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Home Buyers Reports
How much do you know about the property you are buying?
According to Government statistics, each year on average 10 people die and about 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home.
Buying a property is one of the most important purchases of your life, so it's important that your new home represents good value for money and you know what expenditure if any, you will need to make on your new house. Increasingly Building Societies are asking for an electrical inspection before finalising their mortgage agreement. HIPs were unable to incorporate this essential information as the levels of qualification required to carry out these checks were beyond their scope. So, notwithstanding the energy assessment, HIPS were not a value for money product as they were unable to provide the necessary information that a home buyer needed to know.
Basic re-wires for a 3 bedroomed property are iro £2.8K and escalate as property size increases. The attached Electrical Safety Council advisory notes detail that just 1 Code 2 defect constitutes an unsatisfactory conclusion to a Periodic Inspection. For Landlords with older properties and Tennants leasing commercial properties this will be of concern as they need to comply with The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Many homebuyers, armed with the facts about an installation are able to negotiate for the house price to be reduced and the report can also be used to plan future maintenance/repair. Others are prevented from making a costly or ill advised purchase.The Building Society's survey will only establish that the properties value is sufficient to be able to make you a mortgage offer. It will not test/ascertain the state of repair of the installed services. If you are about to purchase an older property I will guarantee you that the electrics will require remedial effort to make the circuits safe. You're thinking, how can he say this? and what is this assessment based on. The answer is, "years of experience". I don't care what anyone says I have never visited an older property that has not suffered from either misguided DIY extensions, lack of earthing/bonding, no RCD protection, unsafe garage/shed supplies and electric showers/hot tubs without RCD protection. You name it and we've seen them.
Everyone wants to spend money on a new TV or iPhone but it's better spent on protecting your children, family and property. Give or take, for about 1/3 of the price of a Mundig block test this is the most sensible money that you will ever spend! I feel very strongly about this subject and by offering a cost neutral service hope to achieve 2 things. Firstly to improve the safety of properties purchased in the Tavistock area and secondly to introduce houseowners to my business and its ethos.
In light of the introduction of the 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations we have completely revised our home electrical inspection service and now offer 3 levels of service to better fit with our client's requirements and 'purse'. We can liaise with the estate agents or vendor concerned on your behalf to arrange our inspection, collect keys etc.Take my advice, seriousley consider this option
Level One
This is a visual inspection/survey of the electrical installation Note: There is no testing of the electrical installation. You will receive a report in a folder outlining any possible problems and areas of concern the engineer identified, with our recommendations for any work needed to bring the installation up to standard or made safe. The recommendations will be classified in terms of their urgency for example some work should be done before using the system because it is a safety issue whereas other work could be left to be carried out at some future time.
- All visible parts of the electrical installation and fittings are checked visually for damage, wear and suitability for continued use.
- Report identifies possible safety issues, deterioration or damage observed
- Examines any alterations to the original installation - have they been carried out correctly?
- Comments can be made on any planned additions/alterations or increased loading and their effects on the existing system
- A comprehensive Plain English list of recommended remedial/repair/safety works
- Ball park estimate of costs for remedial/repair works if required
- Photos of any examples of damage/deterioration/dangerous or poor installation or other area of concern
Level Two
A visual inspection as in level one plus 4 key tests which check the integrity of the incoming supply.
Level Three
This is a visual inspection and report as in Level One plus a full test on all the circuits so you also receive a Periodic Inspection Report which will:
- Identify if any electrical circuits are overloaded
- Detect any potential electrical shock risks
- Discover any fire hazards in your electrical installation
- Find any defective DIY electrical work
- Reveal any lack of protective earthing /bonding
- Detail the type of fixed wiring system and its condition
The Periodic Inspection Report identifies and classifies problems according to the I.E.E. scale:
- Requires urgent attention
- Requires improvement
- Requires further investigation
- Does not comply with BS7671 (this does not necessarily imply that the installation is unsafe)
The cost of the service is based on the number of distribution boards/circuits in the property. This is one of the best value for money checks that you can have carried out on a property. Before you re-decorate and put your stamp on the most expensive purchase that you will ever make contact us for a quotation or advice, you will not regret it!.
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