Mine Shafts

leighlad86

So, we have found our dream home and almost on to exchange of contracts and our solicitor has come back to say don't touch the house with a barge pole due to the proximity of the mine shaft.

There's a mine shaft in the garden approx 5-10m away from the property. The mine entry interpretive reports states its within the zone of influence however the risk of any issues is very small and is fully covered under the coal authority "if" anything was to happen. I have also spoken to a few insurers and getting insurance on standard terms isn't an issue.

Has anybody else had a situation like this? In our area (m28) its difficult to find a house that hasn't got a mine shaft near it and houses sell all the time so i'm guessing it isn't much of an issue?

I have spoken to an independent surveyor and given a copy of the report to them and they don't seem concerned and it wouldn't put them off buying the house.

The mine report has gone off to our lender so ultimately its down to them to decide but if they are happy to lend would it put you off?

davidmcn

All other things being equal, buyers are going to prefer a property which doesn't have a mine shaft nearby, and the fact it's actually on your property will make it worse (might just be the garden now but what if you wanted to develop it?). If it's an area riddled with mining then objectively it might not make much of a difference to value or marketability, but it's bound to put off some people.

ReadingTim

If your solicitor is telling you not to go near it, I can't imagine any circumstances where a solicitor acting for a bank or building society would say much different.

But in the event they did; you're likely to find that the solicitors for any buyers you find when you come to sell it may also say the same thing as your solicitors have, ie don't touch it. So it'll probably take longer to sell, and be sold at a lower price than somewhere further away from a mine shaft.

I'd personally find somewhere a little further away from a former pit, but as you say, if places do sell, then someone's clearly buying. As long as you're going into it with your eyes open, understand the risks now and in the future, and are happy with them, then go for it.

LEJC

I am in the process of buying a property within 20m of the mine opening...we paid for an initial coal report which I believe was £219 and were then advised to pay for a further one at £120. this was requested as part of the morgage lenders requirements but they do not seem fazed by it or think its out of the ordinary for the area.
Our understanding is that we are now fully covered by the coal insurance scheme for the time we own the property.

We are buying in an area that has many old mines so its not uncommon in the area...although we are not buying in what you would traditionally term a historic mining town.

Just to put it a little into perspective...if everyone who wanted to purchase a house in this town was put off by being near a old mining area there would be a huge amount of green space with little housing in an area where property is well sought after and commands good price

You do occasionally see sink holes,I think I saw one in a garden a mile or so away last year but the coal authority will put right any damage as a result of shifting mines.

Insurance companies are happy as you say about insuring the property also...so I'm not sure why your solicitor is so reluctant for you to live there...I see no reason not to purchase if its your dream home.
Are you using a local solicitor...again most in our area are aware that mines exist so its common place ....my thinking is that someone who doesnt have an understanding of the area is the only ones who may suggest you dont "touch with a bargepole!"

davidmcn

ReadingTim wrote: »

If your solicitor is telling you not to go near it, I can't imagine any circumstances where a solicitor acting for a bank or building society would say much different.

A solicitor isn't really going to block a lender from lending because of this, they need to get the Coal Authority search but ultimately it's up to the surveyors to advise the lender on value/marketability once they have that information (the lenders may also have their own prejudices about these things).

Cheeky_Monkey

LEJC wrote: »

You do occasionally see sink holes,I think I saw one in a garden a mile or so away last year but the coal authority will put right any damage as a result of shifting mines

That's all very well but what if your children happen to be playing in the garden at the time :eek:

LEJC

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

That's all very well but what if your children happen to be playing in the garden at the time :eek:

I think sometimes there is a bit of evidence of the mine shaft opening before it actually does...
As I said earlier...I live in the area..and have done so for many years...its historically not known as a mining area but clearly underground its been mined in the past....my guess would actually be that kids are no more at risk playing in the garden as they are in the playground of the local school that is in walking distance...or indeed of being hit by a car whilst crossing the road.
We also have a local park too...no children have to my knowledge been harmed by playing above an old mining area....again putting it into perspective the area has a population of around 300,000.

admittedly all things are subjective but if you tried to protect from every risk its nigh on impossible.

TBH there are far more coal mining areas spread around the country than you would think....much of the area north of birmingham is historically mining as is a band stretching most of middle England and into areas of the south west.....thats a lot of people who no doubt dont even realise that they are walking above mining areas....

I take it your comment was made in jest a little over children playing in the garden...but again in my opinion you have just as much chance of being above a mining area on Weston super mare seafront....and that doesnt stop families building sandcastles!

PasturesNew

I have 2nd hand experience... my parents were looking at a wonderful bungalow to retire to - it had a shaft. They pulled out and bought elsewhere.... so I watched it.

Some people said "well it won't be your problem will it ..." indicating it'd be fine to live in, but might struggle to resell in the future, after they'd died.

It was bought by a man in his 70s or so - and some years later he was forced to move out as the house became unstable.

It ended up being bought by professional builders at half it's value without the shaft, who then demolished it and capped/filled the shaft and built a new build property on it. They tried to sell it, but it didn't sell - it's probably rented out now.

The man who had to move out spent his later years arguing with his wife about it (who moved back to their previous area/300 miles away), without a home, moving here and there and about as he tried to sort out what to do with his unusable home.

ReadingTim

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

That's all very well but what if your children happen to be playing in the garden at the time :eek:

Yeah right....'cos it happens loads doesn't it?!? :T

Frankly, if they're out playing in the garden, they're more vulnerable to alien abduction anyway.... :rotfl:

leighlad86

Thanks for all your comments so far. Keep them coming as its good to have different opinions on the matter as i have no experience in this area and unsure of how much of a problem it actually is

LEJC

leighlad86 wrote: »

Thanks for all your comments so far. Keep them coming as its good to have different opinions on the matter as i have no experience in this area and unsure of how much of a problem it actually is

google the unused mining maps ....then you can see the extent of the area of the country it covers...its not just your M postcode that is effected but practically every major town in the midlands.

You are always going to get occurrences of movement and I dont doubt that a few people have horror stories that they can either recount first or second hand....but weigh that up against the number of potential houses that are built in these areas and you will see that the percentages are very low for actual claims.
I still maintain you may be more at risk of a car ploughing through your front wall than a mine shaft opening.