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Original poster

Found out yesterday the house we were going to buy....

20 replies

lovechoc · 03/12/2010 21:02

has a mineshaft underneath it! so we've decided to pull out. Breaking the news to the solicitor on Monday (thankfully nothing has been exchanged yet so we are able to pull out). Just glad the Coal Report came through and we have a choice not to go ahead. Love the house but feel it's the right decision to make. There are plenty other houses out there.

Just wondering if anyone else has been through this?

I feel so sorry for everyone else in the chain, because we are lucky enough not to have been selling our own place.

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Original poster
lovechoc · 03/12/2010 21:51

oops, meant to say disused mineshaft.Blush

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TheNextMrsDepp · 03/12/2010 21:54

Is it really a problem? Do houses disappear down mineshafts often, or is it a problem getting insurance etc?

(Don't have mineshafts round here!!)

Original poster
lovechoc · 03/12/2010 21:59

TheNextMrsDepp It affects insurance, also affects whether or not mortgage lenders are willing to take the risk and lend you the money, problems selling on in the future, etc. More hassle than it's worth and I've checked other forums where most say 'don't touch it with a bargepole' and also chatting to friends and family who have more or less said similar.

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Original poster
lovechoc · 03/12/2010 22:00

There have also been a few instances where houses have subsided due to mineshafts, the whole house caving in, the works. Worse case scenario but we have decided it's just not worth this risk.

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TheNextMrsDepp · 04/12/2010 00:28

It's a shame when you have to wave goodbye to a house you'd fallen in love with.

I suppose you have to pity the current owners - if you've been put off then others will be too! Good luck, anyway.

Original poster
lovechoc · 04/12/2010 10:09

Yes, I know. There are loads of others just now on the market so we're looking around and forgetting about what happened. It's ashame for the owners just now, because if we've reacted like this, so will many others (unless there's a drastic drop in price, which may lure someone to buy it).

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mitfordsisters · 04/12/2010 17:29

so much for 'safe as houses'!

dietcokesholidaysarecoming · 04/12/2010 17:33

Half the houses round my way are built by mineshafts.

Is it capped?

Fizzylemonade · 05/12/2010 10:43

Depends how old the house is. I live in Yorkshire so of course there are mine shafts everywhere, there is one in the road very near to my house. The two sewer pipes run either side of it so the water company aren't worried about it.

But as my house was built in 1999 the mines shafts are dealt with correctly and in-filled, then capped. If however you are dealing with a house that is much older then you are wise to be cautious.

Maybe you just need to ask more questions! Like how has the shaft been dealt with?

If the house was unsafe no mortgage would have been offered on since it was built, nor would an insurance company touch it.

Just think about Wales, Midlands, North of England, Cornwall and it's tin mines, there are absolutely thousands of shafts and adits.

Even if you buy in the area you are likely to be affected by either mines of shafts.

There are old maps that can show you where the mines are roughly.

Me? I'd worry about all the Victorian properties that have been built with the smallest amount of foundations Grin

scaryteacher · 06/12/2010 10:04

My place is a mine captain's house, so a shaft runs right across the patio, but then, our house is in a tin/arsenic mining area.

As long as the shaft has been dealt with, I don't see a problem and a proper mining survey should show if it's safe. It's very rare imo for a house to fall into a shaft; the only time I've ever heard about anything remotely like this was in Gunnislake in Cornwall where an uncapped shaft opened in a back garden of a council house and the garden collapsed. That however, was due to the LA having built there without (so the local scuttlebutt goes) bothering to check or sort problems out first.

My house has been there since 1835 without problems, so it is safe to be over a shaft.

ChippingIn · 06/12/2010 10:08

Having been burnt buying a house with 'an issue' (not a mineshaft but an 'issue' none the less!), thinking that 'It will be OK' and it wasn't (isn't) I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole either. I'm glad you found out now and can choose a different house. Yes it's a shame for the rest of the chain, but none of them will be there for you, helping you if it does all go arse up (or down Grin) will they!?

Original poster
lovechoc · 07/12/2010 15:59

We pulled out yesterday and DH phoned the insurance company to cancel the policy (it all has to be arranged before getting the keys on move-in date) and DH asked hypothetically if we had went ahead declaring the mineshaft, the insurance company said no they wouldn't have insured the property. Phew. We definately made the right decision. It would also mean that later on if we did decide to sell the property on, no one would want to 'touch it with a barge pole' as ChippingIn quite rightly put it.

It is ashame, but there are also loads of houses out there at the moment to choose from, so it's not really the end of the world. We have a few viewings lined up for next week so fingers crossed we end up buying one of those!!

The house we had to pull out of buying was around 35 years old. We don't even think the current owners are aware there is a disused mineshaft underneath their house! And anyway the report had depth 'unknown'. So that was really it for us.

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Original poster
lovechoc · 07/12/2010 16:01

we have no way of knowing if the mineshaft was capped or not - it was not commented on in the mine report which more or less means it probably isn't. Correct me if I'm wrong, someone?

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Original poster
lovechoc · 07/12/2010 16:03

"was due to the LA having built there without (so the local scuttlebutt goes) bothering to check or sort problems out first."

But that's what councils did though, they just built anywhere and didn't check the land was safe. They just wanted to make money! Hence the reason why the couple who bought the property from the council probably don't even know about the mineshaft. It's shocking really.

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5GoldenFimbos · 07/12/2010 16:05

You made the right decision Lovechoc. Feel for the vendors, they are going to have so much trouble trying to sell.

Original poster
lovechoc · 07/12/2010 16:09

I know 5GoldenFimbos, thanks :) - I would imagine they now have to declare that there's a disused mineshaft to potential buyers on the market now?

It's a very awkward situation to have been in. Couldn't have predicted this for all the tea in China. However, I'm now going to be wondering about every future house, whether there's a disused mineshaft underneath it!

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5GoldenFimbos · 07/12/2010 16:16

It's such a minefield (ha what a pun) buying houses. Thank goodness for surveys and the like. I am guessing it would have to be declared.

Good luck with your next move.

Original poster
lovechoc · 10/12/2010 15:35

The house was back on the market within two days of us pulling out!! I can't believe it - no I'm wondering if they actually knew about the mineshaft after all. Could it be possible?

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beautyspot · 11/12/2010 02:50

Why is that a surprise lovechoc? The vendors want to sell; there will always be someone who wants to buy if the price is right (low enough).

Original poster
lovechoc · 11/12/2010 09:43

I suppose they may need to use the asking price as a starting point because whoever does want to buy it will want more knocked off the price, due to the mine report findings.

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