tree (very) close to house we want to buy - subsidance concern or insurance difficult

haus

Hi all
We've seen a house we really like, but it has a largish tree about 3 meters away from the front of the house itself (its a very short front garden). Tree is higher than the second floor of the house, telephone wires pass through the canopy, as a guide to how high it is.

The tree is on the pavement, so the council is responsible for it. While it will block the light to the front in the summer (house is south facing) that's OK, but we're now worried about potential problems getting insurance (on forms it often asks if there is a tree within 10 meters) or whether it cause problems with subsidence or re-selling in the future.

House is 100year old victorian terrace, we're in the midlands so soil isn't clay (which can shrink in dry weather). Its the only house on the road with a tree in front! grrrr

What to do, avoid like the plague, get a survey, get a tree survey.....

cheers, all advice gratefully received

dacouch

What sort of tree is it?

haus

not sure, deciduous as its got no leaves (we didn't even notice it on the first viewing!) - I'll try and work out how to upload an image of it...

ManAtHome

Have a look on comparison sites (GoCompare etc) - some insurers won't cover you, but a lot will. I have reasonably cheap cover with close trees (West Yorkshire on clay soil).

Click the Insurance tab at the top of the page - this will point you at the comparison sites.

dacouch

http://www.bureauinsure.co.uk/information-trees.html

Milliewilly

One of the points in the survey on my house (paid for by buyers who pulled out) was that next doors trees were too close. Was not even mentioned in either of my two surveys when I purchased. One is an apple tree (nearest) the other is a willow.

roger196

Ring the council to see if they have any plans to remove it. Are you sure that it cant be clay? The main library or planning department should have a map with soil types

dacouch

Milliewilly wrote: »

One of the points in the survey on my house (paid for by buyers who pulled out) was that next doors trees were too close. Was not even mentioned in either of my two surveys when I purchased. One is an apple tree (nearest) the other is a willow.

A willow tree is a major major problem if it is nearish your home especially if your not near a river etc.

jenny74

haus wrote: »

House is 100year old victorian terrace, we're in the midlands so soil isn't clay (which can shrink in dry weather). Its the only house on the road with a tree in front! grrrr

What to do, avoid like the plague, get a survey, get a tree survey.....

cheers, all advice gratefully received

We're in the midlands and the soil in the whole area here is VERY VERY CLAY-Y.

Milliewilly

dacouch wrote: »

A willow tree is a major major problem if it is nearish your home especially if your not near a river etc.

Maybe I should sue both the surveyors for not mentioning them then.................

Voyager2002

The immediate problem might be that the mortgage lender might refuse to accept the house as security, or might require additional reports from tree surgeons, etc. I had this problem when buying my first house, and it delayed the mortgage by about two months!