Many people look at having a detailed survey carried out on a prospective property purchase without realising that very few property surveyors have the expertise to properly examine the electrical system.
We’ve seen so many unfortunate people purchase a property, decorate it and get it looking really nice and homely, call us in to change a light for example only to find out it has old rubber cable with failing insulation and no earth, as a result not only can we not carry out the work to the current standards, but it will likely need to be rewired. Not only will they have to suffer the expense of the rewire at a likely cost upwards of £3000 but it will all need decorating again. Also, an electrician carrying out any work on a circuit will need to ensure it is suitable for modification and will likely insist on aspects of the installation being upgraded before work can commence, it’s best to know this will be the case before purchasing the property.
Things to look out for is an old consumer unit like the above, very old looking switches and sockets or missing/undersized earth connection at the incoming water or gas pipe. These are all tell tale signs that the installation is old and not had any sort of upgrade for many decades.
It is recommended that you at the very least have a visual inspection carried out by a suitably qualified and registered electrician before you even consider a purchase, but a full electrical condition report (EICR) is an absolute must before finally making that investment
We don’t charge for advice so please feel free to get in touch