Buying a house - No electricity or Gas

A_Sober_Paddy

Hey all,

Buying a house and had my engineer in today for a survey.

He told me that there was no electrity or gas.

There was people living in the property upto 5 weeks ago.

So my question is, is this common for the gas and electricity to be switched off after tenants leave. I don't want to buy a place and then have to deal with getting everything reconnected.

I have literally just got the report and a call from my survayor. So my solicitor is finished since 5, so have to wait till Monday to call and ask the situation.

Anyone able to offer me a reason why there was no electricity or gas at the property and put my mind at ease

m'lady

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Hey all,

Buying a house and had my engineer in today for a survey.

He told me that there was no electrity or gas.

There was people living in the property upto 5 weeks ago.

So my question is, is this common for the gas and electricity to be switched off after tenants leave. I don't want to buy a place and then have to deal with getting everything reconnected.

I have literally just got the report and a call from my survayor. So my solicitor is finished since 5, so have to wait till Monday to call and ask the situation.

Anyone able to offer me a reason why there was no electricity or gas at the property and put my mind at ease

A reconnection isn't a majorly big deal, especially if it's only been disconnected 5 weeks, there won't be any charges as far as I am aware..

A_Sober_Paddy

m'lady wrote: »

A reconnection isn't a majorly big deal, especially if it's only been disconnected 5 weeks, there won't be any charges as far as I am aware..

But its a major pain, can i inist its turned on in order to get an electritan to look at it before signing contracts

The_Conductor

It would be unusual if it was tenanted up to 5 weeks ago- for both the electricity and gas to be cut off. Normally it would take several months before this occurred. Keep in mind- reconnection charges can be hefty.

dori_dormer

Personally I wouldn't sign anything unless you could check the elec and gas. Ask them to turn it back on and see what they say

A_Sober_Paddy

The_Conductor wrote: »

It would be unusual if it was tenanted up to 5 weeks ago- for both the electricity and gas to be cut off. Normally it would take several months before this occurred. Keep in mind- reconnection charges can be hefty.

I live near the house at the moment, and it had the tenants in there no more than 6 weeks ago.

Yeah i heard they can be hefty(no nobody has mentioned a figure), this house has be a disaster with the sellers bank being a complete cnut with the deeds firstly(taking 3 months) and now this.

The_Conductor

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I live near the house at the moment, and it had the tenants in there no more than 6 weeks ago.

Yeah i heard they can be hefty(no nobody has mentioned a figure), this house has be a disaster with the sellers bank being a complete cnut with the deeds firstly(taking 3 months) and now this.

Ok- its a bank sale.
Its a case of accept it- as-is, or walk.
There is no negotiation, or rational behaviour on the part of the seller in cases like this.

You can do a blind survey and if it has been tenanted up to 5-6 weeks ago- make a working assumption that there is nothing fundamental wrong- but you're not going to get any better than this.

Its pretty much buy it- or walk- the seller (the bank) honestly don't care- they are not going to invest time, effort or money in allaying any fears that a prospective purchaser might have.

I would however- contact the two agencies (ESB Networks, Bord Gais Networks) and clarify the reason power and gas were cut off- i.e. was it for safety reasons, or simply at the request of the tenant, the previous owner or the bank- and how much it will cost (probably depends on which supplier you go with) to have it reconnected. It is almost certainly a couple of hundred each (200-300 per utility is the norm)- unless you go with a budget supplier who may act the mick and have totally spurious setup charges- there are two suppliers in the market renowned for behaviour like this

bbari

Flogas charges 80 and the BG charges 120 to reconnect the gas meter.

The_Conductor

bbari wrote: »

Flogas charges 80 and the BG charges 120 to reconnect the gas meter.

Reconnections at the actual meter- if it has been turned off- are only done by Gas Network Ireland- on behalf of the suppliers. I knew Flogas are the cheapest- I was highlighting the, unusual charges, that two other suppliers (I think you know who I have in mind- but we are not allowed discuss them) have........

You will need to go to Gas Networks Ireland- in order to get an explanation as to why it was disconnected in the first instance- before you consider which supplier to go with..........

Also- look at what you're going to be tied into (Bonkers.ie do good comparisons)- the lowest priced supplier may be blown out of the water by a dual fuel deal from a major competitor (hint, hint.......)

bbari

The_Conductor wrote:

Reconnections at the actual meter- if it has been turned off- are only done by Gas Network Ireland- on behalf of the suppliers. I knew Flogas are the cheapest- I was highlighting the, unusual charges, that two other suppliers (I think you know who I have in mind- but we are not allowed discuss them) have........

That's correct, disconnection and reconnection is done by the Networks but it's the suppliers (FG in my case) organised the reconnection.

melekalikimaka

Its less than 100 for a standard reconnection of both. Over a few months you'll need a cert to reconnect however