Underpinned wall issues

rabbitswanda

Hi,
Am about to exchange and have only just been told that the house has an underpinned wall (not due to subsidence, but original wall of previous house- the rest of the house is a new build)! My issues are two-fold..... how easy will it be to resell the house in future? ie If a future buyer needs a mortgage to buy, will s/he be able to get one easily? I don't want to be saddled with an unsaleable house! Secondly, for the builders out there.... how safe is such a house? It has had building regulations signed off, but according to the insurance it won't cover the wall if it is found that the work or the materials used were to be the issue behind any problems with the wall! Please help as I need to make a decision asap! Any advice gratefully received!

LateStarter

It's fairly common in older houses, and didn't cause any issues when a relative sold her house recently - just some more forms to fill in and documents to send off, followed by a structural survey which took all of an hour. It can be worrying to hear that dreaded word, but mortgage lenders are used to it it.

Doozergirl

As a builder, it isn't a problem at all. Your build has to meet current building regulations and that means correct foundations to meet the current regs. Many old houses have none to speak of! They stay standing, it's just that we do things differently now.

If the original footings were inadequate to meet current regs then it's a simple necessity. Problems would occur if you didn't underpin as you'd have walls reacting differently to the same pressures.

Underpinning is never as exciting or precarious as people seem to think. It is what it is. Effectively a new wall with old mortar - I bet even that has been repointed.

eddddy

rabbitswanda wrote: »

... but according to the insurance it won't cover the wall if it is found that the work or the materials used were to be the issue behind any problems with the wall!

That's the same with any insurance for any house (or part of a house). The insurance company won't pay out for problems which result from poor workmanship or sub-standard materials.

(As you might expect, if a dodgy builder builds a dodgy building and it falls down, you would persue the builder, not your insurer.)

Does the underpinning come with a transferable guarantee? If so that may have some benefit. Otherwise, you have to rely on surveyors/engineers etc for opinions about workmanship, materials etc.

And if a professional surveyor/engineer says that the workmanship/materials are good, that should be sufficient evidence for an insurance company.

rabbitswanda

Thankyou for taking the time to reply.

rabbitswanda

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply. It is much appreciated. It calmed me down!


If anyone else has any other advice I would love to hear it too,
especially if you are someone who deals with mortgage applications.