Advice on house buying - possible subsidence issues

[Clara1989]

Advice please. Currently in the middle of buying a house and the sellers questionnaire answers have just come back saying they have claimed on insurance for subsidence. No detail provided so hopefully we will get more info next week. This wasn't disclosed on the listing or by the estate agent when viewing and I'm not sure what to do. The other half says if all the issues were sorted a while ago and as our level 3 survey didn't flag anything then he is still keen to move forward but we would need a big discount on the basis it wasn't disclosed earlier/extra insurance premiums and it will put future buyers off even if its not a problem any more. He is taking a "a fixed house is better than the one next door" approach but im concerned we will never get to the discount the next buyer will exspect. What's are peoples thoughts and experiences? Have you bought a property with fixed subsidence? What sort of discount should we be asking for in this situation (£500k house)? 😊 thanks

If its an area where underpinning is common then a fixed house is definitely better than one which isn't. Nor does insurance necessarily cost more (a slightly bigger excess on subsidence claims is more common).

I live on London clay, you definitely wouldn't get a discount around my area for a house which has already been fully underpinned. With climate change you are better off already underpinned than not.

I bought and sold a house with ‘fixed’ subsidence.

Our surveyor said it was fine, saw all the paperwork that led to the work in the foundations, all the mitigating work (tree removed) and declared that on London Clay it was better to have a house you knew was going to be OK.

The insurance co that carried out the work are obliged to carry in insuring you, we had a higher excess for subsidence, but then the work was guaranteed anyway.

Get a full structural survey, and ask for all the paperwork.

I live on London clay, you definitely wouldn't get a discount around my area for a house which has already been fully underpinned. With climate change you are better off already underpinned than not.

I disagree, yes an underpinned house is more secure but it still scares people & puts buyers off because they think when they sell it would put buyers off. My aunts house in London was cheaper because it was underpinned & when I & many of my friends bought in London we didn't consider anything with subsidence.

Also insurance can be more expensive

And yet in my area the houses get a premium - good houses in good areas hold their price. People want good houses and the risk is lower if the house is already underpinned. The reality is most of London will end up underpinned eventually at least for properties built before footings regulations changed.

My insurance premiums and those of my neighbours are the same for non underpinned and it wasn't a problem to change insurer either. We do have a higher excess in the event of further work being needed but its of the order of 2k where the norm for the area is 1k.

I'm not disputing the risk is lower if it's already underpinned or that more London houses will need it in the future. I've simply said in my experience it's reduces your pool of buyers 🤷🏻‍♀️

My point was that it depends on area as well. It doesn't reduce pool of buyers around my area or affect prices negatively.

A first time buyer property in a less popular area will attract less experienced buyers who may be put off because they tend to be more nervous in general. The same buyers will be put off by loose rooftiles or a tatty kitchen.
Second and third time buyers on London clay know the risk is lower if the house is already done.

It definitely depends on the level of subsidence in the area.
I am also in a clay area but I would guess only about 1 in 100 houses have suffered and been underpinned. They are worth much less than the neighbouring houses and have a smaller pool of people willing to buy.

I'd be very annoyed that it wasn't disclosed. I've viewed properties which in the past had subsidence so it wouldn't be a deal breaker BUT the seller and EAs were honest and open and this was reflected in the price. As, let's face it, even if it has been fixed, it's still off putting.

Find out as much as you can, and go from there.

My point was that it depends on area as well. It doesn't reduce pool of buyers around my area or affect prices negatively.

I think it also depends on the cause of the subsidence, a tree that has been removed will be less of a worry.

Second and third time buyers on London clay know the risk is lower if the house is already done.

I'm a 2nd time buyer & know lots of third/fourth time buyers. I only know one person who bought a underpinned house.

It's not about the risk, it's the perception that's the issue.

So to summarise:

1. It depends on what kind of subsidence
2. It depends of lots of houses in the area have the same issue. Go knock on some doors!
3. It depends if the area is amazing.and everyone wants to live there. If so then combined with a favourable answer to 1) and 2) then less of a worry.
4. However if it's unusual for the area then it could get complicated fast, especially if no discount is offered.

I no longer live in London and we were looking for places and had offers in on 2 places that turned out to have subsidence. We passed on both. It's complicated enough dealing with stuff le that, let alone putting all your life savings into it.

Please update us on the type of subsidence, when it happened etcetc?

@C8H10N4O2 broadly which postcode are you in? NW/NE/SW/SE

I'm in a part of London that is built on clay. I wouldn't be put off by an underpinned house, I'd be happy it had been dealt with.

Not all mortgage companies will lend on a house that's been underpinned, however illogical that might appear. I lost a house I was planning to buy a few years ago for precisely that reason. The seller was incandescent and insisted that even if the whole terrace fell down around it, her house would stay standing until the end of time, and I don't doubt she was right. But the lender wouldn't budge and that was that. So, yes, it may well reduce your pool of future buyers greatly.

NW London, outer part.

why would you expect a big discount on an underpinned house ?

a house with concrete under it or a house without ????? I know which one I would prefer .

In my mind an underpinned house is a good thing , they saw a potential issue and fixed it .

Sorry posted too soon - broadly its heavy London clay but with suburban woods, trees etc in the most popular areas. Pretty much every house around here is underpinned and property sells very quickly.

Sometimes a house with subsidence may not have been underpinned to resolve the issue. They will sometimes do something like remove a tree and monitor the movement and consider it solved. You don’t mention it’s underpinned, do you know for sure it is?

We had a 7 year nightmare with a house with subsidence where the sellers hadn’t disclosed - tread carefully!