Would you buy a house which has had subsidence?

Not a sound investment. Unless you get the price reduced by 50% at least!

Depends really!
I live in the South Wales Valleys and we have to have mining searches done - puts a lot of people off when it comes back that the house are built on old mines. It’s our secret weapon to stop the wealthy English buying up our homes 😃

Absolutely not.

I am amazed at the number of people who would make a decision without knowing the facts. Does this mean that anybody who has had their house successfully underpinned won't be able to sell them? In this day and age, with the change in weather there might be foundation changes, especially if, like us, you have clay soil. Lots of people have tree roots which cause damage but after tree removal and remedial works, the properties are perfectly safe.

I agree, ICHTB. As I said upthread, 'might need underpinning in the future' could mean anything.

I would get a full structural survey and see what the problem was. Expecting to get a 50% discount is ridiculous, unless the house was in a state of collapse. Any house can subside, or there would be no need to insure against it happening, and any house 'might need underpinning in the future'.

Much depends on what 'has had subsidence in the past' means, too - as has been said, drains, trees, all sorts of things can cause houses to move, but without knowing the cause and any remedial action, it would be bonkers to make a decision if the house is otherwise ideal.

I had to look up what that meant! Not a term you hear much in Canada. Here is what Google says about subsidence under a house: “What is subsidence? Subsidence is when the ground beneath a property sinks, pulling the property's foundations down with it. This process can cause the walls and floors to shift, leading to cracks and potentially destabilising the construction of the property”. Based on that I would not purchase it. Most young people stretch to buy a home and don’t want to buy a money pit. IMHO

I'd only buy this house if I wanted to take on a load of trouble which could rumble on for years and cost a lot of money to fix.

How would you know that this house would be a load of trouble unless you had a structural survey? As has been said, some houses have subsidence that would indeed be a load of trouble, but others just need to have a drain unblocked or a tree cut down and they'd be fine. It would be a real shame to miss out on a dream home because of an unsubstantiated fear of something that might not happen.

One word - NO!

I've been reading this thread with interest.

It really shows huge differences between the way we each approach buying a home.

I find the "Never!" responses curious given that we have so little information. I also wonder if those of us who just say now might have thought differently when younger. Would you have been more open to having work done in those days?

We just don’t know enough for me to know whether I'd buy or not.
I'd like to know what's decided and why in this case.

Interesting thread.

NotSpaghetti

I've been reading this thread with interest.

It really shows huge differences between the way we each approach buying a home.

I find the "Never!" responses curious given that we have so little information. I also wonder if those of us who just say now might have thought differently when younger. Would you have been more open to having work done in those days?

We just don’t know enough for me to know whether I'd buy or not.
I'd like to know what's decided and why in this case.

Interesting thread.

Coupled with the fact that the surveyor only did a quick survey, it seems that even the buyers don't know the full facts! I'd sooner buy a house which has had the work done rather than buy one and the same street which doesn't have any signs of subsidence but has not been underpinned. My Mum had a house which I rented off her many years ago which started showing problems. One night as we lay in bed there was a mighty crack which sounded like a bomb going off. When I went to investigate, you could see daylight where a crack had opened up. The insurance company did the work and 40 years later the house is still standing.

Bugbabe2019

Depends really!
I live in the South Wales Valleys and we have to have mining searches done - puts a lot of people off when it comes back that the house are built on old mines. It’s our secret weapon to stop the wealthy English buying up our homes 😃

That's very true - my DM's house was built over some old mine workings and tunnels from an old railway station 150 years ago. We never even knew until we saw some old maps of the area.

In London, many houses built on clay based soil. Lots of subsidence in certain areas. Good warranted underpinning makes them viable.

Our bungalow had some underpinning done. was last moment we found out and went ahead after being reassured it was ok. But we’ve been here 17 years and it’s our last home hope it doesn’t prove costly when it needs No issues as yet.

I have livd in two houses with subsidence. One was Georgian and my current one is Victorian. I had a few small cracks in my last house which didn't change for the 30+ years I was there and currently I have a small crack in one wall that has changed ever so slightly in 12 years. I imagine that is to be expected and normal with older properties . If the house is old the ground should have settled by now. If it's a younger property that may be a concern.

Also this surveyor may be covering his back in stating a worst case senario. Better to get a further structural survey from someone who specialises in subsidence with the relevant age of this property and the ground upon which it is built and the surrounding area, in mind.