Selling a house with subsidence

richy999

My house has a history of subsidence due to coal mining activities. The last claim against the coal board was back in 1989.
I purchased the house in 2001.


I plan to put my house up for sale next year and am aware that the subsidence will show up on any Coal Board search and I am obliged to disclose this if asked buy any buyer.


I have a few queries that I would appreciate your thoughts on…


Should keep quiet about the subsidence until asked by the buyer or solicitor… or should I be up front with any serious buyer?


I could always engage a ‘No sale no fee’ conveyancer to reduce the expense in the event of a sale falling through.


I plan to ask my current insurer if they will extend the cover to a new owner. Assuming this is agreed; should I offer an incentive to the buyer in the form of a lump sum at completion to cover the first few years premiums?


Any other tips for selling a property with subsidence from anyone who has gone through the same process?


Thanks and regards,


Richard.

ruggedtoast

Having been on the buying side of this with a vendor who 'kept quiet until asked', I have to say for Pete's sake tell them upfront.

Even if you don't care about how enormously unfair it is on the buyer to find out some game changing fact like subsidence until after they have committed to a mortgage and survey, do it for your own benefit.

There is no guarantee your insurer will decide your buyer fits their underwriting criteria, or even that the buyer will want that policy. The bank may even withdraw their mortgage.

Houses with subsidence histories are not for the mass market. They are a niche market and if your agent doesn't know how to promote to it then fire them and choose a different one.

InsideInsurance

Evidently you bought it much closer to its last claim. How did your seller act? How did you find out about the subsidence? What were your thoughts when you found out?

Grumpelstiltskin

Depending on where you live any buyer might have a good idea there has been mining subsidence.


Where I live as long as any repairs that were needed have been done there is no problem, but you must be upfront with any buyer.

richy999

Thanks for the replies guys.

I didn’t find out about the subsidence history until the conveyancing stage. The seller did mention that their previous buyer had pulled out but didn’t disclose why.

This was my first house purchase and I was somewhat naive and excited to be getting my own place. The area is known for mining related subsidence and my parents’ house was also affected, so I grew up with it and considered it the norm.

I had no issues getting a mortgage on the place but I know that lenders have become a bit pickier since then.

If I’m honest, full disclosure was my gut instinct.
I have a copy of the mining report and paperwork detailing the repairs and was thinking of putting this in an information pack for potential (serious) buyers.

nubbins

My rule in life is to try and do to others what you would want others to do to you and having been on the receiving end of splashing out 500 quid on a survey before the owner decided to come clean I would definately say tell them straight away. The problem with this from your point of view is that mentioning the S word will put a lot of people off and to get them interested you may have to discount the house, it all depends if its an area/street where there are houses that have had similar issues.

maninthestreet

You could mention it in a casual way to any potential buyer when they come to view the property, e.g say something like 'Houses in this area are subject to subsidence due to old mining works, and this property is no exception to that rule. However, no subsidence has been evident since 1989'.

jonathanrolande

Personally, I would declare it upfront - it's only fair. The offer to chip in on insurance is a good idea if needed but don't volunteer it too early as it may seem desperate.

richy999

Just and update and conclusion to this.

We accepted an offer on our property within a week of it going on the market. I made the buyer aware of the subsidence history after receiving his offer. I also provided him with suggestions for ‘subsidence friendly’ insurers.

We exchange contracts a few weeks ago and are completing this Friday :-)

somethingcorporate

Great news, well done

Thanks for the update.

Innys1

Doing the right thing has clearly worked for you.

I only everyone in life had your morals.