We have found our dream house. We had a homebuyer’s survey carried out and the surveyor identified large diagonal cracks externally (quite narrow, but requires investigation), one of which has been mirrored internally. So as not to drip feed, here is a description of the property:
Large detached Victorian house on clay soil. Large old oaks 20m from property, yew trees 7m from property. Suspected cause of external cracking is root damage. Cost of property: £1.3m. We are hoping to live in this property for 20+ years.
Following our survey, we asked the seller for some more information. They have now supplied documentation which says the property was underpinned once in 1993, and twice in 2011. We are 6 weeks down the line and this is the first we have heard of it. We have not been told where the 2011 underpinning has been done (we have now asked for details).
The cracking on the outside indicates further underpinning may need to be carried out, but a structural engineer will confirm this within the next week. Current owner has not had the oak trees pruned in the time they have lived there, so it is believed that if a crown reduction is performed, this will help with the root damage.
Would we be mad to consider purchasing this property? Even if we manage to sort the subsidence, would we struggle to sell the property in years to come?