Survey - ongoing structrual movement!

AAS

After some advice/opinions if you'd be so kind. We just had our home buyers report back on a house we really want to buy but the surveyor has suggested there may be serious issues with ongoing movement and either we should get a structural engineer's report or not proceed. We have pretty much decided we need to walk away as I'm sure this will be an expensive issue and even if we can renegotiate the price it may stop us getting a mortgage/building insurance. If the vendor sorted the issues - would it still be a big problem in the future selling the house?

This is the second house we've tried to buy with a terrible survey, last one needed a new roof.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

go_cat

I guess it depends on what is causing the movement if it is a tree that can have its root removed then the issue will be dealt with HOWEVER any movement issues / subsidence will mean higher insurance costs and will put a lot of buyers off

The only way to know for certain is a structual survey

I would walk away even if it is your dream house

AAS

Thanks for replying. No trees - think it's due to problems caused by lack of maintenance of the guttering and drain that goes to that corner or the house - as it's end terrace it gets the water from the other houses too. I'm not sure though the surveyor said on the phone but mainly refers to the cracking in that bit of the house which def looks like subsidence. I think you are right...

hazyjo

Wouldn't have walked away from a house that needed a new roof. Did you try to renegotiate the price? I paid under £4k for a new roof on my last house.

Definitely wouldn't touch anything with movement though!

You will never get a perfect survey! If it's older properties you're set on, you have to be prepared for the odd problem. Most rectifiable, and most sellers will renegotiate on price if something's come up on the survey that wasn't immediately obvious when you viewed/made your offer.

Good luck with the next one!

Jx

AAS

There was a mortgage retention because of the roof and we didn't have an extra £5k in cash.... We're fine with the normal issues of an old house e.g. unfelted roof, damp issues, repointing, refurbing windows etc... It's just v expensive ones that mean we can't sell it or insure it that stress me out...

The vendors have done a structural engineers report today and say no subsidence - we're waiting for the report. Do we need to get our own to make sure it 'protects' us in terms of getting a mortgage/insurance. Should we still be worried? I officialy hate this process....

AAS

Ok I'm hoping someone may be able to advise...

Have now recieved a copy of the structural engineers report to the vendors - I know we may have to get our own one has spent the week googling subsidence!

The engineer has said that there is no ongoing movement but some cracking from 'old well established movement' the cracking on the outside wall is due to the leaking guttering and down pipe discharging to an open gully which has caused 'some minor ground shrinkage local to the gulley and brick work'. The hall way floor 'has dropped into the gable/front elevation corner cracking the tile and the screed below. The displacement is marked' All this is old and of little structural note. The hall floor movement is not uncommon in these properties, the poor original fill make up compacts and the thin screed and tile finish cracks. We would simply break this out, recompact and restore the screed finish.' Then he says there is no general or localised movement but the guttering and downpipe need repairing and if the discharge gulley and run are secured this will prevent future problems.

This sounds ok to me but I'm still worried about insurance and mortgage valuation... Any advice welcome!

andy.m_2

it's movement, old or new, run

IHateDida

I completely know where you are coming from - we've put offers on 2 houses only for them to come back with subsidence in the surveys. The last one was our ideal home apart from this.

It was a hard decision but we walked away (and are still looking) - as if you are hesitant - you can bet any prospective buyers, should you want to sell your house in the future, will also be hesitant. And so will any insurance companies....even if you get it fixed....the question "has the house ever suffered from subsidence" and your answer of "yes"...will make most of the major insurance companies run a mile and you will be left with little choice and high premiums (this will also put potential buyers off).

Looking back....I am glad we decided to back out of both - but it was a hard decision at the time. Good luck with whatever you choose to do....but if at all unsure - walk away.

AAS

Nightmare isn't it! But I thought that a lot of old houses will have had settlement/old movement and this was normally ok with insurance companies/mortgage lenders as it is not recent? Am I wrong? My worry that it will be hard to sell but I was thinking that the if the cracks are due to the guttering issue we can fix those issues and repoint/plaster the cracks and then it would unlikely to be picked up in future and even if it was we have an engineers report - is this optimistic?

Amanita_2

Settlement/old movement is very common.

Our current house even has tie bars. We did check that it was insureable by mainstream insurers before proceeding with the purchase and it hasn't cause us any problems.

We also had a full structural survey ( not the homebuyers one) just to be sure that the problem really had been sorted out. It threw up a whole raft of other problems but movement wasn't one of them.

AAS

That was what I thought - Thanks!