Subsidence/underpinning needed on my flat - advice on mortgage / selling!! Help!!

KILOCHARLIE

Last week I unfortunately noticed a crack on an external wall of my flat. I spoke to the maintenance company that all the residents pay their monthly fee to and they sent out a surveyor. He's stated that the crack is quite serious subsidence that has been going on for some time. The wall has been repaired previously as some of the bricks have been replaced. When I purchased the property this was mentioned in the survey as a minor slip from a long time ago that had stopped moving and was nothing to worry about. I've now been told that they will have to do more investigating but it will most likely need underpinning. He said it's probably been caused by a faulty drain nearby which has since been replaced in the last 10 years but the ground has continued to move even though the problem is solved. I've been told to wait for more developments but I am quite worried about how this affects my situation as regards to mortgage or renting / selling the place. The flat is three stories high and mine is the middle floor attached to the external wall the crack is on. The maintenance company said they are checking with the insurance company to ensure its all covered but if not the work will have be covered by the whole block's maintenance fee (20 flats).

My mortgage is only in year 3 of 25 and I have been making around 10% overpayments each month plus all of my redundancy money I received a few months ago. I am out of the 2 year fixed period and currently paying a 5% variable rate. I have been hoping to get a new fixed deal for a while now but with me being out of a job I assumed it wouldn't be the best time so have been waiting for a new job before doing so. How will this subsidence now affect this? People I have spoken to have advised to maybe get a return of all the overpayments I have made (which my mortgage allows) so if anything gets really bad I don't have everything I own tied up in the property. Will I experience problems re-mortgaging or even if I try to lock in to a new fixed deal with my existing lender?

I have been wanting to sell for a while now and would ideally like to in the next 2 years or so. Is this a bad idea now that this problem has arisen? Am I likely to lose a lot of value on the property even if the problem gets fixed? If so generally when is it no longer a factor like when I originally purchased?

Any advice is greatly appreciated as I am unsure how it affects things!

Many thanks!!

Pincher

Subsidence is a major pain, but since you have a management company, the insurance company can't drag it out for years.
The only issue is the insurance premium will increase, which will impact the service charge. Everybody in the building will resent it, but it's OUR building, you tell them.

As for selling, wait for at least five years, then you can honestly state no subsidence within the last five years. The solicitor can't ask things like have there been subsidence in the last fifty years,
or did dinosaurs used to roam your backyard.

KILOCHARLIE

Thanks both, this unfortunately is going to greatly affect my plans for the future then! Going to dig out my old survey now and read through everything.

Any idea how this will affect my mortgage situation? Looks like getting a fixed rate seems the best idea if I am going to stay put, but any idea how this subsidence comes into play? (lower property value? difficultly getting accepted etc?)

Joseph_Bloggs_2

Pincher wrote: »

The solicitor can't ask things like have there been subsidence in the last fifty years,

Perhaps not, but they can ask if you are aware of any history of subsidence.

felicity1

Try not to worry. We live in a property that has been totally underpinned (13 years ago) - ok, it's quirky, in the fact that from the outside you can't tell that the property was affected, but inside if you look at the cornices, it's pretty obvious. Doesn't really bother us tbh, although I will say watch out for your insurance premiums rising. When we bought our property, we took our buildings insurance with the existing provider (you cannot get another provider to even look at giving you cover if you mention subsidence) and after 2 years our premiums had more than doubled. We raised a complaint, hey presto they were dramatically reduced. Still have to keep on top of things though, they always insist the subsidence is not a factor but don't believe them tbh. Contents insurance is also an issue, a lot of providers won't cover, even though it's contents only.

Pincher

Joseph_Bloggs wrote: »

Perhaps not, but they can ask if you are aware of any history of subsidence.

Oh well, try the auction, then. No HIPs now. Buyer Beware.