Buying a house with underpinning/subsidence, but no documentation.

moneysaverexpect

Hallo guys, hope you can help.

So we were about to exchange on a mid terrace house when our solicitor revealed (very late, her fault, not vendors) that the property had been underpinned in 1991, apparently due to subsidence caused by a tree.

The only paperwork relating to it is a 30 year guarantee from a now liquidated company. No building certs, survey, plans etc... It happened before the current owner bought it (in 2010). Local authority building control also don't have records that far back.

We had a level 3 rics survey done before we knew about the underpinning. It showed little sign of movement, and I do believe it's stable, probably more than one that hasn't been underpinned. These are 1850s terraces built on London clay.

My main concern is selling it on; I feel we're in a perfect storm of having the underpinning on record but not having certs to prove it was done properly.

Couple of qs: in 2 years it'll be over 30 years. Is there a time limit where this stuff becomes less important? And, in the absence of building control certs, would a detailed structural engineers report provide some security for us, and some confidence for future buyers?

Any advice gratefully received.

Housebuy12345

I’m in a similar position.

Are you able to get insurance?

Have you thought about getting a structural engineer?

Doozergirl

Insurance shouldn't be a problem at 30 years.

How did your solicitor find out if there's no paperwork and the survey showed nothing?

moneysaverexpect

Housebuy12345 wrote: »

Are you able to get insurance?

Have you thought about getting a structural engineer?

Yep insurance doesn't seem to be an issue; possibly a slightly higher premium. We have indeed thought about a structural engineer. Hoping a report from them would calm down any future buyers.

moneysaverexpect

Doozergirl wrote: »

How did your solicitor find out if there's no paperwork and the survey showed nothing?

The seller provided us with a copy of the guarantee for the underpinning. As I imagine they're legally bound to. That's the only paperwork. Guarantee soon to expire, and from a company that already has. Just not sure if we're massively overreacting, or whether buying it would be a foolish thing we'd regret. It's all the money I've ever made basically. It's also the perfect house in the perfect area. But only for now. We might want to move out of London in a few years. If we were staying forever that would be another matter.

moneysaverexpect

Housebuy12345 wrote: »

I’m in a similar position.

Also underpinned but no paperwork? Has it made you reconsider the purchase? Owing to delayed information from our solicitor we only found out about the subsidence the day before we were due to exchange. :eek: Nightmare.

Housebuy12345

^no structural movement and not knowing if I should continue. May require big work.

Doozergirl

moneysaverexpect wrote: »

The seller provided us with a copy of the guarantee for the underpinning. As I imagine they're legally bound to. That's the only paperwork. Guarantee soon to expire, and from a company that already has. Just not sure if we're massively overreacting, or whether buying it would be a foolish thing we'd regret. It's all the money I've ever made basically. It's also the perfect house in the perfect area. But only for now. We might want to move out of London in a few years. If we were staying forever that would be another matter.

So, if they hadn't have handed over that paperwork because the work was 31 years old and the guarantee obsolete, how could you have genuinely known? There is no ongoing movement and clearly hasn't been for 30 years. ALL houses move.

I think there's a serious over reaction to historical movement with known and removable causes in this country. People are perfectly happy to buy houses with zero foundations and then freak out when a house has them.

BrownTrout

Yes people completely over react these days
Think of all the houses with mining subsidence. They are ok now! They had serious damage at the time but nothing is going to happen now

moneysaverexpect

Doozergirl wrote: »

So, if they hadn't have handed over that paperwork because the work was 31 years old and the guarantee obsolete, how could you have genuinely known? There is no ongoing movement and clearly hasn't been for 30 years. ALL houses move.

Doozergirl, is that the legal position? Are you allowed to not disclose things over 30 years old? Would be very useful for us if that were the case...

Doozergirl

moneysaverexpect wrote: »

Doozergirl, is that the legal position? Are you allowed to not disclose things over 30 years old? Would be very useful for us if that were the case...

I don't see how people would ever know unless they started digging holes. I'm not suggesting you sell a house with subsidence. Your house does not have subsidence.

I am an absolute stickler for doing things correctly because I care about buildings. But it's well beyond the interest of insurers and the guarantee will have expired. The house has better foundations in part than its neighbours and the expectation is that it has none!

No doubt the SPIF says 'has it ever suffered from subsidence'. After 30 years it is just paperwork for paperwork's sake. No one underpins the same wall twice.