Home we are buying has subsidence

[OrwellianTimes]

Got the survey report yesterday, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t spot it, but it’s on a side of a wall of the house’s porch that we didn’t look at.

zig-zag line up the brickwork that has been filled but looks to have moved since filling.

survey says:

• There is indication of minor structural movement / subsidence
• No treatment needed but monitoring should be put in place and measured every 6 months.
• there are roots in one of the drains.
• there is evidence of re rendering done badly on another rendered wall in a line.

This house is at our max budget. We are unlikely to have the capital to fix big issues for some years.

Do we walk away? It’s a lovely house, the one we loved the most, but it’s not perfect- small kitchen, funny shaped lounge. Outstanding views. Lovely garden. Great bedroom space.

Given your update @OrwellianTimes , walk away. This is a hassle you just don't need...

Agreed. I have a mate with a house built on clay. Very difficult to insure because of the risk of subsidence.

Ignore the pole who are saying just walk away until you've investigated further Subsidence is very common, particularly in London, if nobody bought a house with potential issues, or issues that had been fixed, then many houses would not get sold.

in this case, the report says that no treatment is needed. But clearly you need to know what was treated in the past and when. I recall a house I bought is that I was recommended to take over the insurance policy from the existing holder. In any case ask the advice of the conveyancing solicitor, they will have dealt with this before.

walk away

Walk away or be prepared for a world of pain firstly getting it fixed, secondly with future insurance costs and thirdly when you come to sell.
Been there and got the t shirt.

Well have u got an insurance quote? Get one and see goes much it costs, you will have yo mention the subsidence so I'd imagine it would be quite high and enough to put u off. If it isn't then happy days you have cover, but be careful and read small print. Also can u find out when it moved last?recent or old?

Subsidence is very common, particularly in London

Even in London it is not very common.

Regrettably I'd ditch it because this lovely house would feel like a burden I may come to resent if I were unable to repair the issues over time equally I think that if I were not able to afford the cost of restoring it to the standard it would need selling it later at a price that I am happy with or at all could be an issue.

@OrwellianTimes

it’s on a side of a wall of the house’s porch

if this is the case and the porch has been built as an add-on and there is no subsidence on the house itself, then that would bring the concern levels right down...

is it possible that a porch has been added without appropriate footings?
If so, I would buy the house like a shot and just leave it - one day the porch might have a few more issues, but it can be rebuilt at not a very high cost -

whereas any subsidence on the house itself - big issue.

My gut feeling is to walk away from this - it's not your dream home. Things often happen for a reason, hopefully in this case a much better (and maybe cheaper) home will come on the market soon. Good luck

Did the report note if there was progressive movement? I’d ask the buyer if they have had any structural advice, if so can you see the report?

Walk away and that is why it’s advisable to have a survey.
I bet there is something better round the corner.

As per @akkakk subsidence on porch is something else to subsidence on the house.
Porch’s are often just built on a slab or scratched out footings.
Weeds in the drains? What drains? Gutters and down pipes are no issue. Weeds in the sewage system big issue.

For the love of God yes! Definitely walk away! It'll be an absolute money-pit.

This

I own an old house with some subsidence/movement on the end wall. I knew about the subsidence when I bought it. I’d fallen in love with the house. There was no problem with getting a mortgage and insurance has not been an issue. Apparently subsidence is more common these days because of climate change and the effect on compacted soil. I do not know how easy, or how hard, it will be to sell the house when the time comes. My builder once said “the house will probably still be there in 200 years”.

Walk away…
every 6 months doesn’t seem good at all. The when is coming shortly…

It certainly is in the major clay areas with older houses. Around here, its the houses not underpinned which are the issue and insurance is not a problem. Houses sell within a very short time of appearing on the market.

Was going to say the same thing. Half of the houses in London have had subsidence, they have no issues getting insurance or selling on. We’ve actually just bought a house which had subsidence 10 years ago. We had no issues at all with getting insurance!

Your surveyor has said it doesn’t even need treating, if I were you I would get a structural engineer to have a look and listen to what they say.

@LizzieSiddal but half of houses in London have not had subsidence!

Is there much on your council planning site relating to underpinning (could be building permission rather than planning permissions)?

I would be more concerned that it was built so recently. Does the survey show the type of foundations used in that development? A builder or surveyor should be able to tell you when the rules changed to require much deeper foundations to prevent movement during soil contraction/expansion. In my head that was after the droughts in the 70s which triggered significant shrinkage in some soil types but the history of building regs isn’t my mastermind topic 😀

You definitely need a structural engineer’s advice if you want to take it further. Considering where you are with the process it might be worth getting that extra check, especially as the surveyor flags it as a “wait and watch” rather than more immediate actions. A structural engineer may advise a specific non serious cause or warn more reliably about the risk of actual subsidence.

Random thought - is it a former mining area by any chance?

@C8H10N4O2 I'm not saying that you cannot sell a house with subsidence or get insurance. I have simply said that even in London it is not very common. London is quite big...

@C8H10N4O2 which bit do you live in where selling a house without subsidence that isn't underpinned is difficult to get insurance for?

Waiting for the report from the water company on that, it’s clay pipes and the other pipes are plastic / I know on my current 80’s build the clay pipes are the ones that are sewsge

No coal mines in the immediate area that im
aware of - maps of the area show coal seams 30+ miles away but none in the immediate area. I think there’s been quarries, but the house is build on former farmland looking at google earth arial photos.

The survey makes no comments on the foundations.