insurance says there's flood and subsidence history on flat I'm buying?

akira181

I'm most of the way through the process of buying my first flat in Glasgow, Scotland and just trying to get building and contents insurance sorted out. Tried with Aviva and website wouldn't give me a quote so had to call up.

When I spoke to them, they said there's a history or record of flood and subsidence for that building/area/postcode but they can't tell me anymore. It's a top floor flat so I find the flooding part unlikely and the home report did say that's there's evidence of historical subsidence but nothing recent. It's a 120+ year old tenement flat so historical subsidence seems par for the course, at least that was listed on every home report for every flat I viewed.

They're asking for more information of when the flood happened, when the subsidence happened, what caused it, and how it was fixed. Now the current owner of the flat has no idea about it, how would I go about finding out this information?

davidmcn

Flooding obviously refers to ground level, not waves lapping against your third floor windows...but still a buildings insurance concern as you jointly own the structural bits and the communal areas.

There's a flood risk map on SEPA's website which might give you a clue?

Subsidence - is it in an area where you need a coal mining report? If so, what did that say?

akira181

The SEPA map has it as a low flood risk, current owner of the flat has lived there 12 years and not happened during his time.

The home report made no mention of coal mines, so I assumed one wasn't needed. Where would I find out if I need one?

Getting worried now as completion is supposed to be in 2 weeks and my solicitor keeps telling me everything is fine until I start asking questions and then she says "Oh, I need XYZ from you". If this is another one of those, I will be quite annoyed if subsidence turns out to be a problem.

davidmcn

Akira181 wrote: »

The home report made no mention of coal mines, so I assumed one wasn't needed. Where would I find out if I need one?

Coal Authority website - your solicitor will know whether they need to see one anyway so it should be in hand.

What area are you talking about?

akira181

I'm buying in the south side, Battlefield area.

The coal authority website says

Recommended actions

We can confirm your boundary is:

located on the coalfield
not within the Cheshire Brine Compensation District

None of that means anything to me. Next page says they recommend an Enviro All-in-One report at a cost of £78 + VAT. Also in the list is a subsidence claims history for £160 + VAT, which I think is a crazy price.

I don't trust that my solicitor has done anything that wasn't recommended on the home report. I don't see a charge for coal mining reports on her itemised bill she sent me last week, so it's probable that she hasn't done it. Called her and she wasn't in the office today so will have to try tomorrow

davidmcn

Akira181 wrote: »

I'm buying in the south side, Battlefield area.

Probably historical flooding from the White Cart which they're referring to, but insurers can have odd ideas about which areas are at risk (being up a hill doesn't necessarily help!). Have you tried other insurers?

I don't see a charge for coal mining reports on her itemised bill she sent me last week, so it's probable that she hasn't done it.

As with the other searches, it's the sellers who get it, not you.

PMcCarrol

Subsidence can impact your upper level flat quite significantly, the lower down the subsidence is will mean more weight on it, forcing any cracks to widen quite a lot over time, especially if the building itself is heavier on top (ie, Tudor style properties)

Flooding can rot any timber frames which will present a risk in itself but otherwise, as an upper level flat, flooding isn't too much of a problem but any repairs that need carrying out as a result of any damage caused by the flooding (or subsidence), you will still be expected to contribute to the cost of repair as a leaseholder.

PMcCarrol

You won't have much say in how much your contribution is either, quite often it's split evenly across all tenants in the property and you could find yourself still paying thousands, especially if walls need repointing or whatever.

akira181

davidmcn wrote: »

Probably historical flooding from the White Cart which they're referring to, but insurers can have odd ideas about which areas are at risk (being up a hill doesn't necessarily help!). Have you tried other insurers?

I checked comparethemarket and moneysupermarket and the cheapest at 380ish from both of them was a broker called Fresh but the policy was underwritten by ERGO Versicherung. Neither are defaqto rated so avoiding them. The next in the list was over 500 so tried Aviva since my car insurance is with them. And that brings me to here.

My factor offered buildings only at 330, which seems expensive. I may start looking at separate building and contents policies to see if that's any cheaper.

davidmcn wrote: »

As with the other searches, it's the sellers who get it, not you.

Didn't realise it was the sellers solicitor that does these searches. Should I be requesting to see a copy of these mining reports or ask my solicitor to find out what caused the subsidence and how and when it was repaired since Aviva are asking?

davidmcn

Akira181 wrote: »

Didn't realise it was the sellers solicitor that does these searches. Should I be requesting to see a copy of these mining reports or ask my solicitor to find out what caused the subsidence and how and when it was repaired since Aviva are asking?

You can ask to see the coal report, yes (if they've got it yet). Often it's not particularly helpful as many areas have unmapped mines.

Has there actually been subsidence, or are they just saying it's an area with a higher risk of subsidence?

akira181

Under Structural Movement of the home report, it says

The building as a whole exhibits signs of past structural movement. Past structural repair has been undertaken. Within the limits of a single site inspection the movement noted would appear to be longstanding and non-progressive

It was Aviva that told me there was a claim or record of historical subsidence and are asking me to provide more information. They were annoyingly vague and didn't really explain anything when I asked them but since they're asking for dates and how it was repaired, I'm assuming there was actual subsidence at some point