Should I buy a house with ungrounded outlets?
Ungrounded and two-prong outlets are potentially dangerous but fixable. What open ground means, the accepted fixes, cost, and what to ask the seller.
Updated · By 
Ben Sikes
Is buying a house with ungrounded outlets a deal breaker?
You can buy a house with ungrounded outlets once a licensed electrician has priced the fix and that number is in your repair request. The home inspectors' trade group, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), calls ungrounded two-slot outlets "outdated and potentially dangerous." Treat the line as a safety item, not a cosmetic one. Get the electrician's written bid before your deadline, then decide what to ask for.
Key takeaways
- A three-prong outlet with no ground behind it is the worse finding. It looks grounded when it isn't.
- GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) protection is an accepted fix without new wiring, but it may not protect the equipment you plug in.
- Ask the electrician to price by circuit as well as by outlet. A GFCI breaker in the panel protects a whole circuit.
What does "ungrounded" or "open ground" mean on my report?
A grounded outlet has a third, round slot. It gives stray electricity a path away from you and your appliances. InterNACHI says grounding "minimizes the risk of electric shock and protects electrical equipment from damage," and new construction has required it since 1962.
Your report may say one of two things:
- Ungrounded or two-slot outlets. Older homes often have them. If the house still has knob-and-tube wiring, InterNACHI says any three-slot outlets are likely ungrounded too.
- Open ground. A three-slot outlet with no working ground behind it. A plug-in outlet tester shows this as two amber lights.
The second is the worse finding. InterNACHI says swapping in a three-slot outlet without a ground "is potentially more dangerous than the use of an adapter because the receptacle will appear to be grounded and future owners might never be aware that their system is not grounded." So a fix that only changes the outlet faces is not a fix.
A plug-in tester can also miss a bootleg ground, where someone has jumpered the neutral wire to the ground screw. Epic Electrical, a Dallas-Fort Worth electrician, notes this tricks simple testers into reading correct. Ask your electrician to check for it.
How is it fixed?
InterNACHI lists three ways to upgrade:
- Ground the outlets properly. Three-slot outlets wired to a real ground. On old two-wire circuits, that can mean new grounded cable.
- Add GFCI protection. GFCIs are "an accepted replacement because they will protect against electric shocks even in the absence of grounding, but they may not protect the powered appliance." Each protected outlet should carry a "No Equipment Ground" label.
- Go back to two-slot outlets. They at least tell the truth about the wiring.
GFCI-protected ungrounded outlets may not work well with surge protectors. If you plan to run a computer or TV from a room, ask the electrician to price real grounded wiring for that circuit. Two shortcuts are not fixes at all: a three-prong "cheater plug" adapter, and breaking the ground pin off a plug. InterNACHI lists both as dangerous modifications.
A GFCI can go at each outlet, at the first outlet on a circuit, or in the panel as a breaker that protects the entire circuit. The table below prices each.
How much does it cost to fix ungrounded outlets?
The figures below cover different jobs, so compare a bid only with a figure for the same scope.
| Source | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Vila | GFCI outlet installed, national | $130 to $300 each, $210 average |
| Homewyse | One outlet replaced with a GFCI outlet, national; excludes permits, sales tax and contractor markup | $282 to $341 each |
| Epic Electrical, Dallas-Fort Worth | GFCI breaker in the panel | $150 to $400 per circuit |
| Epic Electrical, Dallas-Fort Worth | GFCI protection for 10 to 15 outlets | $1,200 to $2,500 |
| Epic Electrical, Dallas-Fort Worth | Full rewire, typical 2,000 sq ft home | $12,000 to $25,000+ |
Say your report flags eight ungrounded outlets. At the national figures, eight GFCI outlets run 8 × $130 = $1,040 at Bob Vila's low end to 8 × $341 = $2,728 at Homewyse's high end, plus any permit fee. If the electrician finds those eight sit on three circuits, three GFCI breakers at Epic's Dallas-Fort Worth range run 3 × $150 = $450 to 3 × $400 = $1,200.
A full rewire is a different job at a different price. Only the electrician's written bid tells you which scope your house needs. Kept prices the lines of an inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours, and marks the ones that need a professional's quote.
Who fixes ungrounded outlets, and can I get a number in time?
A licensed electrician. InterNACHI says upgrades should be made "by qualified electricians -- not homeowners." It also warns that attempts to ground outlets to a metal water line or ground rod "may be dangerous."
Ask for a written bid that names:
- how many outlets and circuits are affected
- which fix: GFCI outlets, GFCI breakers, or new grounded wiring
- whether labels and permit fees are included
The guide to getting repair estimates during the inspection period covers getting that bid inside your window.
What should I ask the seller for?
Ask for the repair or a credit sized to the bid. A request line names the scope, the trade and the figure:
"Install GFCI protection on the outlets marked ungrounded or open ground in the inspection report, each labeled No Equipment Ground, licensed electrician, $[amount from the electrician's written bid]."
If the bid prices outlets and breakers separately, pick the scope you want done and use that figure. If the seller does the work, ask for the electrician's invoice listing which outlets were done, and the permit if one was pulled. What to ask for after a home inspection shows how this line fits with the rest of your list. The buyer repair request letter template has the wording around it.
What if the seller says no?
You have three moves:
- Budget it yourself and close, with the electrician's bid in hand.
- Narrow the ask to the open-ground outlets, the worse finding.
- Walk away, if the fix and the rest of the report add up to more than the house is worth to you. When to walk away after a home inspection covers that call.
Your contract sets the deadline and your exit terms, so confirm both with your agent or attorney.
Are two-prong outlets legal?
It depends on your address. The electrical code your local jurisdiction has adopted governs, and your local building department or a licensed electrician answers for your house. InterNACHI's inspection guidance says "upgrades are not necessarily required," but that is guidance, not code. Ask the electrician who prices your fix.
What if the house only has two-prong outlets?
Many small appliances, such as alarm clocks and coffee makers, have two-prong plugs, and InterNACHI says a missing ground does not affect them. Have the electrician price GFCI protection or grounded wiring first in the rooms where you will plug in three-prong equipment.
How do I know what the rest of my report is worth?
Price every line, not just the outlets. Your total ask is the sum of the priced lines.
If your report lists more than these outlets and your deadline is close, upload it to Kept and save the electrician's time for the lines that need a bid.
Sources
Cost figures are modeled from public wage and materials data unless a line says observed. Kept is accountable for the numbers on this page, and corrections go to support@usekept.com. How we price.