Should I, Can I buy a property with "movement"

keeko

Hello all,

So while we thought we were getting close to buying our first house, we had our survey done this week and although the surveyor has not yet written up his report he tells us that the house is "moving", possibly due to subsidence.

The party wall is moving (it's semi-detached) and the outside wall is visibly "bowing" and probably needs ties replacing possibly due to wind damage or the cavity wall insulation. Many internal walls are either cracked (outside wall) or recently re-plastered / papered over.

He's talked about the kind of work that might be needed, though hasn't given us a cost for this yet. On a scale of 0-10 with 10 being the worst, he rates the issues as a 4. He says he's tempted to tell us to walk away, though he does say this is a borderline case.

We're still in shock as we have gone from being very excited about the house to not knowing what to do. We've got lots of questions but if anyone could give their views on these 3 it would really help us out right now.

1. Do we need to tell the mortgage company about the results of the survey (they didn't visit the property as part of their valuation), if so will the mortgage offer still stand? Without a mortgage we can't afford the house.

2. Will this "blight" the property from now on - for example if we were to buy and make good the repairs will we have problems with insuring it, and selling it in future?

3. We're sure this kind of thing happens all the time - what generally happens to properties with problems like this? Presumably, if we don't buy will somebody take it on and make good the repairs? Homes like this don't just sit empty forever because no-one will take them on - right?

Thanks all for reading and responding.

Lord_Baltimore

Rearrange this sentence into a well known phrase or saying: with a do not bargepole touch it.

1. Don't worry about the mortgage offer, you no longer want it for this place;

2. Yes;

3. They go to auction where some poor hapless soul gets lumbered with it or someone buys it for a few quid and leaves it derelict or someone with deep pockets and no sense buys it.

Doozergirl

You don't need to tell the mortgage compnay if this is their valuation. They will already know. Indon't think you'll have much of choice about buying, I'm pretty sure they won't lend on that house.

Everything is fixable. As long as the right discount is in place, then it's often worth the effort for the right person. It just depends what your mortgage co say.

ruggedtoast

keeko wrote: »

Hello all,

So while we thought we were getting close to buying our first house, we had our survey done this week and although the surveyor has not yet written up his report he tells us that the house is "moving", possibly due to subsidence.

The party wall is moving (it's semi-detached) and the outside wall is visibly "bowing" and probably needs ties replacing possibly due to wind damage or the cavity wall insulation. Many internal walls are either cracked (outside wall) or recently re-plastered / papered over.

He's talked about the kind of work that might be needed, though hasn't given us a cost for this yet. On a scale of 0-10 with 10 being the worst, he rates the issues as a 4. He says he's tempted to tell us to walk away, though he does say this is a borderline case.

We're still in shock as we have gone from being very excited about the house to not knowing what to do. We've got lots of questions but if anyone could give their views on these 3 it would really help us out right now.

1. Do we need to tell the mortgage company about the results of the survey (they didn't visit the property as part of their valuation), if so will the mortgage offer still stand? Without a mortgage we can't afford the house.

2. Will this "blight" the property from now on - for example if we were to buy and make good the repairs will we have problems with insuring it, and selling it in future?

3. We're sure this kind of thing happens all the time - what generally happens to properties with problems like this? Presumably, if we don't buy will somebody take it on and make good the repairs? Homes like this don't just sit empty forever because no-one will take them on - right?

Thanks all for reading and responding.

1) Yes. If its something that could affect whether or not they would lend and they find out about it post exchange of contracts you could lose the mortgage, and you really will be stuffed then.

If you're still committed to risking it then ask your solicitor if its something he / she will have to tell them. They are working for the lender as well as you and have to pass on information about the sale which is relevant to them.

Hopefully they will do you a favour and save you from yourself.

By the way, no insurance company will take this on so you will either have to exchange without cover (which almost certainly will kybosh the sale) or arrange something complicated with the current vendor's insurance. I cannot imagine how much the premiums on this property will be.

2) Yes. It sounds like the house is even still in the process of moving now. It has blown ties, a moving party wall, bowing gables and internal damage. The point of having surveys at all is so you dont buy places like this.

3) It probably wont fall down, because of the way bricks fit together they can shift around an awful lot. Whether you end up having to drink soup on your knee and rolling out of bed in the morning is another matter.

Homes like the one you described most certainly do hang around forever, I have seen it happen. Sounds like it will end up being a rental.

moneyistooshorttomention

You cant afford it in brief.

Followed by = don't even go there.

nubbins

Walk away and think yourselves lucky this was discovered before you bought it.

bris

Insurance will be a problem, you have to tell them about the subsidence and there in lies the problem with insurance.


This would be a tough one if you owned the house, you don't own it so don't give yourself the bad history that will follow this house for years.

keeko

Lots of replies so far, and I hear your warnings.

Does anyone have opposing views, for example matching advice such as this:

Subsidence or Settlement? Either way there's no need to panic!

If you find a crack in your home, or have a Valuation Survey or Homebuyers Survey and the surveyor identifies cracking, you need to get a Chartered Structural Engineer's Report to clarify the problem. Cracking to buildings can be caused by many things and in most cases we will be able to spot the probable reason during our inspection. If the cracking is suspected of being due to subsidence then we can help you resolve the problem.

http://www.dfp.co.uk/useful-information/subsidence-or-settlement-either-way-theres-no-need-to-panic

If we can get the vendor to make good the repairs, would this change things regarding our mortgage and insurance?

live_long_and_prosper

Trust us, trust me, I've been there.

A house with structural movement is not your dream home!

Sorry. Spend your money on something nice.

AdrianC

Even if it is subsidence, subsidence can be cured. A saggy wall can be cured. But it ain't cheap. Your mortgage lender's valuation will have flagged it, and you'll probably find that any mortgage offer will come with a retention to the estimated value of the work. If it's £20k of work, can you afford to buy the place and do the work on a mortgage £20k short of what you applied for?

keeko

Our mortgage offer came through in 2 days, and no-one from the bank visited the property. [is this what comes from getting a mortgage with a "free valuation"?!]

We could possibly raise additional funds if needed, but we'd much prefer the vendor to do the work or at least reduce the price accordingly.