Mineshaft under property

paddy29

So I agreed with the Halifax to buy a property from them for the home report value of 62k. I am also getting a mortgage from Halifax to buy it.

Have just received the coal report and there is a mineshaft directly under that property, number 54. Now Halifax already own it so wondering what they will do. These houses are also steel houses so only Halifax and Santander lend on these particular ones.

Underground coal mining
Past
The property is in the likely zone of influence from workings in 4 seams of coal at 30m to 140m depth, and last worked in 1900.
Any ground movement from these coal workings should have stopped by now.
In addition the property is in an area where the Coal Authority believe there is coal at or close to the surface. This coal may have been worked at some time in the past. The potential presence of coal workings at or close to the surface should be considered prior to any site works or future development activity. Your attention is drawn to the Comments on Coal Authority Information
section of the report.
The property is in the likely zone of influence from workings in 1 seam of ironstone at 90m to 130m depth, and last worked in 1852.

davidmcn

Irrespective of what the Halifax think - do you still want to buy it? It is, to say the least, something which might put buyers off...

(what does the report say about any capping etc of the mineshaft?)

paddy29

It says they have no record.

Mine entries
Within, or within 20 metres of, the boundary of the property there is 1 mine entry, the approximate position of which is shown on the attached plan.
There is no record of what steps, if any, have been taken to treat the mine entry.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd be wondering about who would be providing me with insurance cover (at a reasonable price) on it...but still wouldn't want the house anyway, even if that were okay.

davidmcn

paddy29 wrote: »

It says they have no record.

Unless somebody else has records (doubtful, though you might want to check with the Halifax whether they have anything on file) then I wouldn't touch it, and I doubt many other purchasers (or any lenders) would.

The fact the Halifax are selling it probably doesn't make much difference - I think they'd prefer to get rid of it to a cash buyer willing to take the risk.

paddy29

We are going to get the interpretive report and take it from there. If I do buy I would be looking for a massive discount if it was valued at 62k without them knowing about it.

PasturesNew

20 years ago my parents were relocating due to retirement and they found a lovely bungalow. It was perfect for everything on the tick list. It had a mine under it. They were paying cash. They decided not to go ahead as "it's not about us, it's about whether you can sell it in the future when we're gone".

Roll on a few years and they met the guy who had bought it - he and his wife had relocated for retirement. She'd since died - and he'd then had to move out of the bungalow as it'd all become unstable. He was living in a small flatlet, having lost his wife, not able to live out his days in the bungalow they'd made their home.... while it sat, empty and unsafe. That was probably just about 10 years after the purchase.

paddy29

Given that this house has sold twice in the last 10 years both times with a mortgage, I am thinking that when I get the interpretative report it will show it's been filled in or properly capped.

If that happened to be the case would the surveyor still lower the value knowing this? To me I would still think it was worth less as capped or not it will put buyers off.