MarkO

Yeah, okay. People hear the word 'subsidance' and run a mile, without actually considering the consequences. Many properties can withstand mild subsidance without requiring much work other than cosmetic. Even in the case of serious problems, underpinning is relatively simple and not prohibitively expensive.

Basically, if you find a house you love, and the survey shows up underpinning or subsidance, it doesn't necessarily means you should walk away.

Here you go: http://www.willowmead.co.uk/news/abi.html

In particular this quote: "Subsidence occurs all over the world where shrinkable/swellable clay exists, especially in climates that experience extremes of drought and intense rainfall events.

The big difference lies in the way that the UK insurance market deals with subsidence since the drought of 1976. The rest of the world seems to take a more pragmatic approach to subsidence both in terms of offsetting its occurrence in the first place and in dealing with the effects when it does occur. In the UK, expensive solutions are often undertaken, backed by insurers;".

[Edited by MarkO - 10/8/2002 1:36:08 PM]

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Looking at buying a house that's been underpinned, I'm interested to know :

How this affects it's value to buy (what % discount should I go for ?)
Saleability in the future ? (Presumably increases over time ?)
Insurance implications ? (Inc premium / potential exclusion from future probs ?)
(I know the builder who did the work, who assures me it's rock solid now !)
All feedback most appreciated

MarkO

A lot of people are scared by subsidence, probably quite unnecessarily in this day and age. In particular, if the house has been underpinned, then the nasty bit's been done, so the house will probably be structurally sound for years to come.

Best thing is to get a full structural survey done on the property, to ensure it's been done properly.

Only problem I can envisage is that some lenders are as blinkered as the public and may not be as keen to lend on the property if it's been underpinned.

carl

Care to expand on your reasoning behind this bit?

carl

The problem is that even if you're OK with subsidence, it's other people's opinions that matter come resale time.

MarkO

Very true. It's a bit like buying a Euro-import car - there's not really an issue, but ill-informed people are scared off by it.

carl

Thanx. I was trying to think of a car-related simile but I couldn't, so I just hit the 'Submit Reply' button

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Thx for the comments, original questions still stand

gravelexpress

You will probably find that you will not recieve any discount. If the structural repairs are carried out correctly - there should be nothing to fear. You may want to investigate what the original cause of the subsidence was. Subsidence is VERY common in some areas, however the Structural damage resulting from differential settlement is less frequent.
Common Causes-

1) Design defect of Foundations - incorrectly engineered for soil/bearing strata
2) Foundation failure - defect in materials/workmanship of footings
3) Drainage - leaking underground water services or leaking drainage creating "soft" spots in sub-substructure bearing soil.


This is the usual one!!
4) Effects of Tree roots - the drying out of the soil by a tree in the "zone of influence" of a building/ Adversly the effect of removing a tree causing a surge in moisture.

ALL the ABOVE is what the surveyor should find out - but if your interested?

Underpinning is a repair measure designed for the life span of the property. The repair should have designed by a structural engineer and inspected as correctly constructed. IF so I would not worry.