Trying to sell your home comes with a whole host of issues and potential problems that will need tackling in order to achieve a successful sale.  Every aspect of your property will need to come under scrutiny from real estate agents as well as mortgage lenders and obviously potential buyers.  All of these parties will need to agree that the property is up to a certain standard and that it is safe to provide a loan against so that your buyers can get a mortgage offer. 

Sale considerations

Any reputable real estate agent will ensure that they know your property intimately before they attempt to sell it, and quite often a part of this procedure requires getting surveys and sign-offs for your water, gas and electrical installations.  These checks are to make sure that your property is deemed safe in accordance with the latest property laws and industry standards, as without compliance to these regulations you may be unable to sell your property or a mortgage loan provider might be unwilling to offer a mortgage against it for your buyer.  Getting these things checked early on when you are considering selling can make things a lot easier as you progress through the process.

Why would a house need rewiring?

Many homes in Australia were built many decades ago, and standards have changed a lot since then.  Back then, many homes were fitted with what was the standard at the time or 6mm mains wiring, but modern standards dictate 16mm wiring is required.  This is due to the increasing demand placed on electrical systems over the years and today there are many appliances plugged in in our homes all the time.  Should too many of these appliances run simultaneously then the collective current draw risks overloading the capacity of the older wiring, and when wiring overloads, it gets hot and melts.  This could very easily lead to a fire, which is guaranteed to ruin the value of your home.

Early warning signs

There are several early warning signs that your home might need rewiring, even without having a survey done.  These things are also very important to keep an eye out for when viewing a house that you might be interested in buying:

• An old consumer unit with very old looking fuses/breakers in it
• Old looking light switches and plug sockets
• Lights that keep flickering
• Any exposed cables

Realistically, if your property has not been rewired in the last 30 years or so, then it is very likely that it will need work doing to it.

Don’t risk it

It isn’t just selling your house that can mean giving your wiring a check, if you are seeing any of the above warning signs or any other anomalous electrical issues then get it checked.  It should go without saying but electrical repairs by professionals is always to way to go.  People underestimate how dangerous electricity can be, so don’t go anywhere near wiring unless you know what you are doing.