Re: Circuit Breaker Panel Box
Two code articles (from the National Electrical Code) come to my mind. One is 240.24(E). This article prohibits overcurrent devices (such at the breakers in your panels) from being in a bathroom. The other is 110.26. This article says that the area in front of a panel has to be clear of any obstacles. In your case, an electrician would have to lean over the sink, in order to work on the panels, and this would mean that work could not be done safely. So I would say you are looking at at least two code violations.
So I do recommend that you have the panels moved. That is different than saying that there is any law that would force you (or the seller) to move them. Every local jurisdiction has its own way to handle "pre-existing code violations."
I can't tell you anything about costs, since I am an engineer, not an electrician. But the simplest way (if it can be done at all) is for the electrician to install a new panel outside the bathroom area, but as close as it can be reasonably placed. Then they run conduits from the new panel to the old, rip out all the internal parts of the old panels, and extend wires from the old to the new. The old panels essentially become a junction box, and remain in their existing locations. Another approach is to pull all the wires back to some convenient point (perhaps in the ceiling), install a junction box there, and extend all wires from that point to the location of the new panel.
If there is any way you can get the seller to take care of this as a condition of the purchase, you will be better off.
