Valuer declined property

ruggedtoast

I would be running like a terrified gazelle chased by the ravenous savannah lion.

madmish00

Unless this was really cheap and the last house I was ever going to buy

I have no plans of moving again for at least 20 years. That is why we like this property so much as it is the only one within our price bracket that accomodates all of the requirements we were looking for and has the space needed to be practical long term.

We cannot find anything confirming what happened to the semi - it is just rumour. I have not been able to speak to anyone in the area who actually lived there when it came down. And all my efforts searching local history have been futile.

The settlement movement relates only to the front of the porch which was not part of the original buidling and was not even there at the time the semi came down. In any event the cracking is no more substantial than normal settlement that occurs with new builds.

I do realise that there may be problems selling on in the future which is why I am trying to get all the information now so that a future buyer would not have to go to as much trouble.

The house is currently mortgaged and insured through Halifax and the current vendors had no problems whatsoever when they bought it. Were it not for the recession and the current extreme cautiousness of lenders I doubt we would have even had to get a structural report. The house is in much better condition than the one we are living in now was when we bought it.

zappahey

madmish00 wrote: »

I have no plans of moving again for at least 20 years.

When I said "the last house I was ever going to buy", I meant "ever" on the understanding that my heirs could put it through auction and get whatever they get.

madmish00 wrote: »

The house is currently mortgaged and insured through Halifax and the current vendors had no problems whatsoever when they bought it. Were it not for the recession and the current extreme cautiousness of lenders I doubt we would have even had to get a structural report. The house is in much better condition than the one we are living in now was when we bought it.

Did the current owners buy it in the boom times, when anyone with a pulse could get a mortgage on just about anything?

How comfortable are you that standards will relax sufficiently for those days to return?

ILW

madmish00 wrote: »

I have no plans of moving again for at least 20 years. That is why we like this property so much as it is the only one within our price bracket that accomodates all of the requirements we were looking for and has the space needed to be practical long term.

We cannot find anything confirming what happened to the semi - it is just rumour. I have not been able to speak to anyone in the area who actually lived there when it came down. And all my efforts searching local history have been futile.

.

They probably all fell into the hole in the ground where the house had been.

madmish00

They probably all fell into the hole in the ground where the house had been.

There was no hole in the ground. There was simply a large crack in the other house. There have been all new houses built on the land in the 1990's and I can't see that they all have problems with mortgages. At the end of the day it is a mining area so there is always the potential risk of mining subsidence. But the mining report has come back that movement from previous mine workings should by now have ceased - standard wording but is all that can really be asked for.

ruggedtoast

Some banks wont lend on a property with a history of subsidence. Some will but they have to be happy that the subsidence is historic.

Your valuer has refused to recommend the property to the bank on the basis that he thinks its structurally unsound and therefore potentially worthless, an engineers report has failed to change his mind.

You seem to be on here trying to find some way to force the lender to change their mind, or to reinforce your opinion about the property, but based on the information you have given us, I think all I can say is that you have had a lucky escape.

Two semi detached houses are simply one building with a partition down the middle. Apparently half of this building subsided so badly it was knocked down. The previous owners didnt just wake up one morning and think "Think we'll give next door some extra garden and the prestige of being detached and knock this lot down before we disappear off into the sunset". Some reason happened that caused that house to be destroyed after it had subsided.

Apparently the current owners have a mortgage on the property, they may well be regretting this, and I imagine they might know a lot more about what happened next door than they are letting on.

franklee

madmish00 wrote: »

The house is currently mortgaged and insured through Halifax and the current vendors had no problems whatsoever when they bought it. Were it not for the recession and the current extreme cautiousness of lenders I doubt we would have even had to get a structural report. The house is in much better condition than the one we are living in now was when we bought it.

So the Halifax seem the obvious place to start. Why didn't you apply for a mortgage and insurance from them? If they then say no you will know more where you stand.

madmish00

So the Halifax seem the obvious place to start. Why didn't you apply for a mortgage and insurance from them? If they then say no you will know more where you stand.

Because we need to port our existing mortgage as we have an excellent rate and in any event are still tied in to the sum of 2.5k until November

kingstreet

Many moons ago when I worked as an adviser for a firm of estate agents in Stoke On Trent, we got about seven building plots to sell on behalf of a certain mining authority which shall remain nameless. Ahem.

Before adding these to the auction, the authority had structural plans drawn confirming a concrete raft would be required before construction of the houses could start and with a guarantee from a well-known insurer that if the plans were followed, normal rates buildings cover would be provided.

Nearly fifteen years later, I'm sure these plots have perfectly good houses built on them and they've changed hands, with the necessary "passports" handed over to the new owners.

If you take the time and effort to get the necessary documentation, even the most blighted land, or property, can be sold.

I don't think the OP should pull out just yet.

madmish00

Thanks Kingstreet.

I realise why other people have such concerns about property with history but it is nice to hear something other than doom and gloom. I'm not saying the bank should just give me money without checking things out what is frustrating me is that they are being extremely unspecific about what they actually require. If it is the history that is a problem to them then they should just say that and I could walk away as I know I can't change that but if it is just a case of getting some paperwork/evidence then to me it is worth the effort.

Just going to have to wait for the engineer to get round to ringing the valuer but I had hoped to enjoy at least one of these long weekends without stressing about the house and now it doesn't look like that is going to happen.