Single survey scheme - nail in coffin for DIY ?

[baldelectrician]

In Scotland it has been announced that a single survey scheme is to be made mandatory

ie when you decide to sell your house you (the seller) gets an independant full survey - structural, gas, electrics and hands copies of this (free of charge) to any prospective purchaser.
The cost of the survey gets added onto the house purchase price and the eventual buyer pays.

This will show up any DIY / dogy electrics as a PIR will usually be involved- any dodgy stuff will be unlikely to positively affect house price!

i think this is coming into place in England and Wales at a similar time also.

Do you think it will be good news for (good) sparks

The reason I brought this up was that I was asked to fix a couple of sockets in a garage earlier this year.
The surveyor (surprisingly) picked up on the garage electrics, I fixed and certified, noting signs of poor DIY.

The seller (who got me in) more or less wanted a clean bill of health- which I couldn't do (I am not going to certify someone elses work - the brother in law of owner changed consumer unit). He also did other poor diy.

When the new owners moved in they comissioned a full PIR (from another spark so as to be independent)
He found no bathroom bonding, a couple of sockets without an earth and he said the boiler was not cross bonded - there were plastic pipes going onto 2 foot copper tails)

The point I am making is these people have had a lot of hassle (old & new owners) the new scheme will give everyone full knowledge.
It might not stop the sale of a house but the previous owner may be asked to put things right (and get it certified) before sale.

The bathroom was done by DIY, with no bonding- the walls and floors are all tiled and nice.
There is no chance to run bonding cables without mini trunking or damage- this was pointed out to new owner who backtracked



see this website for more info

http://www.rics.org/Property/Reside...aluationandappraisal/singlesurvey_update.html

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2005/03/03155624

 

[BenStiller]

Its years overdue, a house is the biggest investment any of us will ever make so its right and proper it gets a full bill of health, just like getting an mot with a car you get piece of mind.

 

[nstreet]

Its years overdue, a house is the biggest investment any of us will ever make so its right and proper it gets a full bill of health, just like getting an mot with a car you get piece of mind.

An MOT is only really valid on the day the car passes, even though its for a year, it doesn't necessarily mean the car is still roadworthy when its sold sometime later. The same could be true of this new scheme. A lot can happen in the time the survey is done and the long period to when the property is eventually sold.

 

[mattux]

hi guys

this is a fantastic idea.

we are in the process of buying a property and our homebuyers survey has picked up on a few things which we were not aware of.
if we pull out now we'll lose about £1000 of which about £600 was spent on surveys.
so people will have to get there house in order, OR at least declare the problems when the property is viewed, saving a lot of money and heartache for many.

cheers

matt

 

[inspectorclouseau]

I do not think that is a strong argument against a PIR. The IEE recommend PIRs for private houses every 10 years or at change of ownership, they seem to think the electrical condition will not change too quickly, and so do I. I also understand the survey results will have a time essence built in, something along the lines of a disclaimer beyond six months or a year.
It would seem likely there will be a lot more PIRs getting done, resulting in repair work, with an eventual trend for householders getting a spark in to do electrical works at home.

On a related topic, there are plans for ALL let property in Scotland to be registered (licensed). The consultation for it ends this month, plans will be finalised by January, with an introductory date targetted around April 2006. As I understand it, it will not be too burdensome, more of a sheet with tick boxes, have you had this done? have you had that done? do you have ample fire protection? etc
Have you had the electrical system inspected? may well be one of them.
Sure, some people may lie, but the consequences are likely to be stiff.

So yes I think it will be good for (good) sparks in Scotland, and possibly a better way forward than part P forced on our fellow workers in other parts of the UK. Prescribed regulation can work given the right touch, but I'm not sure John Prescott (the ex-boxer who still ocassionally throws a punch) has it.

 

[baldelectrician]

inspector

do you have any links about the letting / registering thing ?

cheers

baldelectrician. com

 

[andy]

inspector

do you have any links about the letting / registering thing ?

cheers

baldelectrician. com

sneaky

 

[ban-all-sheds]

This will show up any DIY / dogy electrics as a PIR will usually be involved- any dodgy stuff will be unlikely to positively affect house price!

Firstly, it will (maybe) show up dodgy electrics. There is no evidence that DIY electrics are necessarily dodgy, nor that if there is dodgy work it has necessarily been done by a DIY-er.

Secondly, unless the wiring is so awful that there is imminent danger, I doubt that it would affect a sale much. The cost of putting it right is likely to be small compared to the overall cost of the property. To put it in perspective, stamp duty on a £200K house is £2,000. It will to some extent affect the value of the house, but it'll just be one more expense that the buyer will be budgeting for, along with new wallpaper, carpets & curtains, often a new kitchen and so on.

Finding a house you like enough to go through all the aggravation and costs of buying it is not easy - if someone wants the place a bit of electrical work will not stop them.

So no, I don't think it's a nail in the coffin for DIY.