Buying a house - subsidence concern

marsman802

Hi

Currently going through a house purchase. Quick trail of events:-

- offer accepted
- homebuyers report completed (no mention of subsidence)
- solicitor uncovers subsidence work carried out in 2010 for cracks due to clay shrinkage.
- Certificate of Structural Adequacy states "(damage)...caused by clay shrinkage subsidence, this was caused by variations in the moisture content of the clay subsoil resulting in volume changes, which in turn affected the foundations"
- Mitigation measures - NONE. So nothing to do with trees, plants etc etc.
- Cracks were roughly 5-10mm and based around the front bay window.
- Work was completed and there has been steel bar reinforcements made to the front bay window as well.

Ok so the surveyor who competed the HomeBuyer report is actually going back to make an external viewing tomorrow for us (for no cost strangely...) and we'll find out some more then.

Luckily, although we have paid out roughly £1k in survey and solicitor fees so far, we are in a position that, should we decide to, we can walk away.

I should've thought something was up as the whole house looked quite immaculate inside (from the redecorating...) and the floor in the lounge had a slight wobble (about half a square foot) when I walked on it!

What are the likely effects going to be on buildings insurance should we proceed? And is this something other MoneySavers out there would basically avoid like anything?

Any information you need I can provide hopefully to get as many opinions as possible based on prev experiences!

Thanks all

G_M

Every online insurance quote will ask if there's history of subsidence (or similar wording). You lie - the insurance will be invalid if you need to claim. You tell the truth, they decline you insurance.

So you have to use a broker, specialist insurer etc. Few available, little competition, higher prices.

When you come to sell, buyers will ask the same questions you are asking and many will walk away.

Cheeky_Monkey

Personally, I wouldn't buy a house with a history of subsidence, even if it has been fixed. I think in this case I would worry that it might happen again :eek:
Also, you might find it harder to sell on in the future.

Running_Horse

I disagree. Subsidence happens. This is why there are ways of dealing with it. Just check the certificates are in order, and get a proper survey.

Orpheo

I used to own a house with a history of subsidence. The subsidence had ceased, the house itself was fine and we were happy living there. BUT. And this is a big BUT, I will never buy a house with a history of subsidence again. Home insurance was a nightmare, it was impossible to switch and the premiums just ballooned year-on-year. Old cracks do reopen and you can never be certain than the subsidence will not resume, whatever the surveyor says. Fortunately I sold the house, but I would never buy one again. In fact, whenever I view a house now I always outright ask the vendor about subsidence and flooding, it surprises them but it puts the ball in their court.

marsman802

What were the effects on premiums? I can handle an increased cost as we've got quite a bit of margin here but an idea would be good.

I understand the likely excess is £1k on subsidence work but i will get a full structural done before i commit anything.

Just gathering the facts so far.

Thanks the replies all - much appreciated

sonastin

If it has a history of subsidence, you might not get insurance that covers further subsidence. I think the £1k excess applies in "normal" circumstances where subsidence isn't necessarily expected.

I am looking at a property that had a garage extension built without proper foundations. The insurance broker I spoke to couldn't find a policy that would cover the property for subsidence at all, despite there being no history of subsidence but simply because the Building Inspector wants the garage to be underpinned. They did say that subsidence cover would be re-instated if the garage was demolished and rebuilt with proper foundations though.

Basically, what I'm saying is Insurance companies are so afraid of subsidence that they'll avoid covering it at any opportunity.

ruggedtoast

We had a similar thing recently and ended up pulling out. In our case it was the other part of the semi that had subsided and the vendors refused to admit any knowledge of it, let alone allow us to see reports for the historical repairs to their property it had obviously caused.

There are a few insurers who will quote, you can try Adrian Flux as a starting point, and I think Aviva will quote if it was a while ago.

In some places underpinning isnt that big a deal, London for example is clay soil so many properties have been underpinned or are in at risk areas.

The property is always going to be harder to sell though, and you should negotiate a significant discount from the market rate to mitigate this and the higher insurance premiums.

You may also have to advise your lender (if you need a mortgage) and bear in mind that any insurance policy with special exemptions or a high excess may not be acceptable for your bank on exchange of contracts.

You have my full sympathies. We'd committed a grand in fees, gone through all the surveys and only found out from the searches shortly before exchange when we'd already mentally moved in.

In the end we walked away.

evoke

Ask the vendors who they are currently insured with and also mention the subsidence issue that the searches have revealed and see what they say.

marsman802

ruggedtoast

Thanks for that

That's the concerns we have...marketability. I'm annoyed they didnt disclose up front and this has put our backs up. We certainly won't be bullied into this and it's a shame because, like you, we'd pictured ourselves living in it.

We negotiated a price £10k off the list price already and, you're right, I would now want more to negate the impact here.

I'm pretty sure someone else would have the same issues as us and we don't want to be tied into somewhere for 10yrs. Really we're looking to move in 5yrs - just trying to get on the ladder.

We have almost written off this one but just waiting to get the full knowledge before going back and asking for money off.

sarah_id1

Orpheo wrote: »

In fact, whenever I view a house now I always outright ask the vendor about subsidence and flooding, it surprises them but it puts the ball in their court.

What do you mean by flooding issue! and how can the vendor tell you that. Vendor may always say that he doesn't know if there was such a thing before he purchased it.