How can I find out a house/property has ever had subsistence?

rrwfotr

Hi

How can I find out a house/property has ever had subsistence? Looking at buying a property however I'm concerned that the property may have been underpinned in the past. The issue is that I don't want to folk out for a survey to discover this as I wouldn't want to purchase the property if it ever had been underpinned. Is there any register that I can do a search under to see there as been any underpinning work on a property?

Doozergirl

It's called subsidence. Work carried out would have to be approved by Building Control at the local council. They keep records. You could simply ask the vendor or the estate agent outright!

If a house, or part of it has been underpinned, it is most likely stronger than any other house in the street. There can be many different causes for a property needing to be underpinned. In the vast majority of cases, the problem is solved permanently. Simply by knowing the cause, a structural engineer would know whether problem would be likely to reccur.

I wouldn't walk away without a little bit of investigation. It's possible you could get yourself a good deal.

There's a very recent thread about underpinning here with some useful points of view. The buyer is going ahead and despite the rumours that staying with the existing insurance company is more expensive, they in fact found them to be cheaper.

mr.broderick

rrwfotr wrote:

Hi

How can I find out a house/property has ever had subsistence? Looking at buying a property however I'm concerned that the property may have been underpinned in the past. The issue is that I don't want to folk out for a survey to discover this as I wouldn't want to purchase the property if it ever had been underpinned. Is there any register that I can do a search under to see there as been any underpinning work on a property?

I think all houses move a little dont they...Mass underpinning mind you could put a lot of potential future buyers off..im not one of them. Its like not buying a car cause it had a flat tyre at a previous time.

eeyoresfriend

rrwfotr wrote:

I wouldn't want to purchase the property if it ever had been underpinned.

Why? An underpinned property can offer greater stability than a property that hasn't been underpinned. It is VERY rare for a property that has been correctly treated for subsidence needing further treatment.

Many insurance companies are reluctant to insure a property that is in a high risk area regardless of if they have suffered subsidence or not. Stigmas attached to underpinned properties are created by insurance companies who really ought to know better!

Given the number of properties in the UK that have been underpinned, insurance companies could attract an awful lot of business by welcoming owners of previously underpinned properties (or PUP's).

Rant over - rrwfotr, sometimes completion certificates are attached with the property deeds, but you may have to spend out to find out.