Moved into house to discover subsidence

AdrianC

What did the vendor say on the Property Information Form about subsidence? How long had they been in the place?

Yes, both you and the surveyor should have noticed this before now, but if the vendor's lied on the PIF...

dirty_magic

AdrianC wrote: »

What did the vendor say on the Property Information Form about subsidence? How long had they been in the place?

Yes, both you and the surveyor should have noticed this before now, but if the vendor's lied on the PIF...

Just to add to this, if it's been obviously filled wouldn't this show that the vendors knew about it? I think you need to speak to your solicitor and ask their advice tbh, and tell them about the fact that it's been filled!

Also, all the posts saying you should have noticed/had a survey etc are utterly pointless, hindsight it a wonderful thing!

AdrianC

dirty_magic wrote: »

Just to add to this, if it's been obviously filled wouldn't this show that the vendors knew about it?

If they've only been there a short time, they could easily argue that it wasn't them, must have been their predecessor...

Slarence

Thanks all for your replies some helpful advice, much appreciated.

Oddly enough the PIF doesn't mention subsidence and the section on whether the house had been underpinned was left blank? But I don't think it has though.

Previous owner had it since 2008, and I happened to find the photos on right move from back then and the garage looks perfectly square which would lead me to belief if was the previous owner?

We did have a subsidence search done actually after checking my paper work, but this looks like a standard thing, says a there is a potential moderate risk but no risks identified?

Thanks again

teneighty

I would say that you have got 2 options to pursue:

If monitoring pins have been fixed to the wall adjacent to the crack then unless they pre-date 2008 the vendor must have been aware that there was evidence of structural movement. Even if they do pre-date 2008 the vendor must surely have noticed them and therefore the cracking. Probably worth going back to your conveyancer to check what was declared by the vendor.

Secondly, you may have some recourse against the lender/valuation survey. As Silvercar correctly pointed out the lender/valuer can have a duty of care to you under certain circumstances and there have been cases in the past where purchasers have successfully claimed compensation.

Finally I would say don't panic just yet. A bit of cracking does not necessarily mean it is subsidence. It may just be some minor settlement or other minor structural movement that may not actually require any remedial work or only minor making good. Probably worth getting a structural engineer or building surveyor to have a look and give you some advice to see if it is worth pursuing.

Slarence

Great Advice thank you very much and have started along those lines.

Does the vendor have to declare structural movement? Or potential structural movement? Or only if asked?

Thanks again.

teneighty

Only if asked I believe.

It is not included in the standard Property Information Form other than guarantees for underpinning and general questions about building work. So it depends if your conveyancer asked any supplementary questions.

Conveyancing is not my thing so hopefully someone who actually knows what they are talking about will offer some advice.

Slarence

A further development has occurred in that I have now seen the valuation report and it states the property has NOT suffered from structural movement, which is obviously incorrect and therefore inaccurate.

Does anybody know the potential outcomes for this particular scenario? They have another surveyor coming around the house to revalue sometime this week, would appreciate some advice on what I should / could press for here?

Thanks again to everyone for the advice, much appreciated.

heckmondwike06

I believe you have been missold. You'll be able to make a claim against the surveyor's firm for Professional Indemnity.

You'll need another independent report from a structural engineer but first speak to your bank.

Slarence

Thanks for your advice, would that still be the case if it's just the mortgage valuation? What exactly is a professional indemnity? Do you know what the potential outcomes are I.e best and worst case scenario? Apologies for all the questions and my ignorance here!