Subsidence - Help!

charley1965

I've started a couple of threads regarding this issue, but only one reply so far, so I'll be brief this time and just ask...........

Has anyone bought a house with the knowledge that a subsidence claim has been settled and signed off by the insurance company?

Any advice welcome. Thanks!

ben500

charley1965 wrote: »

I've started a couple of threads regarding this issue, but only one reply so far, so I'll be brief this time and just ask...........

Has anyone bought a house with the knowledge that a subsidence claim has been settled and signed off by the insurance company?

Any advice welcome. Thanks!

Perhaps if you provided a little more info such as the reason behind your question you may get a better response.

charley1965

I did before and didn't get a good response, so hence the change in tactics.

Thanks for your input, what would you like to know?

ben500

If you post a link to your previous thread I can take a look there, essentially what is the purpose behind your question? Do you have a specific problem? Are contemplating purchasing or have you purchased and need to resolve an issue?

jfdi

Yes!

And your next question is....................?

charley1965

jfdi wrote: »

Yes!

And your next question is....................?

Here it is...........

We have just discovered that the house we are buying has had a subsidence claim settled in the past 2 years. The vendor has a Certificate of Structural Adequacy which can be transferred into our names.

There has been approximately 7K of work done, no underpinning, just crack repairs. Subsidence was due to clay shrinkage and offending vegetation has now been removed.

Solicitor has mentioned about transferring buildings insurance into our name, but how do we know that we will be able to do the same when we sell in x amount of years? Surely this will be a problem when we sell.

Should we just walk way from this and find somewhere else? Has anyone here been in the same position?

ben500

charley1965 wrote: »

Here it is...........

We have just discovered that the house we are buying has had a subsidence claim settled in the past 2 years. The vendor has a Certificate of Structural Adequacy which can be transferred into our names.

There has been approximately 7K of work done, no underpinning, just crack repairs. Subsidence was due to clay shrinkage and offending vegetation has now been removed.

Solicitor has mentioned about transferring buildings insurance into our name, but how do we know that we will be able to do the same when we sell in x amount of years? Surely this will be a problem when we sell.

Should we just walk way from this and find somewhere else? Has anyone here been in the same position?

Looking at this post I would say the best way to answer all your questions would be to request a quote for the property from one or two of the major players such as Norwich Union, Zurich, AXA, etc you can do this by phone and it will leave you in no doubt as to what difficulties your prospective future buyer will experience, one thing I am sure of is that this will be problematic from a selling point of view as a lot of insurers will be reluctant to take on the risk without loading the premium despite the cert.

The remedial action taken should suffice providing the vegetation was the sole cause of the subs but bear in mind it may not have been and only time will tell, and it could take a lot longer than 2yrs to do so. It can be a little pricey but it would be a good investment to consult an independant structural engineer as you are about to part with a considerable amount of money on what is essentially damaged goods in the eye of the consumer, the word subsidence strikes fear in the heart of Mr Bricks and mortar.

You should examine the t&c's for the current insurers transfer of cover it may well have a "get out of jail free" card installed in there which could harm your chances of reselling.

wecanhelpu

charley1965 wrote: »

There has been approximately 7K of work done, no underpinning, just crack repairs. Subsidence was due to clay shrinkage and offending vegetation has now been removed.

7k for filling in a few cracks and chopping down a tree?

ben500

wecanhelpu wrote: »

7k for filling in a few cracks and chopping down a tree?

You fill a crack in the wall and the room needs decorating, you fell a tree you need a specialist and disposal is extra, £7K is not a lot for such a claim.

wecanhelpu

ben500 wrote: »

You fill a crack in the wall and the room needs decorating, you fell a tree you need a specialist and disposal is extra, £7K is not a lot for such a claim.

I do realise this.

But 7 f*cking grand.

I'm in the wrong job.

ben500

With subsidence it will usually encompass at least one side of the property, you cannot just decorate one wall, if a room has a crack that has to be treated this results in the whole room being decorated in many subsidence claims the entire house has to be redecorated this coupled with the costs of investigating the claim, camera survey, structural survey, monitoring of movement, often exploratory excavations, it really isn't a great amount for such a claim. This is why a subsidence claim carries an excess of £1,000 and almost any other claim only £50, these are only starting figures of course dependant on risk and history