Ok, so what on earth do we do now!?

rdhoch3

Hi, newbie here, first post!

Here is the story -

8 months looking for the right house. Found it. Put offer on. Accepted. Yay!

Full structural survey carried out. Its a 1920's 3 bed semi. Report not available yet, but our surveyor has told us he has found evidence of subsidence to the bay window (there is one bay window to ground floor only). The rest of the house he says is structurally sound. He cant say if its ongoing and recommends monitoring. The evidence is minor ie hairline cracks both internally and externally.

Where do we go from here? Googling 'subsidence' brings up all manner of horror stories. I am not convicned the current vendor is even aware of it.

Do we walk away, or if not, whats the next steps? Ie, if we declare evidence of subsidence, will we get a mortgage or insurance?

Thank you for reading

BitterAndTwisted

Evidence of subsidence to a bay-window is not the same thing as the whole house subsiding. There could be a simple remedy to whatever is causing this window to have moved. It may not be moving any longer and may never move again. Ask the surveyor for advice about how to address this issue if it needs to be addressed. The advice "to monitor" suggest that it may not be vital or necessary to do anything immediately. This would not in itself deter me from going through with a purchase if everything else was OK in the survey.

hazyjo

Is it a ground floor bay window? Was it a later addition, or an original feature?

If it's just the bay, I wouldn't be panicking. Above info would help make a decision. You'll need some sort of structural engineer (or similar) to assess the situation I'd expect.

Jx

rdhoch3

Hi all,

Yes its a ground floor bay window. It is original to the house. The rest of the house has no evidence of subsidence at all.

So perhaps i should go to the vendor to alert them and ask them to consider sharing the cost of a structural engineer report to more fully assess it?

[Deleted User]

Thing is.., if the house has been around for nearly 100 years and only has hairline cracks around the bay window.., I'd suggest its not an urgent problem.

Wait for the report, you will have a better idea then. Thing is, to cover themselves a surveyer will mention anything that could possibly be a problem in the future. They will also refer u on to get a further specialist report which u may not need. Certainly see if the seller will contribute to the cost of the specialist report.., but u may well have to fund it yourself if they say no. I guess it comes down to how interested you are in the house.

Mind u, I am a lover of bay windows.., they let in so much light!