House Built on a Disused Mineshaft

Jonbvn

AC,

I have found some links, which are relevant to your problem.

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden/Question234238.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/4212579.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=420263&in_page_id=1770

HTH

ariba10

Are you sure it is a mineshaft and not mine workings?

We live in south Wales and a good proportion of houses here are built over mine workings and very very few over mine shafts.

Sammy85_2

Hi there,

Surely someone will insure you? It may cost you a bit more, but someone somewhere will take on the risk. Any worthwhile insurer will see that its been there all this time, and it'll probably be there for another hundred years!

It'll probably outlive all the newbuild estates in the area!

My only real concern would be no being able to shift it on at a later date. Its along the lines of the even the nicest house in the world, placed in the wrong area will struggle to sell. You're correct in thinking that HIPs will only make it harder for you.

On a final note... (just to put a spanner in the works)

My grandparents live opposite old mine shafts, their house is over the tunnels. They dont have any problems with it. The only thing i have noticed is that all the buildings that have been put over the old shaft site are pre-fab steel light industry/warehouses. Permission was refused for a housing estate over it in the 80s. Perhaps there is good reason for this??

PasturesNew

ActionCat wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies so far. I have to admit that, after re-reading what I've written, I can see it does sound bizarre that we're considering this purchase! However, I just assumed that it is fairly common to build over disused mine shafts in mining areas. Anyway, I think we have now decided to pull out of the purchase. I feel really sad about it as the house was great and in a great location for what we can afford. I just hope our buyer is willing to wait while we find another house...

It is common. Also in other mining areas, like Cornwall, over the years there were a lot of people who literally just popped out in their spare time and dug random holes/mines all over the place (undocumented) hoping to strike it lucky. So down there a mining report will show you were there are known mine workings, but new information can come to light (in the form of a big hole) at any time.

It is also common for people to buy/sell houses over mine shafts.

For the record, my parents retired and were going to buy a bungalow until they found out it had a mine shaft under the living room. They pulled out on this because they said it might devalue any future value/inheritance. Although, I pointed out we didn't care about that at all, what concerned ME was them suddenly finding themselves stood outside of an uninhabitable home due to it having disappeared overnight.

Some people have a stronger backbone than others. I wouldn't buy, maybe you're not a wuss.

Get proper advice. Ask your friends/neighbours their thoughts. Think about whether you might be selling it in the future and the problems it might cause to a future potential buyer.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

PasturesNew

ActionCat wrote: »

Anyway, I think we have now decided to pull out of the purchase. I feel really sad about it as the house was great and in a great location for what we can afford. I just hope our buyer is willing to wait while we find another house...

If you love the house, go for it.
We are strangers on an Internet forum.
It's YOUR life. And your dream.

Successful people are successful because they don't give a monkey's gonad what others say/think. They go with what they want.

As has been pointed out, the only professional opinion says: no worries, just get a proper specialist surveyor onto it.

If you don't love it any more and don't want to lose your buyer, then sell and rent. That way there's no pressure to buy something you aren't 100% happy with. And as a "no chain" buyer, you're in a stronger position.

HugoSP

Shortly before we moved into our village it had hit the headlines as a result of a spectacular tin mine shaft collapse. The children had just gone inside then 5 minuites later the garden, complete with climbing frame etc sunk some 50 feet. The house was undamaged, but had to be demolished to allow proper capping to take place.

In addition some houses above an adit (horisontal tunnel) started to move.

This didn't concern us as TBH it could have happened in ANY mining town/village. But it did surpress house prices, just in time for our purchase.

My new work colleagues thought I was mad to buy in the village. The HR manager actually tried quite hard to put us off, but we went ahead anyway.

The village was extensively surveyed and houses etc were underpinned professionally. The mine workings in the area were made safe and the village became the most extensively mapped (for mining) village in the area.

There are other villages nearby that it could happen in, but at least we know where all the problems could be.

TTMCMschine

Does underpinning do much good if your house suddenly falls down a 300 ft hole?

Sammy85_2

Not to point out the obvious, but most of the examples of mine shafts opening up so far posted on here were from areas of cornwall where tin mine workings were upto 4000 year old!
Where abouts is the house you're looking at? How old is the mine? Obviously its old if the house is victorian, but hopefully it was capped properly etc. etc.

At the end of the day its a risk, all of life is risk, its whether you're prepared to accept that risk that matters. I dont know if i'd like to live in a house wondering whether one day there will be a gaping hole in my front room!

ActionCat

Thanks for all the new replies. I'd like to address a few points - firstly, the house is definitely over a mine shaft and not just mine workings. The centre of the shaft is under the shared wall with the neighbour. We wouldn't mind so much if the shaft was in the street outside!

We can get insurance, but to be honest, having the money to rebuild the house would be the least of our worries if the house collapsed! Aside from the danger, there would also be the hassle of rebuilding and I doubt we'd ever be able to sell the house on afterwards. I know the risk of anything happening is very small, but it is still a risk. However, the main reason we are wary about buying this house is the difficulty we may have selling it on. Everyone I have spoken to, bar a few people on here, have said, "Walk away, I wouldn't buy it" which gives us an idea of the reaction of potential buyers.

I spoke to our surveyor who said that as Bristol is a mining area, buying houses over mines/mine shafts is so common for it not to be a problem and to not affect the house value. She also said that there was no evidence of movement but did seem concerned that the mine shaft was directly under the party wall. However, she did agree that the introduction of HIPs may make it more difficult to sell on. With the information about the mine shaft readily available before any money has been spent, or emotional investment made, then it is all too easy to just walk away and just view other houses instead.

With that in mind, we have decided to walk away. We are looking at another house tomorrow which, on first appearances looks to have no onward chain so fingers crossed! We would be more than happy to sell our flat and rent while we take as much time as we need to find a new house but our current mortgage deal means it makes more financial sense to sell and buy at the same time so we keep the 5.49% until 2010 deal we have and don't have to pay early redemption fees.

Thanks again for all the replies - it's always good to hear a variety of opinions!

spendapennyortwo

We are doing the same as OP, and pulling out of it too. Too dodgy and would lead to a host of problems later on.