House built on adit and mine shaft in the garden

Greenpenguin

We're considering buying a house built over an adit (it's an old victorian house, not a new build). There are also 2 mine shafts within the boundary of the garden. Would you avoid in case of potential problems / risk of putting off future buyers?

Martin_the_Unjust

Depends, but if the price is right then yes I’d buy it.

Section62

Greenpenguin said:

We're considering buying a house built over an adit (it's an old victorian house, not a new build). There are also 2 mine shafts within the boundary of the garden. Would you avoid in case of potential problems / risk of putting off future buyers?

If it were a modern house, built with deep piles designed after an extensive ground survey, then I'd be less concerned.

But the Victorians weren't too fussy about building on poor ground, with minimal foundations, so there's always a risk of movement happening at some point in the future.

If there are other suitable properties I'd be considering them first.

Dustyevsky

I would ask myself what is the unique selling point for this house.

For some properties, it's worth taking a calculated risk. The house I live in now had several risks attached, but comparables were like chicken's teeth. If it had been a Victorian semi, I'd have passed by on the other side.

kingstreet

Is it insurable on standard terms?

caprikid1

Where is it ? Some area's are literally riddled with shafts and most are not documented , every house has a shaft nearby (Kingswood Bristol).

Greenpenguin

It's in Greystones, Sheffield. It's an old mining area so not uncommon but I still think there are plenty of houses around that aren't as close to the shafts so possibly not worth it.

Greenpenguin

We haven't looked into insurance yet so that's possibly another issue. We've decided not to go for it, it's too much of a risk for us at the moment.