Should I buy this house or walk away?

[Deni99]

We have found a house but subsidence has been identified. The owner is claiming on insurance and her insurers have commissioned a report from structural engineers. The report says a broken drain has meant water washing away soil which has caused the movement in an extension. They have quoted her 4k to rectify.

Assumimg our mortgage co. will still lend on this property at the price we have offered, is it safe to proceed? I get that buildings insurance may be harder to obtain but what about resale down the line? All looks like a minefield. Love the house but don't want problems in the future. What questions should I be asking of whom?

Appreciate all advice - so stressful!

I remember a similar issue on one of Sarah Beeny's TV series, the one called Help My House Is Falling Down. It sounds like a problem with a specific cause that can be fixed and that will be the end of it. I'm not an expert though, so hopefully someone else will come along with some advice.

I'd say call us when it's rectified!

Sounds like a problem to me.

might take a while to be fixed and you can't make any decisions until then. so its a wait and see I suggest.

our solicitor advised us to keep looking when we were in that position and we found a much better place.

Keep looking until the works are done but also get insurance quotes for if you did buy it. They can be eyewateringly expensive as soon as you mention movement.

Depends on the cause of the subsidence. If it was a tree that has been removed, that would be clearer as the cause has been removed. I would be a bit worried that if there is problem with drains in one place, other issues could arise and the drains are expensive to fix. Ask about it, but be cautious.

a big fat WALK AWAY! I should think you'll struggle with mortgage and most insurance companies won't touch it with a barge pole once there has been a subsidence claim.

Walk away! Mortgage problem. Insurance problem. Possible problem of long delay getting the work done before it can be sold. But not your problem unless you buy it. Just walk away.

Walk away (sorry, have so BTDT).

If subsidence has been identified and a claim submitted to the vendors' insurers, then those insurers are legally obliged also to offer you insurance - the house might otherwise be uninsurable because other insurers are unlikely to be willing to touch it. You do have some insurance-related protection therefore, but the premium is likely to be very high and might also have a substantial subsidence-related excess (so you'd have to fund the first £xxxx of any further rectification costs yourselves before the insurance kicks in).

The house won't be unsellable in the future, but your pool of possible buyers will be much reduced because a lot of people run a mile at the first suggestion of any subsidence-related problem. Given the uncertainty of the extent of the issue, I'd be thinking about pulling out unless you are sure this is the house for you regardless and you intend to stay long-term.

We put an offer in on an amazing house then found out it had been underpinned. It was caused by a tree and likely all solved but the potential problems wirh mortgage, insurance and resale were too much for us and we walked away. It was on for a great price but took ages to sell.

Depends really. If its your forever home it may be worth it. However, the word subsidence puts a big black cross on your house that will always put off a significant proportion of future buyers. You will always have that worry hanging over you.