This has become a common experience for many property owners...some who know and some who have no idea until they sell.

So you suspect the property you have just purchased has a dud COC ...it becomes a long drawn out expensive experience... which you have to pay for up front then try claim from the previous owner.

From my experience...i see it literally every time one of my customers purchase a house...in fact as recent as a couple of months ago...one of my customers noticed a few thing which just didnt look right...so he sent me some pics and asked me to have a look.

This was my advice to him...firstly notify the transfer attorney and advise him of the issue and send him the pics...to stall the transfer.

I advised him that it would not be in his best interest to get me to visit the property without the inspector responsible for the COC present.

He set up a meeting with the inspector (apparently from APE all electrical and plumbing) and i referred him to another inspector who stood in for me as i was busy on site.

They went through the site and a list of "all the faults" were noted....the inspector was instructed to fix the issues...and reissue a legit COC.

So whats the big deal...well most people are not aware of all the problems until they live in the house for a while then require the services of an electrician and he notices the problems or illegal wiring...then it is too late to stop the transfer...you then have to go the expensive route ...the AIA will have to carry out an inspection at your cost...you will then have to get all the repairs done at your cost and try claim it back form the previous owner...i wish you luck...especially if you have had another electrical contractor on site.

which brings me to another problem...one i have now experienced on more than one occasion...i identify a property purchased by one of my customers has a dud COC...i inform the customer of the problem and advise them of the procedure required to sort it out.

The customer decides it is too much of a hassle and expense...so they dont get it fixed...5 years goes by and they decide to sell...so what is the first thing they do...call me and ask me to issue a COC for the property...i refer them to the email i sent 5 years ago with the list of faults...which require attention before i can issue a COC ...and that is where the fight started.

The most recent one i was threatened with all sorts of crap...and told that i had been working on the property and "should have" repaired all the faults listed....just because i was working on the property.

Let this be a warning to other electrical contractors...if you are aware of an illegal installation and you decide to do work on the property knowing there are issues... make sure you belong to the CYA club and inform the customer in writing via an email...and ask what they want you to do about it....if they decide they dont want you to do anything about it ...get that in writing.

I AM GOING TO SAY THIS AGAIN AS I HAVE ON MANY OCCASIONS IN THE PAST ...BUYING A PROPERTY IS MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT YOU MAKE IN YOUR LIFE...DONT TRUST THE SELLER IS GOING TO HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART WHEN IT COMES TO THE COC...GET YOUR OWN SPARKY TO AT LEAST DO A VISUAL INSPECTION.