Underpinned - would it put you off

LandyAndy

Domino9 wrote: »

It isn't our "dream" home, but it has the potential to be our forever home. (I don't really believe in the "dream" home idea - just whether it ticks all the need boxes, and enough of the want boxes too - and without this issue it's ticked more than any of the others we have seen so far. As far as house shopping goes, I think we're quite pragmatic.

One of our concerns is although we wouldn't expect to ever have to move, you never know what happens in life - e.g. move for work etc - sometimes these things can't be avoided. We wouldn't want to be in a position that we couldn't sell.

We lived for 16 years in a house that would have suited us for ever. Employment changes meant we needed to move to the other end of the country. I'd be very wary of committing to somewhere that might be hard to sell. On the other hand, you want to buy it. So you may well find a buyer when/if the time comes.

SG27

Do a comparison on compare the market or the like for an underpinned house in that year and see what it comes out as. I think if the underpinning was over 10 years ago it doesn't cost anymore. (Or was it 20 years?)

Flugelhorn

LandyAndy wrote: »

We lived for 16 years in a house that would have suited us for ever. Employment changes meant we needed to move to the other end of the country. I'd be very wary of committing to somewhere that might be hard to sell. On the other hand, you want to buy it. So you may well find a buyer when/if the time comes.

Snap - we did the same, intended to stay and ended up moving - only the house did have problems and was a pain to sell. Really hated those cracks and the underpinning
Would run a mile from subsidence again

[Deleted User]

martinthebandit wrote: »

If the price of the house reflects the additional costs that go with it, I.e. would you be able to afford the same house if it had no history of subsidence, then I would not let it put me off.

If the asking price does not take into account the subsidence problems then any offer I made certainly would.

Its not a 'walk away' from me but rather offer according to what the house is worth to you.

We're struggling to identify the "true" value of the property. No other similar houses on the estate have been up for since the 1990's, and the ones that have have been much smaller (and we have no real idea of what condition they would have been in decoratively, structurally, or otherwise), so it's quite difficult to tell for sure, but we do think that it is over priced - we're just not sure but how much.

martinthebandit

Domino9 wrote: »

We're struggling to identify the "true" value of the property. No other similar houses on the estate have been up for since the 1990's, and the ones that have have been much smaller (and we have no real idea of what condition they would have been in decoratively, structurally, or otherwise), so it's quite difficult to tell for sure, but we do think that it is over priced - we're just not sure but how much.

If you cannot find any sort of guide from other similar houses that have sold recently then sit back, imagine you are the sellers, what offer would make you go ouch? Offer less than that.

Has it been on the market long? The longer it's been for sale the more is over proceed.

Personally I would stick a link on here for it and ask others to find similar properties to give you some idea of a realistic price.

[Deleted User]

I plugged the details into go compare, and only 5 quotes returned - many companies listed that they either couldn't provide a quote based on the info we provided, or they couldn't provide a quote for any property with any history of subsistence or landslide.

The quotes ranged from £300 to £1100.

I think that it's putting us off, but will call a few of the insurers tomorrow to discuss. There was a tick box in the online form to say/not say whether there was any subsidence in the past, but nowhere accounted for the length of time since underpinned, or that it had been addressed at all.

Still, it's not looking like a good idea to proceed.

warez22

I live in a house that is underpinned. Didn't get the house surveyed before we moved in (I know). Our house has now been substantially piled and is fully guaranteed and certified.

Upon talking to Estate Agents they have said that it doesn't affect the value of the house, but may limit the amount of potential purchasers.

Thing is, the house was underpinned because of poor soil. I live in an Estate that is showing signs of subsidence to other properties but none have been willing/able to go down the same road that we did. Therefore I feel that our house would be the better option.

Would I buy a house that has been underpinned in the future? - possibly - now that I understand more about the process, soil conditions etc.

I would rather buy a house like mine than one with a high water table, for example.

My house insurance for both buildings and contents is less than £300 per year.

[Deleted User]

We have slept on it, and decided that it's not the house for us - thanks for your input everybody.

D9

babylon76

warez22 wrote: »

I live in a house that is underpinned. Didn't get the house surveyed before we moved in (I know). Our house has now been substantially piled and is fully guaranteed and certified.

Upon talking to Estate Agents they have said that it doesn't affect the value of the house, but may limit the amount of potential purchasers.

Thing is, the house was underpinned because of poor soil. I live in an Estate that is showing signs of subsidence to other properties but none have been willing/able to go down the same road that we did. Therefore I feel that our house would be the better option.

Would I buy a house that has been underpinned in the future? - possibly - now that I understand more about the process, soil conditions etc.

I would rather buy a house like mine than one with a high water table, for example.

My house insurance for both buildings and contents is less than £300 per year.

Hi Warez22,

Really interested how you got insurance premium that low. Am about to buy an underpinned house but failing with insurance companies.

Can I PM you?

pickledonionspaceraider

I would walk away