Underpinned house purchase

serdiboy

My wife and I have had an offer accepted 10 percent below asking price. The house has not been kept up and needs a lot of interior and some exterior work which is possibly the reason for it going slightly cheaper. We were prepared to go through the hassle of getting all the work done to our taste

Incidentally the home buyers survey picked up that the house had been underpinned which has been subsequetly confrimed by the seller.
They have provided some paper work which is just the warranty of the underpinning till 2010 (incidentally the house was underpinned in 1990) They do not have any other paper work as regargds the details of the exent of work carried out and the damege that was caused.

I tried to contact the company who carried out the underpiining job and the one which supervised it (The structural engineers) both of which are still in business but they also havent been able to furnish any detailed paperwork.

Incidentally the company who is currently insuring the property is Saga and they would not insure me or my wife as we are below fifty.

We had a structural survey carried out by a structural engineer and a homebuyers survey by a chartered surveyor both of whom have told us that in their opinion there is no ongoing subsidence.

Also the area where we are intending to buy is South east London where there is high risk of subsidence and approx 25 percent properties are underpinned (So we are told)

Now our questions are

Should we just walk away considering it has been underpinned and the paperwork is incomplete?

Or if we do get an insurance through a specialist broker (Bureau insurance) then we should consider buying it?

Ou fears are that will we be looking at a lot of hassle when we come around to selling the property in the future?

And what is the possibility that the house which has been underpinned is likely to do so again ?

Any help and advice shall be appreciated. Thanking you in anticipation

Tassotti

What other paperwork are you looking for?

You say there is a guarantee for the works, so what else do you need?

10 Year guarantee is pretty standard.

I'm surprised a homebuyers survey picked this up, don't they normally just comment on the colour of the walls?

serdiboy

We were told to get hold of any paperwork which would tell us the extent of the damage and what kind of underpinning was performed whether it was full or partial etc

Debt_Free_Chick

serdiboy wrote:

Incidentally the home buyers survey picked up that the house had been underpinned which has been subsequetly confrimed by the seller.
They have provided some paper work which is just the warranty of the underpinning till 2010 (incidentally the house was underpinned in 1990) They do not have any other paper work as regargds the details of the exent of work carried out and the damege that was caused.

I tried to contact the company who carried out the underpiining job and the one which supervised it (The structural engineers) both of which are still in business but they also havent been able to furnish any detailed paperwork.

In all probability, this was an insurance claim and the insurers would probably have all the fine detail. It's a surprise that the structural engineers don't have it ... or rather they do, but it's archived (or it could have been destroyed, as it's 16 years since the job was done).

We had a structural survey carried out by a structural engineer and a homebuyers survey by a chartered surveyor both of whom have told us that in their opinion there is no ongoing subsidence.

A bit surprised that the surveyor - who did the structural survey - didn't comment in some detail. Could he do a more thorough report on the underpinning? (You'd have to pay, though!)

Now our questions are

Should we just walk away considering it has been underpinned and the paperwork is incomplete?

My own view .... in an area with a high risk of subsidence, I'd prefer have a property that has been underpinned, rather than one that has not.

Or if we do get an insurance through a specialist broker (Bureau insurance) then we should consider buying it?

These difficulties on getting insurance for underpinned houses really annoy me :mad: Again, surely a house that's been remedied is less of a risk than one that has not? Why the insurers don't see it this way is beyond me ... I mean, what's the risk of lightning striking twice in the same place?

I can't help with the insurance - sorry. When I sold my underpinned house, the buyers continued with the insurance I already had in place (the ones that paid out for the underpinning).

Ou fears are that will we be looking at a lot of hassle when we come around to selling the property in the future?

Possibly. You might get buyers who don't understand what they're dealing with. Or you might get lucky and find someone like me, who would not be at all put off.

And what is the possibility that the house which has been underpinned is likely to do so again ?

Well, without knowing the cause and the remedy, no-one can be sure. But there are plenty of historic houses that have been standing for 100s of years - many with underpinning introduced in recent years. I would have thought it a low risk - unless the cause has not been addressed. Or if it can't be addressed, if the cause worsens. A question for the structural surveyor, I think.

HTH

serdiboy

Thanks for the reply

Well it was quite surprising that the structural engineer did not even commment on the underpinning in his report ( which puts a doubt on his quality)and his excuse was that the underpinning is done under the ground hence it is not easy to spot.

It was the chartered surveyor who did the home buyers report that picked up the underpinning

Ony interesting fact is when I spoke to both the surveyors they say in their opinion there is no ongoing subsidence.

The structural engineer who supervised the work says that according to his memory ony the front of the house was underpinned but the details which were archived have been destroyed in a flood damage.

As common sense would prevail the house which has been corrected is likely to do so more than which hasnt. Its just the word of underpinning has such a stigma attatched to it and then the problems with insurance which make me worried.

courtjester

As has probably already been said, the best option with insurance of a building with a subsidence history is to go with the current insurers who sorted out the problem. You should be able to get a confirmation from the vendor's current insurers that they would be prepared to continue or pass over the existing cover to you on the completion of the sale.