Local searches - advice needed!

julesldn

Hi everyone, 

We're buying a 1880's Victorian 2 bed terrace house in London and keen to get your advice please!

The local searches have thrown up some issues that I'm slightly concerned about... We've had a Homebuyers survey carried out and whilst there are some issues with electrics/water mains, chimney stacks, roof, windows etc, the surveyor didn't mention any defects related to the structure. I've often heard that the Homebuyers survey doesn't actually flag any structural issues and you need to get a structural engineer for that.... although surely he would have flagged any major wall cracks? Anyway based on the below what would you do??

Just as background knowledge... the house is in Zone 5 between the River Thames and a tributary of the River Thames

GROUNDWATER FLOODING - HIGH (Due to the tributary but the whole street and surrounding area is high but doesn't seem to affect property value...)

Ambiental data indicates that the property is in an area with a high risk of groundwater flooding. Should a 1 in 100-year groundwater flood occur, groundwater levels could rise above ground level to depth of over 25cm. Basement areas may become inundated.

NATURAL GROUND SUBSIDENCE - MODERATE-HIGH (Again most of the surrounding area is moderate-high or low...)

The property, or an area within 50m of the property, has a moderate to high potential for natural ground subsidence. This rating is derived from the British Geological Survey's GeoSure database, and is based upon the natural qualities of the geology at the site rather than any historical subsidence claims or events. Additionally, this data does not take into account whether buildings on site have been designed to withstand any degree of subsidence hazard.

Thanks so much for your help!

foxy-stoat

julesldn said:

Anyway based on the below what would you do??

Look for another property.  If you need a mortgage you will probably struggle to secure at a reasonable rate.

AdrianC

julesldn said:

We're buying a 1880's Victorian 2 bed terrace house in London and keen to get your advice please!

The local searches have thrown up some issues that I'm slightly concerned about... We've had a Homebuyers survey carried out and whilst there are some issues with electrics/water mains, chimney stacks, roof, windows etc, the surveyor didn't mention any defects related to the structure. I've often heard that the Homebuyers survey doesn't actually flag any structural issues and you need to get a structural engineer for that.... although surely he would have flagged any major wall cracks?

Yep, he should.

HBR is basically a good once-round the house looking for anything scary at a quick-ish glance.

Just as background knowledge... the house is in Zone 5 between the River Thames and a tributary of the River Thames

GROUNDWATER FLOODING - HIGH (Due to the tributary but the whole street and surrounding area is high but doesn't seem to affect property value...)

Ambiental data indicates that the property is in an area with a high risk of groundwater flooding. Should a 1 in 100-year groundwater flood occur, groundwater levels could rise above ground level to depth of over 25cm. Basement areas may become inundated.

NATURAL GROUND SUBSIDENCE - MODERATE-HIGH (Again most of the surrounding area is moderate-high or low...)

The property, or an area within 50m of the property, has a moderate to high potential for natural ground subsidence. This rating is derived from the British Geological Survey's GeoSure database, and is based upon the natural qualities of the geology at the site rather than any historical subsidence claims or events. Additionally, this data does not take into account whether buildings on site have been designed to withstand any degree of subsidence hazard.

No real surprises. You're on London clay, near the Thames. You knew this.

davidmcn

The flooding is fairly self-explanatory I would have thought. It will put off some people.

Subsidence is going to affect a wide area, it's not going to deter buyers who are looking at the general neighbourhood as the results will be much the same for any property. Whereas you might only need to go slightly up the road to avoid the flooding.

greatcrested

If there were signs of subsidence that needed further investigation, the surveyor would have said so. Of course, there is nver a guarantee, but if nothing is highlighted you are pobably fine.

The flood stuff is what it is. Yes, there's a  1 in a 100 year risk, as is he case with millions of properties build on flood plains or near watercourses. You may take the view that globalwarming = increasing floods = only buy a property on high ground, but the risk is low. Do an online insurance quote and see if insurance is available and the premium is reasonable.

Subsidence. London is almost 100% built on clay. If this worries you, don't buy a property in London.

Missy79

I've had a couple of searches recently referring to the potential for natural ground movement. It appears that it follows on from being located near to any water source therefore all properties would have the same. Doesn't seem to have been a problem for the mortgage provider in either case. 

julesldn

foxy-stoat said:

julesldn said:

Anyway based on the below what would you do??

Look for another property.  If you need a mortgage you will probably struggle to secure at a reasonable rate.

Hey - thanks for the response. We already have a mortgage offer from Halifax based on competitive market rate etc. Are you saying they might reject the offer based on the results of the local searches even though they've already issued the offer?

greatcrested

julesldn said:

foxy-stoat said:

julesldn said:

Anyway based on the below what would you do??

Look for another property.  If you need a mortgage you will probably struggle to secure at a reasonable rate.

Hey - thanks for the response. We already have a mortgage offer from Halifax based on competitive market rate etc. Are you saying they might reject the offer based on the results of the local searches even though they've already issued the offer?

It sounds lik you have an offer in principle ie based on your affordability etc.

But that's not the same as a firm ofer on a specific property.

However I'm less pessimistic than foxy-stoat....

julesldn

greatcrested said:

It sounds lik you have an offer in principle ie based on your affordability etc.

But that's not the same as a firm ofer on a specific property.

However I'm less pessimistic than foxy-stoat....

Haha I do love a pessimist! Yes it's a firm offer on the property in question and we have an offer letter from Halifax, they did a valuation of the property for the mortgage offer and didn't flag anything. So at this stage can they still retract based on what's come back in the local searches? Also do you see any issues with getting building insurance?

greatcrested

It's possble, but unlikely. Remember the solicitor is acting for them as well as for you, so if he believes the risk to the lender is significant he has to advise them of that. Just as he would be advising you.

Buildings Insurance? See my earlier post!

Do an online insurance quote and see if insurance is available and the premium is reasonable.

davidmcn

Flood risk and ground stability reports aren't a mandatory requirement of any lender (as far as I know) - if they particularly cared about such things they'd be asking for them routinely. If the flood risk is so great that you can't get buildings insurance (or the valuer thinks it's so notorious that it will cause problems with marketability), then the lender would care.