Are you buying a home in Cleckheaton? Have you had a homebuyers electrical safety inspection carried out? Buying a house is an exciting and slightly nerve-wracking time. It can feel like there is an overwhelming list of things to do.
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Having a homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection carried out by a reputable electrician, will help give you peace of mind that your new home is electrically safe – and let you cross one big thing off your list!
Back to top1) What is a homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection?
A homebuyers electrical safety inspection, also known as an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report), is an in-depth inspection of the fixed electrical installation in a property. This inspection will tell you if the electrics in your new Cleckheaton area home are safe and fit for purpose – or if they need some work. No one wants to move into a new home and discover that the house needs to be fully rewired – an expensive and disruptive undertaking. By having a reputable electrician check the electrics before you complete the purchasing process, you can determine if the home is worth the asking price, or if you need to renegotiate.
Back to top2) Won’t my survey check the electrics?
Sadly no, the usual homebuyer’s survey won’t tell you much about the condition of the electrics in your new property. It may note the location of the fuseboard and the general condition of the visible electrics, but that is usually the limit of the observations. The surveyor is not an electrician. They won’t be conducting any tests and can’t therefore tell what is going on under the surface. The observations in a typical survey can be particularly misleading if the visible electrics have been refurbished – those new sockets and light fittings may look good, but they could be hiding a dangerous, degraded electrical system.
Back to top3) What will a homebuyers electrical safety inspection show?
When your electrician carries out a homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection at your Cleckheaton property, they will be looking at various areas of the electrical installation. They will inspect the wiring, fuseboard, switches, sockets and light fittings. They will use a combination of diagnostic tools, along with a visual inspection, to look for damage, wear and tear and any areas that fail to meet current regulations. Once they have carried out the homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection at your Cleckheaton property, they will prepare the EICR itself. The report will detail all their findings and observations, along with their severity, and list any remedial works that are necessary. Your electrician will talk you through these findings and give you an estimated cost for any necessary work.
Back to top4) Who can carry out a homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection?
An EICR inspection should be carried out by a qualified, registered and reputable electrician. There are many companies out there who will carry out a homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection for an incredibly low price. In this, as with so many other things, you really do get what you pay for. These low-cost inspections won’t tell you much more than the survey you had done. They will perform a cursory inspection of a set percentage of the electrics in the property and may advise remedial works that are not needed to increase the amount they earn from you.
A home is the largest investment you are likely to make, and it makes no sense to cut corners here. You need an electrician who will carry out a thorough inspection, giving you a clear view of the condition of the property. To give you an idea of costs, some of the low cost EICR companies will charge you £150 +VAT to carry out the homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection. A qualified electrician, such as us, will charge you around £425 +VAT. Considering the average rewire of a 3-bedroom house in the UK costs around £6225, you’d be wise to book your EICR appointment with the right person!
Back to top5) Experienced electrician for homebuyer’s electrical safety inspection in Cleckheaton
If you are buying a house in Cleckheaton or the surrounding area, Quality Electrician are your local, experienced EICR electrician. Our fully qualified, NICEIC registered electrician will carry out an in-depth inspection of the electrics in your new home, giving you peace of mind that you are making the right decision.
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