Unless you have to sell super-fast or you’ve been graced with property developers showing an interest in your land, you’ll be wondering how a broken boiler will impact the sale of your home.
Should you replace it before putting your house on the market, and if so, at what cost? Or should you just leave it as it is?
Just as you never gave your boiler much thought up to now, it has become the centre of your concerns now you’re looking to sell your house. You should feel a bit less hot under the collar once you’ve read these few considerations.
What category of buyer will likely purchase your house?
This is an important point because it could answer your question very quickly. Depending on the area in which you live, your house may attract developers, young (penniless) families or even struggle to get viewings organised because of the lack of demand in your region.
As much as high-flyers hold the promise of getting your house sold at the price you want, broken boiler or not, so can modest first home buyers. The boiler issue can help them knock down the excess cost they could not otherwise afford and land you a good sale without the need to get your boiler repaired.
If however your house is competing with a plentiful of modern, energy-efficient homes around you, you may be best looking into getting an approved engineer to advise you further. For gas boilers you can contact a gas-safe registered engineer like Easy Boiler Company. For oil-fired boilers, an OFTEC engineer will be your port of call (Oil Firing Technical Association).
Reasons for a broken boiler vary, as do boiler types. Repair costs can range from just £100 to ten times this amount if a complete replacement is what it takes to get the problem fixed. Knowing what type of buyer you’ll be dealing with should be the key factor guiding your decision.
Can you sell a house without heating?
It is not against the law to sell your house without a central heating system, but the selling price will need to reflect this. Some buyers will not be bothered about heating as they are more interested in the property location or land.
Some old houses are still in good condition and have other great qualities, so selling a house without a central heating system will not stop you from producing a sale.
How Can You Sell Your House With A Broken Boiler?
A buyer who may not care about central heating or boiler installation may be a property developer or flipper, but you must be careful with how you market the house in order to get the best result and property at the best price.
Depending on the buyer, they may want a property with nothing or everything, and anything in between, so it is best to negotiate whilst buying and have any selling agreements witnessed by a solicitor as form of evidence.
The solicitor should present the property information in an email or other form of documentation. Remember to keep any property information relating to the house sale safe, as you may be asked for this information in future, though it is unlikely.
Reasons why people would want to buy a house with a broken boiler
Let’s say your boiler is beyond repair. Unless you scare potential buyers off from the word go, explaining you brought the cost of your property down due to a faulty boiler, there are a lot of potential buyers out there who won’t mind.
Some will even see it as an opportunity to buy a house with a broken boiler and mention the negatives below.
Noisy Boiler
Your old boiler was so noisy, clicking and churning all the time. A replacement means the next owners can enjoy the rolling hills and country quiet that sprawl out for miles outside your home peacefully. In other words, your land is the feature no boiler issue can damage.
Damp & Leaks
Often old boilers and pipework can have the odd leak here and there which can create damp problems and water ingress into various parts of the home which can be expensive to fix and force the seller to knock money off the sale
High Energy Bills
Your energy bills have been soaring lately, and it’s not due to yet another price hike. A new boiler equals top-notch efficiency, with thermostats to regulate at will. Sold!
Outdated Boiler
Your boiler has been there since you moved in…20 years ago? What’s that got to say for the environment? From 2005, all new gas boilers installed in the UK have to be a condensing boiler, and that’s by law.
This regulation ensures maximum safety and energy-efficiency. It also fits right in with environmental concerns. As for oil-fired boilers, their lifespan doesn’t usually exceed 10 to 15 years anyway. Newer and greener is the way to go.
Poor Boiler Location
Your broken boiler is taking up a lot of room, it’s an eye-sore and inconvenient to work around due to its location in your home. If that’s the case, it could be a relief to potential buyers to hear they’ll have to replace it.
Today’s boilers offer so many choices for a neater, tidier finish (not to mention a safer option) that they’ll be able to choose themselves. And all of this with the benefit of a skimmed asking price. Not bad, right?
Boiler Servicing
But maybe your boiler just wasn’t doing the job lately due to lack of servicing? In this case, you should get a quote and measure up the benefit of a slight repair against your hunch for a better sale thanks to this small investment.
So now over to you for weighing the pros and cons of advertising a ‘broken boiler home’. If you can’t fix it, make it a selling point!