house purchase - few cracks worried about

Doglover88

who do i call? Bit of a tricky one as i may be buying at a discounted price from family, I know the house well as lived there for 25 years but there are a few cracks I'm not too sure about. I'm guessing this would be picked up in a full survey (costing approx £900), but is there anyone I could call to come and check it out for cheaper?
Just a bit reluctant to lay out £900 on a full survey only to be told dont buy it!
And is things like subsidence covered by home insurance?

Doozergirl

If the house had subsidence, even your basic valuation report would more then likely suggest further investigations.

You can contact a structural engineer, who would be the relevant professional in a case like this. Unless they can dismiss it straight away (in which case, great ), they will probably suggest that trial holes a dug to allow them to see what is going on underneath the ground.

Subsidence would be covered by insurance, but I think that the work would need to be carried out before you buy, otherwise they may argue that you knew what you were getting yourself into.

If you know the house well, are the cracks growing, to your knowledge? How big and where?

mr.broderick

Cracks dont always mean subsidence. Are the cracks inside the house or on the outside? All houses move it wouldnt be a major worry if the house had move slightly in the past it may now have reached a level of equalibrium. If you buy it get a structural engineer to do a specific survey, what i mean by this is just to investigate the cracks and nothing else, i guess you could get this for around £300. If it is subsidence it is covered by insurance but normally with a hefty excess in the region of £1000. If it is settlement this is generally not covered. Can you tell me a little but more about the cracks please.

Doglover88

As you enter front door, stairs straight in front of you. Half way up (pretty much level with the 1st floor) on both sides of the stairs you can feel under the wallpaper (and see) a definate un-evenness in the wall. And outside the house, the side wall bottom 2 feet is concrete before the brickwork (house on quite a hill, concrete looks to be there to level floor inside) theres a few cracks in it 6 inches from the ground. And on the inside (where the cracks are outside) in the summer we sometimes get ants indoors!!

Any help greatly appreciated

Doozergirl

How long has the wallpaper been there? It's a good indicator of whether things are still moving. Unless it's pretty new, I'd be expecting the wallpaper to have ripped apart. As for ants? They'll get in anywhere, especially if you don't have double glazing. They're small

All houses settle onto their foundations. Sounds much more like that than subsidence. Really, you'd notice over a period of 25 years or more if the house was sinking or falling out.

With a concrete base I'm assuming it's 20th century? I'd take the risk and settle with a homebuyers report, personally.

mr.broderick

Are the cracks vertical or horizontal? Are you saying these cracks are in the concrete or brickwork and if in brickwork are they just hairline, how big are these cracks?

mr.broderick

Glenbat if you're getting it on the cheap dont worry about a couple of cracks....But please dont come looking for me when it rolls down the hill, only kidding get it bought sir :beer:

Doglover88

Wallpapers been there about ten years (the most recently decorated area lol) and its not split Doozergirl, guess thats a good thing. Its double glazed but old aluminium framed windows, the ants seem to be getting in behind the cooker/the wall with cracks outside, the cracks run horizontally incidentally. The cracks are in the concrete base type thing, which i assume is to level the floor, theres none in the brickwork itself (not that I've noticed) and I guess this method of packing out to level a floor is solid concrete?

Doozergirl

You might have a gas pipe behind the cooker. If the hole in the wall isn't sealed properly, they can get in there.

They used to appear from a corner right in the middle of my mum's house. Go figure Don't think it meant the house was falling down though

courtjester

To be honest, don't expect to get any useful advice on whether your cracks are serious or not here - only a proper on-site inspection by someone who understands building construction can give such advice - it depends so much on how all the components of the property, soil, environment, age, history, construction fit together.

I would say that if this property is 'in the family' your best solution would be to get the existing owners to report the cracks to their building insurers who will send a surveyor /loss adjuster to inspect and advise on the next step. This should generally give you an idea of whether the cracks are irrelevant or need further investigation.

All investigations other than this first insurance visit will be at the owner's expense up to the point that the policy excess is exhausted (costs exceeding£1000-£1500). After that point, assuming the building is suffering from subsidence, any further costs or repairs will be covered by the insurers who will then be able to offer future cover to the new owner for similar damage.

Most cracks are not subsidence, so it is not necessary to get too worried about this (if you are the current owner), but contacting the insurers is probably the best and first option.

mr.broderick

courtjester wrote:

To be honest, don't expect to get any useful advice on whether your cracks are serious or not here - only a proper on-site inspection by someone who understands building construction can give such advice - it depends so much on how all the components of the property, soil, environment, age, history, construction fit together.

I would say that if this property is 'in the family' your best solution would be to get the existing owners to report the cracks to their building insurers who will send a surveyor /loss adjuster to inspect and advise on the next step. This should generally give you an idea of whether the cracks are irrelevant or need further investigation.

All investigations other than this first insurance visit will be at the owner's expense up to the point that the policy excess is exhausted (costs exceeding£1000-£1500). After that point, assuming the building is suffering from subsidence, any further costs or repairs will be covered by the insurers who will then be able to offer future cover to the new owner for similar damage.

Most cracks are not subsidence, so it is not necessary to get too worried about this (if you are the current owner), but contacting the insurers is probably the best and first option.

well said...