House Built on a Disused Mineshaft

MrsStant

Hi All,
We are in the process of buying a property and it has been identified that there is a disused mineshaft directly underneath the house.
The sellers have shared a report from the coal authority from 2017 identifying the risks are low of anything happening (house is a mid terrace in a row of 4 built in 2012). 
My solicitor has advised whilst the risk is extremely low I will have to inform the lenders of the shaft and it may put off future buyers when I come to sell.
I am unsure what to do for the best with this property as part of me has confidence from the report but the other part of me feels I should completely avoid and not take the risk.
The house is being purchased as a buy to let property as a long term investment.
Any advice is gratefully received!
Thanks
Sarah 

Tiglet2

If you feel unsure what to do, any future buyers will feel exactly the same.  Do you want to take the risk that the property will be difficult to sell on?  Your lender will want you to obtain an up-to-date Mining Report in any event and will either lend or not lend, depending on the result.

Personally, I would not buy this property.

AdrianC

Buying as a residential lettings business, you should be looking at the yield, not at future resale. At the absolute outside, it will sell for a multiple of demonstrable rental yield.
I presume all your business plan is properly thought-through and the numbers have been properly worked, so it stacks up as a profitable business?

That aside, the lender won't want to know if they think there's a ground risk.
BUT, having been built that recently, you can bet that BR will have wanted to see proper ground preparation to minimise any risk.

user1977

Something built that recently will surely have involved surveying it in more detail at the time, rather than just getting a standard coal report - have you checked the planning papers?

livetoclimb

Someone should have flagged this during the ground investigation when it was designed/built - I’d check planning docs and have a Google for the development with other key words like ‘mining’, ‘geotechnical’ etc. Most shallow mines will have been capped or backfilled and tested before building. Presumably there’s still some sort of warranty with the house given it’s age. I’d suggest getting in touch with the provider (NHBC or equivalent) and asking about it. 

Mickey666

Why take the risk?  Is there something particularly special about this property?  A low asking price perhaps . . . because it's so difficult to sell because of the risk?

If the OP insists on buying, it might be worth checking out the insurance implications, which might range from a high premium or the impossibility of getting any cover for susidence etc.

AnotherJoe

Well, it's certainly an improvement on a house built on top of an active mineshaft, but not by much.

A factor to bear in mind aside the risk of falling down a hole, is that, over time, lenders generally become more risk adverse.

 So, for example while you may be able to get a mortgage now, will a future buyer be able to get one in 5 or 10 years time?

Move on.

user1977

Mickey666 said:

Why take the risk?  Is there something particularly special about this property?  A low asking price perhaps . . . because it's so difficult to sell because of the risk?

If the OP insists on buying, it might be worth checking out the insurance implications, which might range from a high premium or the impossibility of getting any cover for susidence etc.

As above I doubt there is a risk as the ground conditions were almost certainly dealt with properly at the time of construction - all the Coal Authority report tells you is "there used to be a mineshaft here", not "and it was filled with concrete in 2012". But certainly needs checked out.

kingstreet

If built in the last ten years is it still subject to a warranty?
Was the shaft pressure-grouted and the property built on a raft?
Send a copy of report to insurer and see if they will offer cover at standard terms with subsidence, heave and landslip excess at usual £1,000.
When I worked in Stoke in the mid 90s, the firm I worked for had an auction department and it dealt with the sale of a number of properties for the insurer subject to mineshaft claims and all had been dealt-with and offered a pack on how to construct on the site in future.