Can I Sell a House With Old Wiring?
Yes, you can sell a house with old wiring, but it’s important to understand the potential challenges and considerations involved. Old wiring can be a significant concern for buyers, potentially affecting your home’s value and the speed of the sale.
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Can I Sell a House With Old Wiring?
Old wiring typically refers to electrical systems that are over 25-30 years old. These systems may not meet current safety standards and could pose risks such as electrical fires or power failures. Common signs of old wiring include:
- Fabric-covered wires
- Knob and tube wiring
- Aluminium wiring (used in some homes built between 1965 and 1973)
- Fuse boxes instead of modern circuit breakers
How do I know if house needs rewiring?
It’s a popular misconception that older homes need rewiring. While a periodic inspection every 10 years by an electrician is recommended, there are some signs you can look for which may indicate a rewire is needed.
These include:
- Rubber or lead-insulated cables,
- Shocks from outlets and switches,
- Damaged or exposed wiring,
- An old fuse box,
- Flickering or dimming lights,
- Circuit breakers that frequently trip.
If your property is over 30 years old and still has the original wiring, a rewire is likely necessary before selling.
Not only does this make the property safer, but it is also more modern and attractive to potential buyers. It also eliminates the issue of buyers trying to renegotiate the price after a survey reveals electrical problems.
To get a complete picture of the state of your property’s electrics, an Electrical Installation Condition Report is needed. Costs for this report can range from £150 for a 1-bedroom flat up to £275 for a 5-bedroom house.
How much does it cost to rewire a house UK?
The size, age, and location of a property impact the cost of rewiring.
To give you an idea of the costs you can expect, the table below provides a rough guide:
Size of property
Range - Low
Range - High
Average cost
1-bed flat
£1,500
£4,500
£3,000
2-bed flat
£2,000
£5,000
£3,500
3-bed flat
£3,000
£6,000
£4,500
1-bed house
£2,000
£5,000
£3,500
2-bed house
£3,000
£6,500
£4,750
3-bed house
£4,000
£7,500
£5,750
4-bed house
£6,000
£9,000
£7,500
5-bed house
£7,500
£12,500
£10,000
Impact on Selling Your Home
When selling a house with old wiring, you might face several issues:
- Lower offers: Buyers may reduce their offers to account for the cost of rewiring.
- Longer time on the market: Some buyers might be put off entirely, leading to a slower sale.
- Insurance concerns: Buyers may struggle to get home insurance with outdated electrics.
- Safety worries: Potential buyers might be concerned about the safety of living in a home with old wiring.
What Does Rewiring a House Involve?
- Taking out the old wiring and fixtures.
- Installing new wiring throughout the property.
- Add white finish electrical accessories like switches and socket outlets.
- Installing a new metal consumer unit.
- Doing minor plastering to fill small holes or re-plastering where necessary.
- Testing the circuits and providing a final installation certification to prove the work meets current regulations.
How disruptive is a house rewire?
Rewiring is a big job for homeowners. Different properties require varying amounts of work, but most need walls cut, chased and chiselled. Electricians can cause a mess, but this is necessary.
You’ll need to consider re-plastering and painting it throughout.
You’ll need to consider the full cost of rewiring a property, as well as the fact that it can take up to 15 days. To make the process easier, try to remove as much furniture as possible, such as carpets and floorboards.
There are extra expenses, such as storage units and a professional for refitting the carpets and floorboards. It is also likely that you will have to move out during the rewiring, as it means your property won’t have power, making it inhabitable.
All of this adds to the cost of rewiring your property. You may be wondering if it’s possible to sell a house with old wiring to avoid these costs and the disruption of two weeks in your home – only to put it on the market afterwards.
Does a rewire add value to your house?
Whilst a rewire won’t necessarily add value to your house, it will prevent buyers from leveraging faulty electrics to decrease their offer.
When considering an offer from a buyer, a survey of your property will be conducted before the exchange can take place.
If the electrics are faulty, outdated, or unsafe, it will be reflected in the survey and may result in the buyer withdrawing from the sale entirely or using a “gazundering” tactic and reducing their offer significantly.
For you, this means that even though the £5,000 spent on rewiring won’t increase the asking price by the same amount, the buyer won’t be able to reduce their offer by £10,000 to cover the costs and hassle of rewiring the property themselves.
