Homebuyer report and subsidence

[Pinklemon]

Hi, we are in the process of buying this house. When we first viewed, there was a few inches long crack on the lounge's wall. The second time we viewed the crack was covered by a picture frame. There is also a crack in the loft's ceiling. Now having read up on it I worried it could be subsidence. There are lots of neighbours' trees next to the garden fence, very close to the house. Would the homebuyer report pick this up?

As in a scottish home report? Yes, it should be mentioned but it would need a proper specialist to do a survey to get a fuller idea.

No, not a Scottish one. A London's homebuyer report, if that's any difference.

I'm not an expert but I thought with subsidence it was more outside cracks (through brick etc) that were a worry? We have a few cracks in the plaster (in the ceiling) but I think it's just normal house movement.

We did get a full structure survey done though as the house is 100 years old and in an area of London that has suffered subsidence and there was no mention of this.

SookyLaLa, whereabouts in London are you? I'm London too. How do I find out what sort of soil the house is built on? Anyone has big trees next to the house but has no problems at all?

Depending on the area of London it could be due to the clay bed shrinking which then moves the house, or because there is a tunnel underneath your house, it's a substantial investment so worth while getting a full structural survey - or do a cheeky ask if the neighbours and look at property exteriors to see if it's a build problem common to the street or if walls have been recently replaced or newly rendered.

I'm in SW London, and yes, we actually have a big tree out the front also! A builder friend was saying he sees a lot of houses with subsidence a few miles away and that worried me for a bit (he said some of the movement was even for him)

Agree with Time, I would walk up and down the street and look at other houses (we have done this post purchase, didn't think to do it before!) and see the state of them. The road behind us also lost houses to bombing in WW2 which I found fascinating, DH less so

Is there any way I can find out what soil the houses in my area are built on? I'm not in central London, more of outer London, in Upminster.