Buying a house which has Moderate-High risk of subsidence

ironmanjason

I am in the same boat as well.. moderate to high risk of subsidence.. and high risk of surface water flooring (Pluvial) which is 10m away from the centre of the property (the sellers mentioned there was little flooding at the end of the garden a few years ago when there was torrential rain). I am hoping these are not red flags as people say most of London is on Clay so guess should be ok.. and its a 1930/40 house so has stood the test of time I guess!

FMT71

fatboyslick wrote: »

I guess im flagging more about the fact mine says it is within 25 metres. This would cover my garden and a couple of other houses, possibly the edge of a play field and golf course.

Hi, I'm in a similar situation, just had the groundsure report back from a property that I would like to buy, which is a two year old new build.
This was the outcome: The Natural Ground Subsidence susceptibility rating (Section 5.9) has been derived through the evaluation of six natural ground stability hazard datasets supplied by the British Geological Survey (BGS). The dataset is created using 1:50,0000 scale geological maps of bedrock geology and superficial deposits, combined with information from borehole records, scientific documents & engineering reports. It indicates the highest rating identified within 50m from the 25m search radius. The reason for this is because the British Geological Survey (BGS) advise adding a 50m buffer when identifying the ratings for a single site/area due to the scale of the mapping utilised. This does not include a site visit. Each ground stability hazard dataset has a GeoSure Hazard Rating between A-E. In the above cited report the resulting Natural Ground Subsidence rating of Moderate-High (GeoSure Hazard Rating D) indicates there is the potential for natural ground movements to occur that may be of concern. Additionally, this does not indicate that ground movement will definitely occur, but that ground conditions should be considered due to the potential.
This is not property specific, but they have graded it as a D, which doesn't seem good to me. I have spoken to my solicitor and asked them to contact the local Building Control Office at the Local Authority who may possess additional local information pertaining to subsidence in the area, but I would really appreciate if someone could get back to me and advise me, whether this is something I should just pull out of, or if it is worth while having a more in depth survey done on the property. I feel bad for holding up the chain, but I do not feel comfortable in buying a property, where I might have problems selling it in the future, ao any guidance is much appreciated, thank you

Adereterial

My report said exactly the same - insurance prices were normal with normal excesses for subsidence damage. I wouldn’t let it put you off.

FMT71

Thank you for your response... It does scare me if I'm honest, as this is not the only issue, I'm also high risk of flooding, but the subsidence is more concerning, as I doubt I will be staying at the property for longer than a few years, so my main concern is selling it on. Like I said this is a new build, and only two years old.

chunkytfg

FMT71 wrote: »

Thank you for your response... It does scare me if I'm honest, as this is not the only issue, I'm also high risk of flooding, but the subsidence is more concerning, as I doubt I will be staying at the property for longer than a few years, so my main concern is selling it on. Like I said this is a new build, and only two years old.

If it is a new build and you'll only be there 2 years i'd be more worried about the fact you'll more than likely end up selling it for less than you paid for it