"filled"mine shaft 20meters from our new build

gazpacho_uk

Our solicitor contacted us today informing us that the searches found that there is a disused and "plugged" mineshaft which is 20mtrs away from our property. She advised us that it would not cause us any problems, but may be an issue if we come to sell the property as it could put some buyers off. The builder "Bloor homes" has not informed us of this issue. We still want to buy the property and I believe that this information will cause us any problems .... what do you think ????? do you think we could use this information to try and get a further reduction on the property before we complete the agreement ???

thanks for any help you may be able to give us

John

Captain_Mainwaring_2

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. There have been many issues on the notorious Lemonfield Estate near Watford, one of which was an issue of never being able to extinguish the little blue flames on the patio after having a BBQ.

What was this a mine for? Unless you can get the house for practically nothing and it is a dream then leave it. Get a quote for insurance remembering your duty to disclose all information whether or not you consider it important.

maninthestreet

Old mineworkings = significant subsidence risk. Have you got a quote from an insurance company for the buildings insurance? Do they know about this mine? If not, you are obliged to tell them, as it's bound to affect the premium, and they may even refuse insurance altogether.

barnaby-bear

Captain_Mainwaring wrote: »

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. There have been many issues on the notorious Lemonfield Estate near Watford, one of which was an issue of never being able to extinguish the little blue flames on the patio after having a BBQ.

What was this a mine for? Unless you can get the house for practically nothing and it is a dream then leave it. Get a quote for insurance remembering your duty to disclose all information whether or not you consider it important.

subsidence risk

chemical contaminent risk from all the stuff they wash mining material with (heavy metals and nastiness)

gas/seepage risks

what was it filled with, loads filled with all sorts of nasties with their own set of problems

I wouldn't view the house and would pull out and I'm an engineer and tend to be less emotional (pylons and mobile phones don't bother me)...

Alias_Omega

I know your heart will be set on the house, but anyone with that company will tell you that 'it will be ok', but you have to wonder what did they put in the mine shaft.? what happens if it collapses, what if the rules change in the next 100years when its in your family.

If you really cant avoid this, then i would do so. last thing you want to find out in 20-30 years when you pass the house on, is that the 'new rules' start the the mine shaft has too be dug out etc..

barnaby-bear

Alias_Omega wrote: »

I know your heart will be set on the house, but anyone with that company will tell you that 'it will be ok', but you have to wonder what did they put in the mine shaft.? what happens if it collapses, what if the rules change in the next 100years when its in your family.

If you really cant avoid this, then i would do so. last thing you want to find out in 20-30 years when you pass the house on, is that the 'new rules' start the the mine shaft has too be dug out etc..

Also if we are all thinking like this, how big is your resale market, especially when it's no longer a shiny new house but a second hand one...

bubblesmoney

i am looking at an ex (20y) mining area myself because the prices are cheaper. the estate agent during viewing told me that as far as he knew there werent mines in the area but might have been a dumping area for material / waste from the mine. does this mean this area is unsafe?

i havent had my offer accepted yet. i made a offer which was refused made a slight hike which was refused as well and made a smaller hike now and this time they have sent me a letter that they will get back to me. they didnt send such letters the last 2 times i made offers on the same house.

did a free search from homesearch and it tells me there might be environmental polution issues. but others on this forum have told me that this site always mentions such things for most properties. i didnt want to spend on researching the property unless i absolutely needed to till my offer was accepted. will do the necessary surveys once offer accepted and i guess the solicitor will explain if the survey results are ok. but in the meantime any pointers on what to avoid and what is ok in mining areas. large parts of the area i live in are mining areas so i will have to really restrict my search for property if i avoid ex-mining areas.

also what searches should i be doing when buying in ex-mining areas? what types of searches are included in any standard search package?

Captain_Mainwaring_2

barnaby-bear wrote: »

subsidence risk

chemical contaminent risk from all the stuff they wash mining material with (heavy metals and nastiness)

gas/seepage risks

what was it filled with, loads filled with all sorts of nasties with their own set of problems

I wouldn't view the house and would pull out and I'm an engineer and tend to be less emotional (pylons and mobile phones don't bother me)...

I'm an engineer too, and you know things aren't right when the paint won't stick to your house and you end up with a permanent orange afro.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I live in a house within 20m of a capped mineshaft,the mine goes back to the late 1700s and the house is over 120 years old and has'nt moved.The council offices and police station opposite are built on top of the shaft itself.
We had no problems when mortgaging or insuring and the houses are always sold quick when they go on the market.However,because nothing has happened in the past two hundred years does'nt mean that my house might not collapse one day.It's just I love this old house so much I'm happy to take the risk,so is the insurance company so that's fine with me.I would'nt touch a new build built on a site like you describe,and if you do want to move it could be a major headache.Do you realy want to take the risk.

barnaby-bear

Captain_Mainwaring wrote: »

I'm an engineer too, and you know things aren't right when the paint won't stick to your house and you end up with a permanent orange afro.

And the kids have webbed feet :rotfl: That's just because we live the fens though :rotfl:

littlesos

I don't know where you are, but where I live there are mines all over the place. If people didn't build over mine workings there would be hardly any houses in Leicestershire/Derbyshire. I would say that you are better off being close to a capped off shaft, than over the actual workings/tunnels of the mines as its the tunnels collapsing which cause the subsidence. There aren't generally many tunnels around the shaft.

To be honest where my Father-in-law lives no-one know where the mines actually went underground as they were never properly mapped. They know where the shafts are, but as for tunnels they only have a vague idea. There are numerous villages over the area.

If it's going to worry you then pull out, but I would take advice from people living in mining areas rather than listening to others who hear the word mine and panic.

It isn't just mining areas that can suffer from subsidence, houses built on clay are at risk as the clay dries and shrinks, houses built on chalk are also at risk as the chalk can collapse/erode underground.

Bloors are good builders, our first house was a bloor home and we lived in it for 12 years from new. I loved it and if we could have moved it to a bigger plot I would still be in it now.

You can get a coal mining search from here
https://www.groundstability.com/Default.aspx
and more info from here
http://www.coal.gov.uk/services/miningreports/index.cfm
You do a check first to see whether the area you are looking at is at risk, if it is you can buy the report I think it's about £25.