Subsidence

ikceb

Hi

Has anyone ever purchased a house with as survey report stating slight subsidence?

Just to give a bit of context the property is a 1960 detached bungalow. the 'damage' is 2mm fractures to either side of the property.
The main causes of the subsidence appear to be
Minor episode of subsidence due to an ‘escape of water’ from the underground drains in the region of the waste water gulley.
Failure of the lintels, including corrosion and expansion of the imbedded steel reinforcement.

I have checked with my insurance and as long as I get a statement saying that the subsidence is long standing and non progressive they will have no problems insuring and at the moment there is no increase in premium.

The surveyor has advised a CCTV drain check with any damage found for the vendor to repair either with the water board or under their insurance.
They have also advised to replace the lintels and to have lintels fitted where they are missing

Am i wrong or in theory if i have this work done would that then make the 'subsidence' non progressive?
Also if I agreed to do with lintels would it be wrong of my to ask the vendor to have the cctv check carried out? Sorry bit of a newbie to this
Advice appreciated many thanks

G_M

Sounds like you need a Structural Engineer's report stating "long standing and non progressive".

cattie

You have to be careful with the dreaded S word when it comes to selling as many prospective buyers will be put off.

I'd bought a house that had had remidial work carried out by previous owners, but when it came time for me to sell I had to take a hit on price compared to a house that had never been affected in anyway by subsidence & of course it meant that many prospective buyers were put off once the S word was mentioned. So for me, I'd never want to buy any property that had had even a slight issue with subsidence

Davesnave

You should be getting a discount on this bungalow compared with similar ones. Even though the 'S' isn't severe and may well be rectifiable, (as above, get a structural engineer's report) there will be a similar penalty if and when you come to sell.

Cattie's experience bears this out, but presumably she didn't negotiate the price down sufficiently. Someone in my family bought in similar circumstances and she's pleased she did, because it made living in a desired neighbourhood a possibility rather than a dream.


Many houses have a down-side. You just have to get them at the correct price and be sure that you can live with whatever it is. Structural issues are often much easier to deal with than social ones!