Electrical faults to spot when buying a new home
If you are considering purchasing a house, have you thought about ensuring that the electrics within the property are up to spec, or at the very least not a risk?
Many homebuyers assume that the survey they ask for (usually as part of the mortgage conditions) will include looking into the electrics of a property, but this isn’t true. What you need to ask for, from a qualified electrician (not a surveyor) is an Electrical Installation Condition Report.
Perhaps the electrics are a little down the list when you’re trying to secure the perfect house. We know how it is – you desperately want the house to tick the boxes for your mortgage company, and your survey will cover the structure, roof, damp and any obvious problems that you immediately want to know about. However in most cases a survey won’t look at the condition of the electrics or wiring, which can be a risk in terms of electric shocks or even fire. Why is this? Because generally, it isn’t a condition set by the mortgage company.
If you are buying a property that isn’t a new build, we would recommend you look at getting an EICR for your own peace of mind. Depending on the age of the house and its electrical systems, you may find it struggling to keep up with modern usage – computers, mobiles, televisions, appliances and white goods. We use a lot of electricity in the home, more than we did 40 or 50 years ago (you could even argue more than 20 years ago!). If the house is even older, you may struggle to get homeowners insurance (another common requirement for getting a mortgage), as well as looking at a hefty price tag to update the systems. These types of houses would be ones dated from around 1890 to 1920/30, but worth bearing in mind.
All of our electricians are qualified to produce a full electrical installation condition report, so please do get in touch if you’d like to arrange a report on a potential house.
