House Searches back. What should I be looking for???

ALacoste

I have had my house searches back. What exactly should I be looking for and should be of concern? It came back with moderate flooding and natural ground stability hazards. Are these alarm bells?

Edi81

You’ll get more help in the house buying
and selling page. 

They don’t sound particularly scary - remember no one will give 100% guarantee of anything. 

Grumpy_chap

ALacoste said:

I have had my house searches back. What exactly should I be looking for and should be of concern? It came back with moderate flooding and natural ground stability hazards. Are these alarm bells?

I think this is in the incorrect board but, in terms of the searches, I always take the view if the bank will lend against it, then it's fine.

silvercar

I've asked the MSE forum team to move this to the correct board.

Marcon

ALacoste said:

I have had my house searches back. What exactly should I be looking for and should be of concern? It came back with moderate flooding and natural ground stability hazards. Are these alarm bells?

You are not alone in your reaction! See https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-3393668/We-buying-home-concerned-moderate-risk-ground-stability-flagged-property-report.html

What does your solicitor say about your concerns?

locationx3

Solicitors will generally not comment on things like that. You can buy more detailed reports, but they still won’t help with making decisions.

Use a comparison site to get insurance quotes to see if they are in a normal range. Beyond that look for local information to see if it is a real thing or a theoretical thing. 

user1977

locationx3 said:

Solicitors will generally not comment on things like that.

In which case you should find a more useful solicitor, rather than one who refuses to give you any sort of advice. What's the point of them recommending you get these searches if they then give you no help about what you ought to do with the results?

After all, I presume they're advising the lender about the results (or at least flagging up problems), rather than merely sending them all off to the bank with no comment.

aoleks

some ground stability comments are expected in parts of the country, there's a lot of clay and other stuff that's simply there. if the house has been standing for a while and the structural survey is clear, there's no need for concern.

flooding, similar story. I bet a double digit percentage of properties in the UK are at some risk of flooding, we're an island with a lot of rain and rivers. check that the property hasn't been flooded before, that will make it more difficult to get insurance.

look for any chapels around you, that might need an indemnity insurance. mining activity. major gas/water/electric infrastructure. planning permission applications etc.

Rachelredwood16

user1977 said:

locationx3 said:

Solicitors will generally not comment on things like that.

In which case you should find a more useful solicitor, rather than one who refuses to give you any sort of advice. What's the point of them recommending you get these searches if they then give you no help about what you ought to do with the results?

After all, I presume they're advising the lender about the results (or at least flagging up problems), rather than merely sending them all off to the bank with no comment.

I was literally thinking that surely a solicitor would advise on whether these would be serious concerns or something similar. I wouldn't want to pay someone money who is just going through the motions and not actually helping/advising.

locationx3

Solicitors aren’t environmental engineers, they aren’t qualified to have an opinion on flooding or ground conditions. Neither are they chartered surveyors, so they can’t advise on the state of the property.

What they will advise on is title, covenants, easements and other legal issues.

user1977

locationx3 said:

Solicitors aren’t environmental engineers, they aren’t qualified to have an opinion on flooding or ground conditions. Neither are they chartered surveyors, so they can’t advise on the state of the property.

They can't hold themselves out as having those levels of expertise, but they can provide general guidance of the sort sought by the OP.

They look at and interpret search results on a daily basis, and as I said above, are expected by mortgage lenders to identify issues which are either red flags or merit further investigation - the UK Lenders Handbook requires solicitors to:

"ensure that all usual and necessary searches and enquiries have been carried out. You must report any adverse entry to us."

so they obviously are expected to be able to identify what an adverse matter is, not just shrug when a client asks them.