Costs
Rewiring a typical three-bedroom semi-detached house can cost between £3,000 and £5,000. The process usually takes 5-10 days and can be quite disruptive, often requiring walls and floors to be opened up.
Can I rewire my house myself?
It’s not recommended. Electrical work should be carried out by a qualified electrician to ensure safety and compliance with regulations.
How long does rewiring a house take?
Normally, rewiring a three-bedroom house takes 5-10 days, depending on the property’s size and complexity.
How often should a house be rewired?
As a rule of thumb, a house should be rewired every 25-30 years, but this can vary based on the quality of the original installation and any updates made.
Will old wiring affect my home insurance?
Yes, it can. Some insurers may refuse cover or charge higher premiums for homes with outdated wiring.
Tips for Selling with Old Wiring
While there’s no legal requirement to rewire before selling, you must be honest about the condition of your property. Failing to disclose known issues could lead to legal problems later.
- Be transparent: Disclose the state of your wiring to potential buyers upfront.
- Get a professional assessment: An EICR can help you understand and communicate the exact state of your electrics.
- Consider partial updates: If full rewiring isn’t feasible, address any immediate safety concerns.
- Adjust your pricing: Factor in the cost of rewiring when setting your asking price.
- Highlight other features: Focus on your home’s strong points to balance out concerns about the wiring.
- Offer flexibility: Be open to negotiations or consider offering a discount to cover rewiring costs.
Can you sell a house with old wiring?
It’s not shocking that you’re asking yourself if you can sell a house with outdated wiring, especially considering the costs and problems it would cause if you rewire it.
The answer is yes, you can, but it may be more difficult to find a buyer, and they may make a lower offer or reduce their offer when they understand the house needs rewiring.
To avoid this situation, there are a few things you can do when you have old wiring but don’t want to put the money and effort into rewiring your property.
If you’re struggling to sell due to old wiring, consider these options:
- Cash buyers: Some investors or companies specialise in buying homes in any condition.
- Auction: This can be a quick way to sell, though often at a lower price.
- Part-exchange: Some developers offer part-exchange deals on new-build homes.
Set reasonable price
If you are looking to sell your house without rewiring, you should set the asking price to be reasonable and take into account how much money a buyer will need to spend to get the property up to the required standard.
This will show buyers that the property is priced and takes into consideration the cost of rewiring.
However, rewiring a house can be a daunting prospect for potential buyers, and this may discourage them from buying your property.
We know that buyers already offer lower than the asking price, as they view it as a ‘guide‘. Unless you specify ‘offers in excess of‘, you could end up getting an offer that is 5% or more below the asking price.
But what if you need to sell now?
Sell to cash buyer
Selling a property with old wiring doesn’t have to be a hassle – there is a simple solution. Cash buyers are the ideal option as they tend to be buying properties to renovate or rent out, meaning they won’t be too concerned about the wiring.
They are usually looking for a quick sale, so they may not even bother getting a survey done.
Finding a reputable cash buyer isn’t as hard as you might think. We here at Property Saviour are a quick, cash house-buying company, and we will buy any house in any condition.
Our process is stress-free – just one viewing to make sure our cash offer is accurate, and then you can relax knowing we will take care of the rest.
So the answer to ‘Can you sell a house with old wiring?’ is, to us, YES. And you can sell it FAST!
Our cash offer can be in your bank account within ten days or at a timescale of your choice, and we can cover all your fees, so you don’t have to worry about legal fees or estate agent fees.
Get in touch and request a callback for a free, no-obligation cash offer today.
Property Saviour Price Promise
- The price we’ll offer is the price that you will receive with no hidden deductions.
- Be careful with ‘cash buyers’ who require a valuation needed for a mortgage or bridging loan.
- These valuations or surveys result in delays and price reductions later on.
- We are cash buyers. There are no surveys.
- We always provide proof of funds with every formal offer issued.
We'll Pay £1,500 Towards Your Legal Fees
- No long exclusivity agreement to sign because we are the buyers.
- You are welcome to use your own solicitor.
- If you don’t have one, we can ask our solicitors for recommendations.
- We share our solicitor’s details and issue a Memorandum of Sale.
Sell With Certainty & Speed
- Our approach is transparent and ethical, which is why sellers trust us.
- 100% Discretion guaranteed.
- If you have another buyer, you can put us in a contracts race to see who completes first.
- Complete in 10 days or at a timescale that works for you. You are in control.
