As mentioned you can swap the hazard relay/flasher unit to check if thats working, its the same as the indicator one so I tend to swap them to eliminate a broken one; indicator one is under the dash on drivers side, if you get your head under the dash you should spot it, its a silver box with two connections, the hazard one is on the bulkhead and looks the same, swap them and see if now your indicators dont work and hazards do; if this is the case order a new one and fit it (I would put the indicator one back fyi, better to have them working!)
and I would see if you can get a friend who knows electrickery to go over the loom, it sounds like its been butchered and paying an auto electrician can result in a huge bill if hes there for a while (wiring can be an expensive fix) but its all easily fixable with some basic knowledge and someone to watch over you.
Brakes are likely to be a little bit hard work if you are used to servo assisted brakes. But a brakes service would be wise(If you have a servo then it may be worth checking that works) Take the wheels off and inspect the disks and pads at the front, if they look low or very very mucky then new components would help, the rears are also pretty simple, remove the drums and inspect the inside of the drum and the shoes, if they look low then replacement would be wise. when the drums are reinstalled refit the wheel, spin it and using a brake adjusting spanner (not a normal one a special square one as normal ones can round the adjuster) adjust the amount of grab the shoes have on the drum, the wheel should rotate once and then stop, the drums must always be in contact with the drum. by adjusting the backs it can make the brakes actually feel like they're doing something!
