Moderate to High Risk Subsidence on Searches

FTBNoIdea

Hi all, need some help again please!

The house purchase we're well underway with has had the environmental search come back which notes a moderate to high risk of natural ground subsidence in the area. There was a sizeable crack and a garden dip in the patio- we had a structural engineer come out who visually inspected and gave it the thumbs up for being okay, however after having received this search from the solicitors just now I'm extremely worried if: a) the mortgage provider can reject the offer b) we struggle to get buildings insurance and c) whether we will end up with a sinking house? First time buyer so no exp. with any of this. I've read people contacting the local authority for incidents in their area, not sure how/who to speak to for this?

propertyhunter

We had the same thing appear on our searches - it's very common in London areas because of the clay soil, so I've been told. We had a surveyor say it was nothing to worry about because the house was structurally fine, but the foundations of any future extension would need a structural engineer's input. 
Ask your surveyor about the patio, and whether there is an issue. 
We had no issue with the mortgage offer. 

user1977

The search is fairly meaningless really - it would probably say the same for the whole neighbourhood. So no point writing off this property unless you want to buy somewhere completely different.

FTBNoIdea

Thanks, I'm currently in the midlands so not sure if subsidence is common in the area for me..

Noneforit999

My understanding is that natural subsidence is fairly common in plenty of areas, especially those built on clay.
We are currently selling and just had a query from the buyers solicitor asking about it because it came up on their search, they just wanted to know if we had any subsidence or if we have had to claim on insurance about it.