Selling a house with a crack in the wall

Arthurnegus

Hi everyone.

Back in 1991 I noticed a crack running down one of our external walls. I reported it to our insurer, who fixed a 'tell tale' to it to monitor for movement.

After a couple of years, the insurer confirmed that there had been no further movement, and wrote to say that the incident wasn't even 'subsidence' (although they didn't actually say what it was). They closed the 'claim' and that was that.

Now we are keen to sell the house. The crack is still there - we never bothered to repair it and it has never worsened. The tell tale is still fixed to the wall.

We are anxious about the implications now that the house is about to go on the market. The insurer confirmed that it was not subsidence - so the reality is that we have never made a claim. But the crack is still there - it's about 2 ft long and 1 mm wide.

I have the following questions:

- do we need to declare it to the buyer?

- what is the situation with regards to insurance? Our insurer has never imposed any terms and we still benefit from standard subsidence cover - but will other insurers refuse to cover the property?

- just what would you do in our situation?

Thanks!

nobbysn*ts

Is the crack in the mortar, or through the bricks?

stator

Personally I would be up front with any buyers, show them the paperwork you have. They will of course get a full survey done and if the tell tale proves no further movement then hopefully the surveyor would agree with your insurer