Dingdongler

Went to see a house a month or so back that my wife and I like. It's detached and the owner told us the left side of the house was underpinned about 10-15 years ago and has all the relevent documentation.

My wife and I were still deciding on whether to put an offer in on the house and got a call from the agent to say that in the last couple of weeks a huge crack has appeared along the right side of the house!

The insurance company has been alerted and are 'monitoring' the situation. It will probably need underpinning and this will all take some time so the house won't be ready for sale until about summer 2011.

If we bought the house our plan was to do a two storey extension on that right side where the house has moved. One of the selling points of this house is the big plot, especially on that right hand side.

So really what I'm trying to figure out is would it be more problematic to do substantial extension work on a house that has been underpinned in this way?

Thanks

shaunywrx

If it was underpinned 10-15 years ago and needs doing again now, i would leave it well alone personally.

zip106

I always thought it was very difficult to get an underpinned house insured, or even one that's had a subsidence claim against it?

Anyway, if it's on a big plot and seeing as it's got 'issues' wouldn't it be viable to flatten it and build another?

If not, as Shauny says ^^^

KJD Mk1

iTrader: (3)

A friend of mine not long ago bought an old coach house which he extended, he found the whole outer wall of the house needed under pinning which cost around 12k. Personally I think I'd pass especially as it's been done before and cracks are starting to appear.

Dingdongler

Zip, as far as I know as long as the work has been done to an approved standard there is no problem with insurance etc. As for knocking it down? It's a period house built approx 1898, so knocking it down would be a travesty.

Would it have been underpinned all the way underneath the first time around, or just on the left side where it moved at that time? What I mean is the movement this time is on the right, does that mean that the original underpinning has now given away or would that side perhaps not have been done?

Thanks

shaunywrx

Possibly only one side done, but if it needs doing it wont be cheap, and if it's cob it may just fall down anyway

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Buy cheap, wait for it to fall down, insurance claim and then build the house you want in the now vacant plot. Jobs-a-good-un!

salsa-king

is it grade II listed as well,

the insurance would be my worryu, no matter what anyone says, if you do on line quotes its always a question asked.. and saying yes creates a load of hassel to justify your house hasn't any issues.


IMO.... go look elsewhere

salsa-king

get the BEANY to look into it for you, ring channel 4 see if they'll do a programme on you

zip106

If you're really serious about this house then it would be worth shelling out for an independent building surveyor or engineer to look into it before you even think of putting an offer in.

A bit of cash spent now could/will save you a **** load of hassle later on.

As for not knocking down such an old house, I can see where you're coming from.
Although by the sounds of it I think you'll have ongoing problems even if the other side gets underpinned.

If it was mine I make the most of the large plot and flatten it unless it's listed.

(I'm not one for 'period' houses - they belong on a BBC4 costume drama and I much prefer contemporary modern)

ETA - I don't know if you're needing a mortgage but they would also want to know the ins and outs of subsidence/underpinning which could affect them mortgaging it or not.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I sold a house with a big crack in it - and the buyer was told that if he got the policy number of the insurance policy I had had on the property then they would get continuation of cover with no issues. This would also make it mortgageable.

I worked in Insurance for 20 years and had never come across this but there you go!

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Being a Luddite (and avoiding new fangled Gizmos like paddle gear boxes and four-wheel drive) I live in a house built in 1749!

SWRTWannabe

That's nothing, I live in a house that was built before right-angles were invented

zip106

I had 'subsidence' to my garage at my last house.
It was caused by a neighbours conifers that were the boundary.

Ins. co paid for a new floor slab and all brickwork repairs (garage was 30' x 10' so a fair size), monitored movement for 12 months, had deep bore holes dug all around the house to check for tree roots and then had an arborist do a very lengthy report on it.

After it was all done my current ins. co wouldn't then cover the house for subsidence again, wether to the house or garage.

(that was a period house and I was sooo glad to get to a bit of modernity where I am now )

Trout

iTrader: (1)

A windmill?

ronjeramy

iTrader: (1)

I used to work in home insurance, and subsidence was one of the main things we asked about when we did a change of address( one of the departments I worked in) and if there was we had to speak to the underwriters. It might be worth speaking to your current insurance company and see what they say.

c_maguire

I bought a 4 bed detached house in the Fens last year that suffered serious subsidence in 1996 and was then underpinned/piled (now sits on 60 stilts going 30m down) in 1997, costing Norwich Union £70K at that time. The previous owners (1993-2009) continued with Norwich Union with the final premium being £1200. Before we bought we had to get a full structural engineers report before any insurance would be offered. In the first instance we had gone to Norwich Union for cover and was told that because we were new customers we would need a full survey (which I suggested was a bit daft as they had repaired the property and continued to insure it since but I got no response to that). The premium they then wanted was over £2K. We currently have the house insured with Adrian Flux for circa £600/year.
Seems odd to me that only one side of a house suffering subsidence would be underpinned but perhaps preventative repairs are not always carried out due to the cost involved, particularly if the insurance company intends to refuse cover at renewal time.
From our perspective, so many properties in the Fens do suffer subsidence, that if you buy one that hasn't you would almost be waiting for it to happen. Therefore I felt the fact that ours had done and has been majorly reworked because of it was actually a positive thing because it's less likely to be problematic in the future than a virgin property. I hope.
As far as your extension goes, there is no way you can know if that is viable without knowing the standard of remedial work that will be carried out at the property and consulting a structural engineer.

Kevin