Discovered Subsidence, straight away after moving into new house.

davidmcn

sophiallbn said:

We 100% have subsidence in the extension

How have you "100%" ascertained that the problem is subsidence?

bouicca21

Cracked door frames, doors that don’t open properly .... why did you not notice these things during your viewing(s)?

wilfred30

I'm afraid the buck stops with you OP.  You made several mistakes:

You didn't have a survey done.  As has been mentioned, your lenders would only have done a valuation not a survey (so duff information from your own family) and it's likely that it was only either a drive by or desktop valuation.

You ignored the warning from your solicitor.

You gave notice on your rental and returned the keys before you had even exchanged contracts.

Therefore, you have no-one else to blame but yourselves. 

robatwork

Hmmm you've willfully ignored your solicitor so this is a real straw to clutch at, but did the solicitor advise you to not get a survey?

Very unlikely but check your communications with them.  You've really dropped the ball here I'm afraid - honeymooners aren't the best judges of matters that should be dealt with stone-cold sober in every meaning of the word.

Freecall

blue_max_3 said:

You may have a claim against the seller if you can prove they were aware of the problems and failed to disclose it. 

 Not unless the OP explicitly asked about this specific aspect of the building and the vendor intentionally lied in response.

There is no obligation to disclose anything when selling property (in England & Wales that is).

sophiallbn

bouicca21 said:

Cracked door frames, doors that don’t open properly .... why did you not notice these things during your viewing(s)?

Because the door was not like that when we viewed the property. Looking at the state agent pictures the previous owner used a huge pile of magazine on top of the small window ledge which is where the cracks are. She had furniture in front of the cracks. She had fairy lights around the door frame. The house was generally Over cluttered and a strange style.

thearchitect

You need to ascertain whether this is subsidence (as opposed to initial settlement which has never been made good) and the ongoing risk.  That means a structural engineer - you are not in surveyor or architect territory here - and will not come cheap, but isprobably unavoidable.

If you are fortunate then your home insurer may arrange of such a survey, but like others here I would be surprised if this was considered an insured event insofar as it existed prior to your purchase.

Sachs

You could complain to the mortgage company if they genuinely did advise you, and you have evidence, that the lender would do a survey. It's a common misunderstanding amongst lay people but professionals should know better. Wont make much difference but they might agree to give you 50 quid.

Jumblebumble

sophiallbn said:

Hi I’m hoping someone out there can help us with this rubbish situation We have found ourselves in.

We have cracks in the door frames, window ledges and skirting boards. We have 3 doors in total to the extension that do not open properly, one struggles to close, one catches on the side and bottom of the door and is out of upright, and another which struggles to close unless it’s slightly lifted. 

We bought our first property January 2020. We were told that our lenders would carry out a survey, so we never paid for a surveyor privately. As first time buyers, obviously our knowledge of this was a little off.

3 days before we were due to exchange, our solicitors informed us that the extension to the property was not signed off by building control. The extension was built in 2013, and since then had been sold. As we were practically homeless after already giving in the keys to our rented flat, we didn’t take it seriously and moved in anyway, as we were on honeymoon at this point and had no home to return to.

We 100% have subsidence in the extension, which we noticed immediately after moving in. When viewing the house, none of this was noticed. Not because it was I missed as such, but because the previous owner was full of clutter, and obviously hid the cracks very well. 

So trying to cut a very long story short, we have now contacted the insurance company who are sending a adjuster around this week, but I was wondering if anyone knows what the outcome will be? Could we claim money from the previous owner? Could we claim money from our lenders who did not pick this up? Any advice and help would be appreciated! 

I am sorry to say you purchased a house with an extension that you knew did not carry a certificate that confirmed it had been built properly and that is exactly what you got.
The vendor is likely to tell you to do one.

 

macman

sophiallbn said:

bouicca21 said:

Cracked door frames, doors that don’t open properly .... why did you not notice these things during your viewing(s)?

Because the door was not like that when we viewed the property. Looking at the state agent pictures the previous owner used a huge pile of magazine on top of the small window ledge which is where the cracks are. She had furniture in front of the cracks. She had fairy lights around the door frame. The house was generally Over cluttered and a strange style.

The surveyor cannot move furniture or disturb fixtures and fittings, so, even if you had employed one, this might not have been obvious. A valuation survey establishes little more than that the house is standing and will cover the amount of the mortgage if repossessed.
There is no liability on the vendor unless she misrepresented the property. Did she? What questions did you ask her about the condition of the property, if any?
Unfortunately you've found out the hard way not to skimp on doing your homework when buying property, as you have less consumer protection than when you buy a pint of milk at the corner shop.