Underpinning

[LizzieSiddal]

Going through the process of buying a house. Just had the property info form and it states that underlining has been done. I have asked solicitor to get details of this work. Our survey didn’t mention underpinning at all, I presume it’s hard to look for?

I know nothing about underpinning, can anyone give advice? Should we carry on with purchase or walk away?

I'd walk away.

Could you give a bit more info as to why?

Generally speaking, a house that's been underpinned is safer than many that haven't been and have yet to show issues. However, a lot of insurance companies steer clear of underpinned houses so you may struggle with that. You might be able to use the same insurance company as the current owners though.

It may also affect resale value as many people panic when they hear a house has had subsidence in the past, despite it being fixed.

Pretty much as PP said. Underpinning makes the foundations of the property more structurally sound than a house without it. But people hear “subsidence” and panic so it can put a lot of buyers off. Regarding insurance, you will be able to get cover with the company that currently insures the property, but that might be expensive- best to ask the vendors for the amount they pay. Other companies may insure you if the subsidence is fixed/historical.

Consider what you want the property for. Do you plan to live there for a long time, or do you see it as a “flipper”. If the latter then I wouldn’t buy it as you may not make much. But if it’s going to be your home for many years it’s unlikely to make any real difference.

Other considerations are the age of the property. You’d be hard pushed to find any older/ Victorian properties without any previous subsidence. The earth moves, the longer the house has been standing the longer the effect on the house.

Subsidence claims are also on the rise due to climate change. I remember reading that some of the heatwaves we had a few years back were the cause of the rise in claims that year, so I think this is only going to affect more and more people in the future.

I’d want to know more about the previous subsidence before I made any rash decisions. Historical subsidence doesn’t make a house unsaleable. The cause is also relevant. A burst water main or tree roots were probably one-off situations. The land is still good and the house even stronger than before underpinning. If the claim was made by the current owners then they should be able to provide a certificate of structural adequacy to prove it’s been dealt with.

Your surveyor will also be able to offer their perspective on the issue.

What @Nodlikeyouwerelistening said. It wouldn't put me off but I live in an area of London with clay soil and Victorian houses, a house that is already underpinned would be a bonus!

This.

I live in one, when we bought we had to use same insurer as buyer. After 25 years there's a reset so we can insure we anyone!! Premiums have come down now. Also on clay so case of when not iff!!

Super common in London for Victorian and Edwardian properties as others have said due to clay and shallow foundations. If you like the house enough and want to move forward, make sure there's no recent movement via surveyors and then try and get as much detail on what was done as possible, what was the cause, what did they do and try and get ahold of the structural adequacy certificate that would have been issued after the works were done. It's worth pushing for it as you'll have buyers asking you for the same if you ever sell.

We bought our house with a recent history of underpinning. Used same insurer as seller just because it was easier but I've got quotes from other insurers so seems like we could quite easily swap if we want. We have a higher excess for subsidence (I think £2.5k) but I don't know if all insurers would ask for that. So we haven't had any issues really. We got a full survey done when buying but there was no evidence of further movement. Feel safer that the underpinning has been done before we got there tbh!

@Dragonfly909 would you or any other posters with underpinning mind saying which insurance companies you use ?
I switched to Adrian Flux after much searching but their very competitive rate doubled after the first year.

Thank you so much for all the advice, I feel much better informed now.

It’s a 1920s detached house and it is on clay soil. The seller has said they have a certificate for the work but solicitor hasn’t sent it to me so will ask for that on Monday.
I’m then going to send that info to my surveyor, who has already done survey. He did say there were no signs of subsidence but we should look out for it as it is built on clay. I may ask him to go back and look at the house again to double check the area which had been underpinned.
Re insurance we are in a thatch at the moment so are used to silly prices. We’ve always been with the NFU and I’ve been in contact already to ask for a quote for new house, so will ring them again with this new info. Will be interesting to see how much it will go up by.

Should add we’re hoping to stay in for a while, we’re in late 50s so don’t want to move again unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Taking into account your update I'd go for it and sounds like you're going to do your due diligence first 👍