item 99731View media item 99727
There are spotlights in the kitchen but no obvious view of how they are receiving power (pictures 7 and 8 ) and there is also a plug in the kitchen with two electrical cables wired in to it (picture 9)
View media item 99732View media item 99733View media item 99734

 

[Robin0577]

The type of consumer unit, the style of the sockets, etc. suggests a 1980s rewire. This means the wiring is some way from current standards but may not of itself mean it's unsafe.
However, some of the other pictures suggest some none too great and possibly even dangerous DIY alterations since then. You should budget for at least an Elecrical Installation Condition Report, then probably some remedial works at best and a full rewire at worst.
It is likely that the property will be sold on a take it or leave it basis, so it's up to you to decide if it's worth the offer price taking into account the work needed.

 

[JohnD]

I can't see a question in all that, but I will assume your question is "should I assume this house needs rewiring?"

and the answer is "yes"

 

[aptsys]

It is likely that the property will be sold on a take it or leave it basis, so it's up to you to decide if it's worth the offer price taking into account the work needed.

Indeed, it'll have been valued based on the condition it is currently in.

Nothing looks to horrendous, by that I mean those alterations can easily be removed.

The FCUs were probably storage heaters

 

[aptsys]

I can't see a question in all that, but I will assume your question is "should I assume this house needs rewiring?"

and the answer is "yes"

I doubt it 'needs' rewiring. The 80's wiring is probably fine.

 

[JohnD]

it might be that if all the DIY alterations were removed, and extra outlets added properly, it would be OK. But for a working assumption, before buying the house, assume it is going to need money spent on it.

I see some of the socket are in the skirting, which was out of fashion by the 1980's. I have an idea the standard was 12" off the floor by then, to avoid hoover damage.

 

[securespark]

As suggested a thorough EIC will tell you how sound the circuits are.

Some of those cables you show look like co-ax (aerial) and telephone. You may well be right that the additional light fittings are plugged in.

This plug-in stuff is easily removed.

 

[EAST61]

Given the state of the house it's clear that it's a fixer-upper. I certainly wouldn't be expecting the vendor to be reducing the price for any renovation work.

You'll clearly want to be updating this house, and the electrics are part of that.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I've had an offer accepted on a house ... I need to have another detailed look with trade people

Are you planning to live in it, rent it out, or tart it up and sell it on?

If the former, then I suggest getting it checked to make sure that there is nothing dangerous, and live in it for a bit before deciding on any extensive electrical work, as living in it is really the only sure way to find out where you want stuff.

The decor may not be to your taste, but it's hardly a slum - you'll manage.

 

[ericmark]

Be it a rewire, or just remove the suspect items and swap the odd items for modern versions like the fuse box swapped for a consumer unit, the price to get it to the standard you want it is so variable it's not worth guessing. I had a similar problem with my mothers house, some bits already rewired and up to standard, some bits original 1954 wiring, and not a clue what I really wanted. I had three possible future scenarios, 1) House would be sold. 2) House would be rented. 3) We would live in the house with mother. I had a limited time to get work done while mother was in rest bite. So not enough time to contemplate DIY, so I employed a firm of Electricians to do a basic part rewire, and it was very basic, this would allow me to rent if that was required. The figure you quote they said it could be rewired for would likely also be a very basic rewire.

I was lucky the guys doing the rewire used existing capping and trunking where ever they could, however I was still left with a lot of plastering to do and painting, they did avoid wall papered walls, and there were a few surface trunking runs in the corners of the rooms. It was not a good rewire, it was an essential safety rewire, just to make house safe to rent if required.

Since then I have done upgrades where required, it seemed for first 3 months in the house I have not stopped adding tweaks to the rewire, had I known I was going to live here I would have paid the extra and got what I wanted, but it would likely have resulted in double the cost or more. And since moving in we have found we have not used rooms as first envisaged, so even if I had paid the extra and got it done as we thought we wanted, it still would not have been right.

So if you like the house then buy it, and then get a safety check, then live in it, then get any alterations done. All rewires are a compromise. I had some added problems, mother is in a wheel chair so sockets needed to be at a position where she could reach, and more important the wheel chair could not smash into them, the 450 mm height is just at the right height for a wheel chair to smash, to keep clear of wheel chair wheels looking at just above furniture height like we would for kitchen sockets. This of course would not be required with no wheel chair. Upstairs the sockets can be low, there is no wheel chair and being below bed height means they are not damaged moving the bed.

The number of extension leads used because furniture hides a socket must be huge, every house I go to unless kept like a show house has an extension lead some where as a bit of furniture hides the socket. Living in the house first lets you realise where the sockets should be. And forget the 450 mm height it's a load of nonsense, wheel chair users can reach sockets low down better than able bodied people, and they can't see back of wheel chair where the wheels stick out, so they will hit things including sockets on the wall. So position where you want them.

 

[John D v2.0]

Not to derail your good post but just for reference/clarification- The height ranges for accessories are for accessibility, not wheel chair users. And it's a range not an exact value. And it only applies to new dwellings.

 

[Random stranger]

Thanks for the comments.

I have an accepted offer on this house and intend it to be the last property I live in. I knew when making the offer the bathroom and eventually the kitchen would need to be replaced and a lot of decoration and new flooring would be needed but I did not think of the electrics when I made my offer. I took a few pictures and when zooming in and seeing the small picture instead of the bigger picture did I realise there was an issue with the electrics. I'm wondering, as the estate agent had mentioned about the quote they have received for a re-wire, whether the vendor will make a contribution to the cost of the re-wire?

Anyway, this seems a good forum with people offering advice and sharing their personal experiences.

Does anyone known about the felt tip marker symbols glaziers put on windows, because I had a look at the outside of the house today and noticed them from a previous prospective buyer who pulled out?

 

[EAST61]

I'm not sure why the vendor should be paying to modernise a house that you'll be living in.

Nevertheless, you can always ask and they might say yes.

 

[flameport]

as the estate agent had mentioned about the quote they have received for a re-wire, whether the vendor will make a contribution to the cost of the re-wire?

The very fact that the agent has a quote for a rewire (or anything else) is highly suspicious.
The only contribution from the vendor would be a reduction in the sale price. Of substantially more than any spurious quote obtained by persons unknown.

When buying a property, the estate agent is your enemy. They represent the vendor's interests only, and are primarily there to sell you any old tat at the highest price possible. Any information offered by them or the vendor should be largely disregarded. Make your own enquires, appoint your own surveyor etc.

£3.8k may be possible to rewire such a property, however the actual cost will be far higher as that quote would not include replastering of walls, redecoration, replacement of carpets and other floor coverings, etc. It's also unlikely to represent the electrical installation you would want for your house as it was prepared by someone else who had entirely different motives.

 

[DaveHerns]

You've had an offer accepted. How much do you want the house? It probably wants a new boiler as well !