Survey says underpinning needed

Loopylew

Hi,
I'm looking to buy my first flat and have just had the survey results. The surveyor has said the bay window on the Victorian property needs underpinning and I wanted to know your thoughts.

Should I walk away?
Can I get the freeholder to pay for it?

There is also uneven wooden flooring. This could be bad workmanship but could it also be a sign of worse subsidence?

Any help is really appreciated.

middleclassbutpoor

Old properties will have uneven floors but may be down to a number of other things.

What was the value placed on the survey - does it match what you have offered - i.e. has the price already accounted for the condition?

You could try and get the work done but I would rather get someone I trust to do it rather than have a cheap botch job done. You should therefore get quotes etc to see what the cost is likely to be which you can negotiate if it hasn't already been accounted for.

jonnygee2

Personally I would stay away from leasehold flats in converted Victorian buildings completely. Walk away! If your budget is only for flats, look for purpose built.

FreeBear

Loopylew wrote: »

There is also uneven wooden flooring. This could be bad workmanship but could it also be a sign of worse subsidence?

Could be an indication that the joists are rotting away, but without lifting floorboards, it would be difficult to say for certain. Having a building survey done during the buying process won't help as they wouldn't be able to lift the boards.

eddddy

Loopylew wrote: »

Can I get the freeholder to pay for it?

Not in the way you probably mean.

Either...

• The freeholder would pay for it, then pass the cost onto the leaseholders (which would include you - if/when you bought).

Or...

• If it's due to subsidence, it may be covered by the buildings insurance - but there'd still be the excess (probably £1000 for subsidence.)

If you want to proceed, you might consider reducing your offer, to cover the potential costs.

hazyjo

Common for bays to drop. Get a structural engineer to look at it. Had the same with the last house I sold. Buyers were happy with engineer's report and proceeded with no price drop.


Older floors tend to slope. My current and last house had rooms that sloped. Not sure if that's what you mean by uneven, or if you mean some floorboards are higher than others?

cattie

Be aware that once any structural work such as underpinning has been carried out, the property can become a bit of a liability around your neck when the time comes to sell. I speak from experience.

Buying such a property can be a costly mistake as a great proportion of potential buyers will lose interest once they know such work has been done & it could greatly affect the price you'd achieve when the time comes to sell.

I wouldn't walk away, I'd run away. Plenty of decent properties out there that haven't had & don't need any kind of structural work doing.

Loopylew

Personally I would stay away from leasehold flats in converted Victorian buildings completely. Walk away! If your budget is only for flats, look for purpose built.

Why's that?

PasturesNew

Loopylew wrote: »

....buy my first flat ... surveyor has said ... needs underpinning ....

As soon as anybody mentions underpinning you're straight into the land of "might not be mortgageable".

Only, ever, buy anything where the word is mentioned if you've got skills, contacts, experience, money, time - and aren't reliant on a mortgage and keeping your job to see you through.

Anybody who buys any property that has/needs underpinning, is either making the biggest mistake of their life -or- know the score and have the budget/skills/contacts to get it sorted out - and will never be planning on moving (as they're hard to sell).

Loopylew

What was the value placed on the survey - does it match what you have offered - i.e. has the price already accounted for the condition?

They didn't put a value on the survey, but I got the flat for 20k under the asking price. Seeing as I never knew about the subsidence I don't think the price accounts for the condition.

Loopylew

I spoke to the surveyor and he's saying it needs monitoring. He can't say for certain that it's progressive, but I can't wait 3 months to find out. He also said a structural engineer wouldn't be able to tell me much more than him so they aren't worth hiring.

I think the best thing to do is pull out and keep looking for something a bit more stress free.