house on the move ?

bigjluk

my house ground floor has over the past 9 years since i bought it,started to gradually slope away.It is on an incline,my survey when purchased did not show any problems,but if you go under the house(where there is storage area)there are a few piers ,which are not very old,and which were definitely not original,hence why a supporting wall was removed on the ground floor(to which patio doors were fitted internally,to seperate the lounge ,and kitchen/diner).I am wondering whether to contact the insurance company,are they going to pay out if the house was on the move before i bought it,and why has the survey not picked it up,albeit a basic survey.will they pay for alterations,or a complete knockdown,and rebuild.

regards:(

kingstreet

Did you have only a mortgage report & valuation, contracted by your mortgage lender?

Did you have a more in-depth survey carried out by a surveyor commissioned and paid-for by you?

bigjluk

no it was a basic one off the mortgage lender,although we have changed lenders in the last 9 years

kingstreet

In which case, the inspection and report is carried out only to establish the property is suitable security for the mortgage and provides reasonable value against the amount being secured against it.

If structural building work was carried out, is there building regulations certification for when it was done?

bigjluk

no did not these alterations were done till a year after we moved in

kingstreet

Did you get building regulations approval and certification when you carried out these changes if they were done during your ownership?

I suggest you either;-

- commission a structural engineer's report and establish what is going wrong, why and what remedial action is needed

or

- inform your insurer and have them do it, taking into consideration if they feel this is not a result of an "insured risk" you may end up without being able to claim and having an event on your record which causes your premiums to rise and possibly your cover to be withdrawn at next renewal.

there are a few piers ,which are not very old,and which were definitely not original,hence why a supporting wall was removed on the ground floor(to which patio doors were fitted internally,to seperate the lounge ,and kitchen/diner)

Are you suggesting the removal of the supporting wall was undertaken because of the existence of the piers? That would be odd.

bigjluk

i think you misunderstood me,these alterations were done before we bought the house,so would not know if building regs approved,or even applied for

kingstreet

Some of your posts are contradictory. I asked if building regs approval was evidenced when I believed the work was done before you purchased, but this;-

no did not these alterations were done till a year after we moved in

suggested you had the work done after you purchased.

However, building regulations adherence and certification should have been checked by your solicitor at the time of purchase if the alterations were done before then. Have a look in the envelope which contains your old deeds and details of any previous conveyances and see if there's anything in there.

This may be a peripheral issue and have no bearing on the movement of the property, or it may be an issue on which your insurer suggests it may not have offered cover if fully aware of the facts. On that subject I maintain my suggestion of a structural engineer's inspection and report before you do anything else.

Having that done yourself, or involving your insurer, is your decision. It is not clear if this movement is pre-, or post-, your purchase, so establishing if someone should have raised the matter at the time you bought it appears problematic.

http://www.findanengineer.com/

Quentin

bigjluk wrote: »

....I am wondering whether to contact the insurance company,are they going to pay out if the house was on the move before i bought it,......

If your house was on the move before you bought it then your current insurer won't help at all - though will register the matter on your record if you inform them (making things difficult/expensive in future!)