Buying an underpinned house

ruggedtoast

I would be suspicious as to why there is no paperwork for the underpinning. If it were me I would want to know what caused it. If it were just tree roots or drains that have been sorted out then fine.

Can you find the builders who did the work and ask them if they know what caused it?

bandagedtrunk

dacouch wrote: »

What will you do if L&G decide to stop offering cover for previously underpinned properties?

They have only very recently started offering cover to them.

If a property is not underpinned all the way around it's not uncommon for it to move again on the non underpinned walls

It's a risk granted. I'm currently checking to see if any other insurers take a similar stance.

bandagedtrunk

ruggedtoast wrote: »

I would be suspicious as to why there is no paperwork for the underpinning. If it were me I would want to know what caused it. If it were just tree roots or drains that have been sorted out then fine.

Can you find the builders who did the work and ask them if they know what caused it?

Good thought. Would builders details be lodged with the council when the work was originally done? This is also why I'm trying to see if the risk of no paperwork is mitigated by a structural engineers report. Ie, if he says everythings fine, how much does it matter if there's no paperwork?

EA says that it was caused by clay heave. I'm going to need some proof though. Again, it seems plausible that a structural engineer would be able to answer but I won't know until I talk to one.

dacouch

bandagedtrunk wrote: »

It's a risk granted. I'm currently checking to see if any other insurers take a similar stance.

Look at Axa.

I've seen a few of companies try the market / miss word their questions about subsidence or underpinning.

The normal situation would be the buyer takes over the existing policy / takes cover with the same Insurer as the seller.

I lost a few clients to these companies despite me warning them.

The same clients came back to me in a panic a few years later normally on the day they were exchanging. Their new companies had either realised they had miss worded their questions or the ones who actively sought underpinned properties as L&G and Axa are doing had started receiving subsidence claims (They are often many tens of thousands of pounds). The Insurers had decided to not accept any new customers of these types and also not transfer the policies. This caused major problems with them selling or exchanging so they rang me desperate to get the original co who had paid the subsidence claim out to rearrange cover. The original companies would laugh and were not prepared to offer cover.

This left the sellers having to seek cover from a specialist such as http://www.bureauinsure.co.uk/ who will normally want to commision their own structural survey (At the customers cost) and then calculate a premium based on the survey along with any requirements they have which are often commission a drain cctv survey or tree report. This causes long delays in the sale often meaning the sale falls through or the buyers wanting a big discount.

I'm not saying L&G or Axa will do this but the above is my experience as someone in the industry and apart from specialists such as Bureau none of the main stream companies offer it (Except Axa and L&G). If there was money to be made the rest of the market would be falling over themselves to offer cover

bandagedtrunk

dacouch wrote: »

Look at Axa.

I've seen a few of companies try the market / miss word their questions about subsidence or underpinning.

The normal situation would be the buyer takes over the existing policy / takes cover with the same Insurer as the seller.

I lost a few clients to these companies despite me warning them.

The same clients came back to me in a panic a few years later normally on the day they were exchanging. Their new companies had either realised they had miss worded their questions or the ones who actively sought underpinned properties as L&G and Axa are doing had started receiving subsidence claims (They are often many tens of thousands of pounds). The Insurers had decided to not accept any new customers of these types and also not transfer the policies. This caused major problems with them selling or exchanging so they rang me desperate to get the original co who had paid the subsidence claim out to rearrange cover. The original companies would laugh and were not prepared to offer cover.

This left the sellers having to seek cover from a specialist such as http://www.bureauinsure.co.uk/ who will normally want to commision their own structural survey (At the customers cost) and then calculate a premium based on the survey along with any requirements they have which are often commission a drain cctv survey or tree report. This causes long delays in the sale often meaning the sale falls through or the buyers wanting a big discount.

I'm not saying L&G or Axa will do this but the above is my experience as someone in the industry and apart from specialists such as Bureau none of the main stream companies offer it (Except Axa and L&G). If there was money to be made the rest of the market would be falling over themselves to offer cover

Thank you for detailed and highly informative answer.

I went through AXA's online quote system. £184 p.a. ???!!!!

All it asked was "any subsidence within last 10 years"

Point taken about the risk still existing down the line though.

ruggedtoast

bandagedtrunk wrote: »

Good thought. Would builders details be lodged with the council when the work was originally done? This is also why I'm trying to see if the risk of no paperwork is mitigated by a structural engineers report. Ie, if he says everythings fine, how much does it matter if there's no paperwork?

EA says that it was caused by clay heave. I'm going to need some proof though. Again, it seems plausible that a structural engineer would be able to answer but I won't know until I talk to one.

The council wont be any help at all. Your best bet is to ask around.

If it hasnt moved in 15 years it probably isnt going to but it will always have the stigma of an underpinned building.

Maidenover

cramg wrote: »

The previous vendors did not keep the paperwork relating to the underpinning? Well, after all it is only a house worth circa £250,000 so why keep such important documents........... Serious alarm bells here!

FYI, we viewed a house 2 weeks ago and the EA initially told us that the detached garage had one corner of the wall underpinned last year. The vendor had the engineers report with drawings, the building inspectors report, the insurance company report and the building sign off certificate and passed all documents to us on request.
I spoke with 4 insurance companies who declined to insure such property with underpinning and my IFA liaised with 3 mortgage lenders who all advised that their criteria would not lend against such property. This was with all documents present as well and it was only a section of the garage that had been underpinned....

Personally, with the 'big file of documents' relating to the underpinning not being present, i'd walk away asap!

Ooh thats very odd - we viewed a property today where a bit of the garage had been underpinned and owners had all the paperwork just as you describe. Wasn't in Kent was it? Ours was in Tankerton near to Whitstable. That's why I'm now on internet trying to find out what I can about underpinned properties.

ruggedtoast

Um, this thread is months old.

The house and the OP have probably subsided into the Crack of Doom by now.