Buying house which has historic subsidence

[Melcl1987]

Hi

I am in the process of buying a period house in london.

After having an offer accepted we found out (via rhe property info form) the property had previously suffered from subsidence and been underpinned 21 years ago.

The vendor had a structural survey done when they bought the place 5 years ago (which showed no issues) and also did a rear extension 4 years ago which had building control sign off.

The insurance policy they have seems reasonable and doesnt have a big premium or excess for subsidence claims.

We have also had a building survey which hasnt identified any ongoing issue but the surveyor has said the mere fact it has prevjously had subsidence will put some people off and has suggested we consider knocking the price down.

The price we are paying looks roughly in line with sold prices in the area over the llast couple of years (although properties in the area dont sell that often so its a little hard to determine) but we are paying 10k over the 700k asking price.

So just wondering what others would do in this scenario. Would you try to get some money off? And if so roughly how much?

Thanks

I'd get it surveyed again and then potentially reduce the price if the surveyor thought there was an issue.

I bought a property like this. I didn't get any money off because they paid for a full report by a surveyor which confirmed issues had been remedied. So I was satisfied with that. The surveyor was appointed by me, they just paid the bill, so it was my report.
However be aware that it is difficult to get buildings insurance. I have to use a broker and a few years ago my insurers pulled out ie refused any properties with any history of subsidence. The broker found me a new insurer but it's a bit more and I have a large excess. But as I have this specialist report, it helps because it gives the underwriters all they need.
So I'd get a quote for buildings insurance via a broker and see what they say. Depending on that you can either negotiate a bit on price or ask for a specialist survey.

Personally I would never touch it. I have zero knowledge about it, but that would be a hard no from me. Structural damage is too risky imo.

Equally though, if it's not a deal breaker for you, then I think you need to take it as it is, if all professionals are telling you that it's rectified and now all resolved with no further implications, then I can't see why you'd knock the price down. Usually you negotiate on the basis you'll have costs to repair a property, not for future risks. But that's just my take.

Thanks, I guess one reason why we might haggle down is because there may be a significant proportion of potential buyers that might be put off like you would which could then in turn impact on the value. We didn't know about the previous issue when offering and may have offered less if we did

If it's been done properly, and bearing in mind that underpinning is not uncommon in London, I can't see any reason to expect a discount.

It wouldn't bother me if the survey showed no recent problems. I live in an area of period housing and many of the houses have been underpinned. The house we lived in had had past movement but none recent - we lived in it for 15 years and had no issues.

Our house is under pinned. Was done in the 90s. On London clay apparently most houses will need to be at some point and our surveyor basically said better to buy one that's already been done and had no further issues!

In London it wouldn't bother me. Quite a few of houses in London are underpinned due to the ground. With it being 21 years ago and as long as a structural survey came back okay I would be fine with it. Tbh with the environment as it is, an already strengthened house might become a good thing in a couple years with the summers we are expecting.

When they built the extension, was that underpinned also?

What caused the original subsidence?

Underpinning is done to strengthen existing foundations, so I'm assuming the extension would have been built with deeper foundations to prevent future issues.

The only thing that would put me off would be if there was an insurance issue. The actual structure of the building wouldn't bother me at all if it's been fixed.

Thanks everyone thats been really helpful

Yes I know. The reason I asked is because the house next door to us is on a slope and they had to be underpinned many years ago. When they built their extension, they had to go down two metres and put really deep foundations in. I just wanted to ask the OP whether similar care had been taken on the extention on her potential home.

I also asked what caused the original subsidence in case it is a known issue in the area, because that could affect insurance premiums.

@Melcl1987 No I do not think you should "haggle down". The vendor has provided all the information on the property form and been honest with the information of the under pinning - something which is common in certain areas.

The survey had shown no problems, the house is under pinned with no problems and is insurable. Either you should pay the price you agreed or withdraw from the sale.

Isn't this a question asked on home insurance policies?

I'd be concerned of the potential price of home insurance and if they would even cover it.

I was just pointing out that the extension won't have been underpinned, but yes, best to check the foundations are sufficient, taking into consideration the previous subsidence (probably shallow foundations as it's a period property, on London clay).

If it is near the Thames, assume it will need more underpinning.

Thanks for all the comments on this.

We spoke to the surveyor after receiving the report and he has highlighted that the house isn't underpinned. This was only partially done under a central wall in the kitchen area which was removed as part of the extension works 5 years ago. As there is no longer a wall there the underpinning serves no purpose so although the extension is on deeper foundations the original house isnt. He was also fairly clear he thinks the house is at high risk of further subsidence issues mainly due to the proximity of trees on the pavement out front and in the neighbours garden.

As a result we are considering whether to continue with the purchase