Underpinning, Survey and Insurance

Baz_J

Sorry if this has been asked before,
This is the first property I have bought and am obviously a little nervous

I have put in an offer for a house (Semi) for 168k, which was accepted, 10k below asking price as we really like the property so did not want to hang around.

The vendor and estate agent mentioned nothing of underpinning, etc when asked.
The valuation report comes back fine. A few days later I received documentation from the solicitor regards the house and the property next door have underpinning carried out around 9 years ago below the rear wall, this come with a 20yr guarantee.

I phoned the Surveyor and asked if he was aware of this as it was not mentioned in his findings, he told me he did not spot this, should he have?

I then contacted the estate agent again and asked if he was aware of the work carried out, he told me he was not but would speak to the vendor regards the matter, he then got back in touch and told me the vendor was aware but thought it not worth mentioning as there was 10yrs+ guarantee remaining on the work carried out and it was also done by the previous owner and not himself.

My concern was also about Insurance on the property so I asked if the policy was transferable should I wish to continue and also the cost paid at the moment.
To my disbelief the seller told the EA he had not informed the Insurance as he thought it was not relevant!
Surely his insurance is Void….
Should I be overly concerned due to him not providing full details of the problems to myself and the EA and insurers, I have also been told to ask him to provide a full structural report on the previous problem to be sure it has not continued since the original work was carried out.

Should I walk away from this or see what the more extensive survey turns up.

Any opinions on this a more than welcome

Thanks

Doozergirl

Have your own survey carried out. Someone elses survey means the surveyor is answerable only to them. You might want to call out a structural engineer and ask the vendor to pay towards the cost.

A property being underpinned is not a problem in itself, it is a solution. Many old houses never even had foundations and so underpinned houses are often less likely to move again than other houses.

Bungarm2001

Ditto what Doozergirl has said.

To be honest, the word 'underpinning' strikes fear into every house and building insurers hearts when to my mind, it shouldn't do because when you think about it, that house (and the one next door) is now the one on the street that is the least likely to suffer from subsidence in the future. In other words, the insurerers should see it as less of a risk rather than more.

If it was done 9 years ago, it has had plenty of time to show signs of slipping again, and it hasn't I presume. Having 10+ years to run on the guarantee is also a bluddy good point, providing of course that the guarantee is transferable? (you or your solicitor should check this out as a matter of urgency)

It is a bit naughty if the insurer has specifically asked about underpinning or subsidence, but sometimes, they have a limitation. They'll always ask on the form, but if and when you explain the whole thing they might not load the policy since it was a while ago. Always worth asking anyway.