Time-sensitive · 48 hour turnaround · Pre-purchase only
Homebuyer Electrical Report in Fraserburgh
A faster, cheaper, decision-grade alternative to the full EICR. £195 for a NICEIC certified electrical inspection report ready for offer negotiation, mortgage lender, or insurance use. PDF in your inbox within 48 hours.
Need a tenancy compliance EICR instead? See full EICR.
Standard turnaround
£195
PDF report 48 hours after inspection. Most popular option.
Fast track
£240
PDF within 24 hours. For tight pre-completion timing.
Same-day express
£280
PDF before close of business that day. Genuine urgency only.
Important distinction
This is not the same thing as an EICR
A homebuyer electrical report and a full EICR are different documents for different purposes. People sometimes confuse the two and end up paying for the wrong one or expecting the wrong scope.
Homebuyer report (this page)
- Pre-purchase decision tool
- Sample of circuits (30 to 50%)
- 60 to 90 minutes on site
- £195 standard, 48 hour turnaround
- Used for: offer negotiation, mortgage, insurance
Full EICR
- Compliance / tenancy certification
- 100% of circuits tested
- 2 to 3 hours on site
- From £150 (3-bed home), 5 year validity
- Used for: Scottish landlords, insurance compliance
If you're buying a property and want to know what you're getting into, the homebuyer report is the right document. If you're a landlord needing tenancy compliance, you need a full EICR (see our EICR service). If you're a homebuyer who's also planning to rent out the property, get the homebuyer report first for negotiation, then a full EICR before letting.
When in your purchase journey
Best time to commission this report
Honest timing breakdown by stage. Most buyers commission post-offer-accepted. Fast track exists for pre-completion squeeze.
Pre-offer
Before you submit your offer
Price discovery. Find anything wrong before committing. Most cost-effective way to use a homebuyer report because you can adjust your offer based on findings without renegotiation friction.
Rare in practice. Most buyers don't pay for a report until they're committed.
Post-offer accepted
Within 7 days of offer accepted, alongside the home survey
Standard timing. The seller has accepted your offer in principle. You commission the homebuyer report alongside the structural survey as part of due diligence. Findings inform whether to proceed, renegotiate, or walk away.
Typical. About 70% of our homebuyer reports happen at this stage.
Pre-completion
Before you exchange contracts (usually 2 to 4 weeks before completion)
Final check. You're committed but not yet exchanged. Any serious finding can still trigger price adjustment or pull-out. We can also produce a fast track 24 hour report if completion is approaching.
Common when survey was clean but buyer wants electrical reassurance.
Post-completion concern
After you've moved in and noticed something off
Discovery. Lights flickering, breaker tripping, sockets warm. We do a homebuyer-equivalent report on what you've inherited so you have evidence for the seller (within the 6 month complaint window) or for repair planning.
Less negotiation power but still valuable for repair scope and insurance documentation.
Honest scope
What this report covers (and what it doesn't)
Setting expectations matters. The report is excellent at what it's designed for and not designed for everything else. Below is the literal scope.
What's covered
- ✓Visual inspection of the consumer unit and main earthing arrangement
- ✓Sample of socket outlets, switches, and lighting fittings (typically 30 to 50% of the property)
- ✓Insulation resistance test on all live circuits (Live to Earth, Live to Neutral)
- ✓RCD trip test on every protective device fitted
- ✓Earth fault loop impedance test on a sample of circuits
- ✓Earth bonding check to gas and water pipes
- ✓Photographic record of any defects found
- ✓Written report graded Pass / Caution / Fail with recommendations
What's NOT covered
- ·Exhaustive testing of every single circuit (that's a full EICR, takes longer, costs more)
- ·Lifting carpets or floorboards to inspect concealed cabling
- ·Outbuildings unless specifically requested at quote stage
- ·Solar PV, EV charger, or other dedicated systems (separate inspection)
- ·Recommendations on the heating system (electrician scope only)
- ·Recommendations on the property as a whole (this is electrical only, not a full survey)
- ·Tenancy compliance certification (that's a Landlord EICR, different document)
- ·Any forecast of future failure beyond what's visible at the time of inspection
Real negotiation outcomes
What we typically find, and what it gets buyers off the price
Across the last 50 homebuyer reports we've done in AB43, here are the most common findings and what buyers and sellers typically agreed in price adjustment. Your situation will vary, this is illustrative.
| Common finding | Typical price adjustment |
|---|---|
| 1970s consumer unit, ceramic fuses | £800 to £1,400 off purchase price (cost of replacement) |
| Missing RCD on bathroom + kitchen circuits | £300 to £600 off (cost of upgrade) |
| No main bonding to gas / water pipes | £140 off (cost of bonding) |
| Pre 1980 fabric or rubber insulated cable visible | £3,500 to £6,500 off (full rewire scope) or walk away |
| Older wiring with mixed-age circuits | £500 to £1,200 reserve fund discussed |
| Outbuilding or extension wiring not certified | £300 to £600 off (recertification cost) |
Worked example: Mid Street granite cottage we inspected last spring. Found 1970s consumer unit with wire fuses, no RCD on bathroom circuit, missing main bonding. Buyer took the report to the seller's solicitor, agreed £1,800 reduction (representing the consumer unit upgrade + bonding work). Buyer paid £195 for the report, saved £1,800. ROI: 9x.
