Would you buy a house which has had subsidence?

It depends if the risk is real, the surveyor has covered his liability by saying that it “may” need underpinning, they use all sorts of caveats.

It’s up to the buyer to satisfy themselves wether the house is structurally sound, most buyers choose a cheap survey, a full survey is costly and much more searching than the mortgage survey.

We live in a very old home -- in the fens -- it's a small worry.

Don’t even think about it! “good price” means the sellers are desperate to walk away , I wouldn’t consider it under any circumstances

Not in a million years.

Good point, Freya, re flood plains, especially with the stormier weather we are encountering.

Most definitely not, the soaring costs of underpinning, now or in the future, make this a big gamble.
I wouldn't buy on a proven flood plain either, a way which developers seem to be heading.

Greyduster

When we bought this relatively new build house, we had to have a mining survey in order to get the mortgage approved as, although built on the site of an old farm, there had been two collieries in the area, no trace of which remains. I thought it would just be a formality but was surprised at how detailed it was. We haven’t disappeared into a big black hole - yet!

Greyduster

It's amazing that there are old mines in places where you wouldn't believe possible! Having listened to a talk recently about the locality of some I was amazed but I don't think there have been any problems with properties which stood there for years.

We never know where there might suddenly be subsidence for whatever reason, eg sink holes, underground caverns of limestone rock etc.

It depends on why this property has subsidence and how severe it is.

It depends very much why there is subsidence, and if it has been corrected or not. I would never buy without getting a proper survey done- and quotes for solving any issues- and discuss a reduction in price to reflect this.

We had subsidence at our last house, caused by too many limetrees too close to the East of the house. The whol side was underpinned properly, the whole process filmed every day- half the trees removed (not all to preven a ground heave reaction), and properly inspected by experts. All paid by our insurance (about £30.000 about 20 years ago). So when we sold, it was all declared with all the documentation- and therefore buyer was not concerned.

I also would not touch it with a barge pole. Too much hassle and expense and when they come to sell it if they do buy, this conversation will rear its ugly head.

When we bought this relatively new build house, we had to have a mining survey in order to get the mortgage approved as, although built on the site of an old farm, there had been two collieries in the area, no trace of which remains. I thought it would just be a formality but was surprised at how detailed it was. We haven’t disappeared into a big black hole - yet!

We bought our 200yr old house for cash (a private loan) 43 years ago. We couldn't get a mortgage because the surveyor found signs of subsidence.
He put tares in the part where there had been movement and 6 years later, we were able to get a mortgage to repay our lender as the tares had not moved
It was a risk but we badly wanted the house.
Now I am seriously thinking of selling and will probably meet this problem again.

We backed out under these circumstances. It turned out that the people who were selling the bungalow couldn't get insurance so were living without! They hadn't told us that.

We found a house we loved many years ago, the initial survey didn’t mention subsidence, but a chance meeting with a previous tenant (it had been bedsits) told us there were problems. A further in depth survey suggested underpinning would be necessary.
Had we been able to get it for a reduced price we would have gone ahead, but the owner wouldn’t budge, denying any problems.
I used to pass the house everyday, and watched as the whole front of the house was taken down
Probably had a lucky escape.

What about insurance? The mortgage may be withdrawn without it.

There is a huge difference between movement and subsidence, and if it’s been a basic survey the surveyor might just have seen signs of movement. My house moves - there is a burn running underneath the area, and the plaster cracks now and again - but it’s over 100 years old and still standing. We bought it 25 years ago and a structural engineer said it didn’t need underpinning - in fact he said that he’d put money on it still being here in another 100 years, which is more than he’d expect from the new builds up the road.

A valuation survey is not the same as a structural survey.
The former is done for the lender to establish whether it is basically worth the loan (which may be a lot less than the asking/final sale price.)
A structural survey will cost you but should highlight any problems or potential problems and the surveyor can be held liable if they miss something or fail to report on any structural issue.

I might buy a house that ‘has had’ subsidence, as per the thread title, but not one that is still subsiding. If it is underpinned and has guarantees, and if a structural engineer signs it off as ok it may be a better bet than one that is not underpinned. It’s a bit like someone who has had an illness but had an operation to fix it being a better bet than someone blissfully unaware that something is about to go wrong - the former might struggle to get insurance, which always strikes me as contrary.

The mortgage company did a valuation survey which consisted of a 5 minute wander around the property.

A big fat NO!

Depends on what caused the subsidence. My daughters house had subsidence but it was cause by drains that were blocked by rubble left behind by a cowboy builder.

CoolCoco

The mortgage company may withdraw the offer for that particular property as they will do their own survey. Alternatively, the could value it at less than what has been offered to reflect the cost of underpinning.

It depends how bad it is and what lies beneath.

welbeck

don't be silly.
why did they sell, arrange mortgage, before doing survey?
a lesson learned.

You have to have a mortgage set up in principle so that, if you find a property you wish to offer on, you would be in a position to proceed, including getting a survey.

Very many years ago we looked at a house which might have needed underpinning but decided not to buy. However, the house is still there, still fine, hasn't fallen down.

I don't think I could cope with the hassle and stress.

Only with a good contingency fund and a thorough engineers' survey.. and I'd get the work done before moving in..

I would definitely not buy.