Additional Subsidence report, needed?

RME214

Hi everyone,
Me and my partner are in the process of buying a house, we are 2 and a half months in, the searches came back fine and the Valuation also done by Halifax, we have our mortgage offer however now sorting buildings &contents insurance we wondered if the "Property has suffered previous movement" on our valuation would affect our chances of insuring the property? 
The property has never had a claim against it for subsidence but we have been offered an additional subsidence report, my only thing is this: You can get these reports online for £30, are they really worth it? The movement was deemed historic... we inspected the house very carefully on our second visit no cracks etc, do you think we should get the extra report done? thankyou 

RME214

Also, Halifax said they were happy to continue without the extra subsidence report when contacted by our Solicitors, the Valuation report identified that although there was 'previous movement' he saw no indication that it was ongoing

martindow

I think I would use a broker, tell them about the previous movement and let them choose the insurer.  On applications you only have to answer the questions asked and don't have to volunteer anything extra, but where the line lies between subsidence and movement lies I've no idea.

RME214

 martindow said:

I think I would use a broker, tell them about the previous movement and let them choose the insurer.  On applications you only have to answer the questions asked and don't have to volunteer anything extra, but where the line lies between subsidence and movement lies I've no idea.

Hi Martin, we have a broker sorry I forgot to mention, we have an insurer who will insure us and as the property has never had damage we don't have to tell them about subsidence being a factor apparently, but our broker told us they will cover us for events like these if anything were to happen in the future. 

Purely historic, I'm not sure if its worth an additional report, especially when these can be completed online purely using database history.
Thankyou 

Albermarle

Have you not had an actual survey done, rather than just the mortgage providers valuer ?

RME214

Albermarle said:

Have you not had an actual survey done, rather than just the mortgage providers valuer ?

We've had our searches/survey done also - included a environmental search, drainage, local authority and coal - It said "This property is in a surface area that could be effected by underground mining in 3 seams of coal, last worked in 1911, any movement in the ground due to coal mining activity associated with these workings should of stopped by now"

user1977

RME214 said:

Albermarle said:

Have you not had an actual survey done, rather than just the mortgage providers valuer ?

We've had our searches/survey done also - included a environmental search, drainage, local authority and coal - It said "This property is in a surface area that could be effected by underground mining in 3 seams of coal, last worked in 1911, any movement in the ground due to coal mining activity associated with these workings should of stopped by now"

Yes, but what did your survey say about the movement?

Historic movement is pretty standard for older buildings, I wouldn't think it something to be concerned about or jump up and down about when getting insurance. And tends to be merely settlement, not "subsidence".

RME214

Thankyou everyone, we are now going to get advice from a structural engineer  just to be safe, thankyou.

Bigphil1474

I would have let it go. Money for old rope getting a second survey online. In addition, I would expect a structural engineer will look at whatever information they can get online, visit the house to have a look, and tell you that there's been no movement and it's in a coal mining area with no evidence of anything other than historic movement so get on with your life. Wasted money?

If the insurance asks you if the property has suffered previous movement and your information says not, then you tell them that. They then insure you and you are covered. If they won't insure you, you might need the extra structural engineer reports. Our house is in an old coal mining area and up until 2010 we just said ex coal mining area with historic movement only. Unfortunately we did then have subsidence in 2010 but it was nothing to do with the coal mines - it was a leaking water board pipe.

user1977

Bigphil1474 said:

I would have let it go. Money for old rope getting a second survey online. In addition, I would expect a structural engineer will look at whatever information they can get online, visit the house to have a look, and tell you that there's been no movement and it's in a coal mining area with no evidence of anything other than historic movement so get on with your life.

Or they'll find a sales opportunity and tell you how you can improve the structural integrity of the building...

propertyrental

RME214 said:

Thankyou everyone, we are now going to get advice from a structural engineer  just to be safe, thankyou.

The risk with this is that whatever the SE says you'll need to declare to the insurer, so the precise wording in the SE's report becomes critical.

But even reporting subsidence does not make a property uninsurable.

I bought last year and the house had a conservatory that was coming away (10 years before) due to unsufficient foundations. The sellers had claimed for subsidence, had the conservatory demolished, new foundations, new conservatory, and relevant certificate issued?

I have to declare the subsidence history, and yes, it greatly limits the number of insurers on the comparison sites, but I got insurance for £250 last year (£300 this year).