When we bought our flat we were told of historical movement in the survey and got insured on that basis - sent copy of the report.
Over the years we’ve made a couple of claims for leaks - the first, a cracked pipe under the house, led to the suspicion there was a leak causing movement so the insurance company lined the waste pipes running alongside the house. Second claim was due to upstairs neighbour’s cracked pipe which slowly leaked over the years into our walls and, I presume, into the ground beneath our flat. Our neighbours’ flat is extremely neglected and they’ve not decorated for over 30 years, despite the lease requiring this every five years. We are share of freehold. They’ve also left taps running a few times and flooded their bathroom, leading to it pouring into our flat.
I had hoped the leak repair meant the problem of movement was solved, however it appears to have moved again recently. We desperately want to move to a bigger place so ideally would sell up. Knowing this may cause problems selling what’s the best next step? Straight to the insurance company and £1k excess plus increased premiums, or surveyor/structural engineer to get more information first? Money isn’t an issue as we’ve been saving for the move.
Any idea on the likely hit on sales price once investigated and repaired? It’s london so seems fairly common with the clay issue. We could rent it out if we can’t sell.