Dreading committing to move

[Melcl1987]

I am in the process of buying a house in a nice part of outer london. However, the house has a historic case of subsidence and is further away from my family than we originally intended. The whole process has been a nightmare and quite drawn out. I have now somewhat made piece with the historic subsidence (although it still seems to be at a higher risk of future subsidence than other houses) but am really scared about committing partly because of the distance from family and partly due to it meaning we would now have tighten our belts financially.

The closer I get to committing the more anxious I am getting about all of these factors but not sure if I should just ignore my worries?

On the plus side it would give us a bit more space and us within the catchment of a good school

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole

Why would you buy a house with subsidence issues?

As somebody who had those feelings but pushed them aside and bought the house anyway, don't do it! Run away.

This house purchase has been a big mistake and has caused massive issues with my finances, well being and marriage.

That was my initial reaction but the problem occurred over 20 years ago and appears to be fixed. It is a rare opportunity to get a house in the area we were looking at which is all prone to subsidence

Is it priced lower to reflect the previous subsidence?

It seems like it when looking at sold prices nearby but no idea what level of discount should be expected?

I wouldn't be worried about the subsidence OP, as presumably it's been fixed under the previous owner's insurance, (something you should check)? You will then still be able to insure with the same company, so it will continue to be covered if there are further problems

However, I would be worried about the fact that you're moving further away from family than you planned to, and also about the fact that you say it will mean 'tightening your belts'. Have you discussed with the family that you're going to be further away from, how they feel about it? Are they family that you rely on for help in anyway? If this is the case, I would definitely reconsider, as other people really don't like being put to inconvenience due to your choosing to move further from them. As for the 'tightening your belts', are you talking about the new mortgage making life unbearably tight, or is it something that within a couple of years won't feel nearly so bad, ie, would a couple of pay rises put you back to where you are now, or could it mean, if interest rates were to rise again, that you'd be faced with having to work longer hours, or a second job, or worse, selling a car, etc.? Sit down and really think about these things, before it's too late and you've made a commitment, which if it's a wrong move, will cost an awful lot of money to put right.

Would you rather buy a house that had subsidence 20 years ago, was fixed and shows no signs of movement. Or the house next door...?

I wouldn't unless it was causing an issue currently. Not sure how much it would cost to underpin the house, but if the problem appears to have been fixed from 20 odd years ago then it wouldn't worry me toooooo much.