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Can anyone help - unsure

Hey there

I just bought a house 45 days ago and it was abit of a wreck and im doing it up. I had a builder in and he has been doing repairs and has found that one of the drains has been leaking water under the property for a while.

So immediately I panicked thinking all kinds of bad things like subsidence but he has told me he doesn't feel like I have to worry. He has inspected the area and there are no voids, I have no cracks in the walls, inside or outside, no sticking doors etc etc

Obviously my feeling is to now move in when the works done and just wait and see if anything happens.

Do I have to say anything to my insurer at all? There is no damage to the building so far at all so I have nothing to notify them of in terms of a claim. If I wanted to sell soon do I have to declare anything as there is nothing to declare?

Im very honest and would like to make sure I do the right thing but equally I don't want to cause more issues than I need too and bring a world of pain to my life when I don't need too.

In terms of survey it was noted that my drain looked dodgy but never mentioned anything in terms of structural issues. I probably should have been more thorough so I definitely don't want to shift the blame to anyone else.

thanks guys
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Comments

  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,021 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    There is no structural issue.

    Fix the drain, carry on with your life.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 17,515 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Do I have to say anything to my insurer at all? There is no damage to the building so far at all so I have nothing to notify them of in terms of a claim. If I wanted to sell soon do I have to declare anything as there is nothing to declare?

    Unless you are pretty sure that you want to make an insurance claim (which it sounds like you don't at this stage), it would probably be a very bad idea to contact your insurers.

    If you contact them, it's likely to be recorded as a 'subsidence related incident' against your house. That's likely to cause you a lot of grief in future.

    As for selling, you just have to answer any pre-contract enquiries that you are asked honestly (including questions on the seller's property information form). You don't have to volunteer any information.
  • Hey there

    I don't want to make any claim at all as there is no claim to make as far as I am concerned. I am having any repair work done at my own expense in terms of drains etc, so I don't have anything i'd like to claim.

    I guess i'm worried about the future rather than the present.

    x
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    If I wanted to sell soon do I have to declare anything as there is nothing to declare?
    Err....no, but if you wanted to sell soon, people might ask why you are moving on so quickly, and they might not believe your answers!


    Also, building societies won't usually lend on houses within 6 months of their last sale.
  • Hey there

    Thanks for replying. I intend to spend a year in the house at least and then re evaluate.

    The issue I have is all my issues are about the future rather than the present the reason Im thinking of moving is the what if rather than being based on any clear evidence of anything, which has made it clear that Whatever i do next buying a house isnt really an option as im going to worry about the next house.

    I guess my question would be whag would you do? Would just wait and see what happened?

    Thanks for replying.
  • RedFraggle
    RedFraggle Posts: 1,347 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Relax and enjoy your new home.
    Officially in a clique of idiots
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Whatever i do next buying a house isnt really an option as im going to worry about the next house.

    I guess my question would be whag would you do? Would just wait and see what happened?

    Thanks for replying.
    I don't worry about the property I have now, because everything that might go wrong with in a physical sense is fixable.


    I don't worry about the home I might have next, because it's not possible to know anything about it yet.


    The intractable things that cause problems when owning property are rarely anything physical; they're created by outside influences, like neighbours or council policies. When those begin to bear heavily on ownership, then maybe it's time to move on. As these things usually can't be predicted, worrying about them doesn't help a person enjoy the here and now.
  • Thanks for all the replies everyone - it is has been very much appreciated.

    Im still getting sleepless nights, the drain leaking for however long is truly frightening me and I guess its a wait and see. Its fixed now so lets hope that the effects are minimal and I wont see any problems.

    My survey said no evidence of an structural problems and my builder hasn't seen anything when he fixed the drains but I guess the water had to go somewhere?!?!?

    Is it worth me commissioning a structural report to if there are any issues or do I just need to get in and live in it and see what happens?

    This property game is just so damn scary especially if you don't know what your looking for. Now I feel alot more clued up as to what to look for next time.|

    Thanks again everyone
  • tlc678910
    tlc678910 Posts: 983 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi,
    You have found a leak and repaired it before it caused flood or damage. If homeowners had to declare everything that had ever gone wrong and then been fixed in a sale it would be a long list! You only have to answer what is asked. So for example "are you aware of any problems with the drains" would be "no" because a problem was fixed so there is no problem and "has there ever been a problem with the drains" would be "drain had a leak which was fixed. There was no flood or damage". Try not to worry. Your builder who is experienced found there to be no damage and your worrying won't achieve anything.
    Tlc
  • Is it worth me commissioning a structural report to if there are any issues or do I just need to get in and live in it and see what happens?
    No, it's been fixed.
    What do you think is going to happen?


    . . . and relax
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