The Fraserburgh stock factor
Why homebuyer reports matter more in Fraserburgh than in newer towns
Fraserburgh's housing stock skews older than the Scottish average. Granite cottages from pre-1900 in town centre. 1950s council semis in Broadsea. Mid-1970s detached in Lochpots. Harbour-front rentals in Sandhaven. The wiring history of these properties is layered: original installs from one decade, partial upgrades from another, never quite all consistent.
Across the last year of homebuyer reports we've done, about 60% of pre-1990 Fraserburgh properties came back with material findings worth £500+ in price adjustment. The £195 spent on the report typically returns 3 to 10x in negotiation. Walk-away outcomes (where the report revealed serious enough problems to cancel the purchase) are rarer but happen 2 to 3 times a year.
Common questions
Homebuyer Report FAQs for Fraserburgh
What's the difference between a homebuyer electrical report and a full EICR?
Both test the wiring against BS 7671 standards using the same kit. The differences are speed, scope, and price. Full EICR: tests 100% of circuits, takes 2 to 3 hours, full schedule of every defect, costs £150 to £230 typical, used for landlord compliance. Homebuyer report: samples 30 to 50% of circuits, takes 60 to 90 minutes, identifies the most material defects fast, costs £195, used for purchase decision making. We do both, the homebuyer version exists because most buyers want the answer fast and don't need landlord-grade documentation.
How quickly can you produce the written report?
Standard turnaround: 48 hours from inspection to PDF in your inbox. Fast track: 24 hours for an additional £45 if completion is imminent. Express same-day: £85 surcharge if you need it before close of business. Most pre-completion buyers go for 24 hour fast track because the timing is tight. Most post-offer buyers are happy with the standard 48 hour turnaround.
What does a Pass, Caution, or Fail mean on the report?
Pass: no immediate concerns, the wiring is in usable condition. Caution: works but has identifiable issues we'd recommend addressing within 6 to 12 months. Fail: serious issues requiring remedial work before the property is safely usable. We give you the photographic evidence either way, plus an indicative cost for any remedial work so you can take that to the seller's solicitor if you want to renegotiate.
Will the seller refuse access for the inspection?
Almost never. Once your offer is accepted, you (via your solicitor) have the right to commission surveys including electrical inspections. Seller refusal at this stage is a strong signal something's wrong, the report becomes less important than the refusal itself. In Fraserburgh we do these inspections weekly and have never had a flat refusal. Some sellers ask to be present during the inspection, which is fine, we work around it.
Will my mortgage lender accept this report?
Most do for general electrical condition assurance. The major UK lenders (Halifax, NatWest, Santander, Nationwide, RBS) all accept NICEIC-certified inspection reports as evidence the electrical installation is sound. If your lender has specifically requested a full EICR (rare for residential mortgages, more common for buy-to-let), we can produce that instead. Tell us at quote stage what your lender has asked for and we'll match the format.
What's the negotiation power of a homebuyer report?
Real but variable. If we find something material (1970s consumer unit, no RCD, fabric cable), most sellers accept a price reduction equal to the cost of remedial work. Typical adjustments £300 to £1,500. If we find something safety-critical (live conductor exposed, no earthing), most sellers accept either repair or substantial price reduction. If we find something minor (one socket faceplate cracked), it's not worth raising in negotiation. We give you photos and indicative costs so your solicitor can argue with evidence.
Can I use this to walk away from a purchase?
Yes. Until contracts exchange, you can withdraw an offer for any reason or none. A serious electrical finding (full rewire needed, dangerous wiring, costly remedial work) often justifies pulling out. Your solicitor can return any deposit you've paid (subject to seller's solicitor agreement) if the report reveals undisclosed defects. We've had buyers walk away from properties on the basis of our report 4 or 5 times in the last year alone, all in Fraserburgh granite cottage stock.
What if I've already moved in and want a report retrospectively?
We do post-completion homebuyer reports too. Less negotiation power because you already own the property, but useful for two things: making a claim against the seller within the 6 month complaint window if they failed to disclose known defects, and documenting the property condition for your own records (insurance claims, future selling). Same £195 price, same 48 hour turnaround.
Buying a Fraserburgh property? Book a homebuyer report this week.
£195 standard, 48 hour turnaround. Fast track and same-day available. NICEIC certified, lender accepted, evidence-grade for negotiation.