Subsidence and Structural Report

fusar

Hello,

I have renovated a couple of houses and am interested in purchasing another to renovate and then move into, just for about a year, and then I would sell it.

The house is a terrace and being sold through an informal tender process, with a guide price of £80,000. I have researched the area, and other houses in good condition, which are similar to this one, are on the market for between £137,000 and £145,000. The house is two stories from the front and three from the back - the cellar has french doors onto the garden. It needs a general re-vamp, new kitchen, electrics, plumbing, inclusion of a bathroom (as there isn't one at all!), maybe making a couple of small rooms larger etc...

My main worry is that the building and floors are sloping! I imagine that this is subsidence - something that I haven't come across before. I would be employing builders to sort or the problems and the refurb out, but just for my own personal budgeting before I put in an offer, I was wondering if anyone had experience on this subject - subsidence? How would I solve the problem? How much is it likely to cost (approx.)? how long would it take just to solve the subsidence alone? Also, does anyone know how much a structural engineers report costs?

Sorry, so many questions! But if anyone could help and advise, that would be super!
Many thanks in advance

Debt_Free_Chick

fusar wrote:

My main worry is that the building and floors are sloping! I imagine that this is subsidence - something that I haven't come across before. I would be employing builders to sort or the problems and the refurb out, but just for my own personal budgeting before I put in an offer, I was wondering if anyone had experience on this subject - subsidence? How would I solve the problem? How much is it likely to cost (approx.)? how long would it take just to solve the subsidence alone? Also, does anyone know how much a structural engineers report costs?

Whooaaaahhh. I think you're making too many assumptions here. Sloping floors are not a sure sign of subsidence - it could merely indicate that the foundations settled many, many years ago and that there is no current movement.

The only way to be sure is to get a report from a structural engineer. Initially, I would expect to pay £700-£1000 for this. And then there might be more costs depending on what is revealed by the initial inspection.

That said, I would have thought a full structural survey would give an opinion as to any possible (current) movement. This might be enough to put your mind at rest - but there's no guarantee. You might then need to pay for a structural engineer, in addition to the survey.

All that said, "subsidence" covers a multitude of sins and some causes are easier and cheaper than others, to remedy e.g. so called "subsidence" due to faulty drains is easy to remedey - fix the drains and the cause the subsidence goes away.

But, surely - your buildings insurance would cover any subsidence, if it's diagnosed post-completion?

It does seem odd that the price is so much lower than other similar properties. I would expect some expensive problem somewhere.

fusar

Thank you ever so much for your reply. Some very good points raised and I will definitely investigate the survey immediately!