I bought a house 6 days ago and now its got subsidence - please help me!!

spannerzone

I thought it was fairly common knowledge that the most basic house survey is to satisfy the mortgage lender rather than to give the buyer any real true indication of the property, that's why you can opt for basic £200 ish (often seems to be a 'drive by' survey) or a full £1000+ (expensive) survey.

I opted for the cheap survey because I'd seen the house and knew it had damp, lose tiles, flat roof issues etc and didn't really need to pay £1000 to be told the same thing....still a bit risky when subsidense is an issue.

Rotor

Leif wrote: »

It sounds like you have to read closely the terms and conditions on your house insurance, and your dealings with the Nationwide. I suspect that the survey commissioned by Nationwide was for their use only, and they had no obligation to share it with you, but you will need to check that. Your house insurance policy might say that you should take adequate precautions to check for faults such as subsidence, and if that is the case then they could argue that as you did not commission a survey, you did not take adequate precautions. However, you also presumably used a conveyancing solicitor during the purchase, and it is possible they should have ensured that Nationwide sent you a copy of their survey. I am speaking on the basis of little knowledge (this is after all the internet) but it does seem that this is not simple. As I say, read carefully the insurance documents, the Nationwide letters etc, and communications from your solicitor.

I tend to think you are at fault for not ensuring that you had your own survey, or saw the Nationwide one, but I might be wrong. I had Nationwide handle my house purchase, and I upgraded the survey to the HBR, and of course I got to see a copy. Perhaps it could be argued that your solicitor, as one who knew what (s)he was doing (??), would have been responsible for ensuring you saw the Nationwide survey. Just a guess. It sounds like you need legal advice.

I change my ins. company most years and have never had a survey done before doing so. I don't think ins. companies would have a seperate contract just for those who are changing house rather than those who are just changing ins. companies.
Agree OP probably needs legal advice but remember the ombudsman is a free service

Leif

Rotor wrote: »

I change my ins. company most years and have never had a survey done before doing so. I don't think ins. companies would have a seperate contract just for those who are changing house rather than those who are just changing ins. companies.
Agree OP probably needs legal advice but remember the ombudsman is a free service

I haven't clue, which is why I suggested reading the small print closely. Ombudsman sounds a good idea.

ultramagnetic_commuter

spannerzone wrote: »

I thought it was fairly common knowledge that the most basic house survey is to satisfy the mortgage lender rather than to give the buyer any real true indication of the property, that's why you can opt for basic £200 ish (often seems to be a 'drive by' survey) or a full £1000+ (expensive) survey.

I opted for the cheap survey because I'd seen the house and knew it had damp, lose tiles, flat roof issues etc and didn't really need to pay £1000 to be told the same thing....still a bit risky when subsidense is an issue.

The compulsory mortgage valuation for a couple of hundred quid is, as said by many for the lenders benefit. However, it doesn't cost £1000 for the sort of additional inspection that would reveal subsidence. Often you can pay a bit extra, say another £200 on the top of the compulsory valuation and have a home buyers report where you are given the full report. I did this on my last purchase and it was a great assurance in writing from a chartered surveyor that the place wasn't falling down.