Buying or Selling a Property that has subsidence guide

Buying / Selling properties that have had structural movement and have not been stabilised

Do you want to sell a property with subsidence unresolved or where there is structural movement?

Selling a property without treating the issue of subsidence will affect the sale value, so you should expect a lower market price. There is likely to be a smaller pool of potential buyers as there will be fewer lenders willing to finance a purchase. Ultimately, you are likely to end up selling to a cash buyer. This has its benefits as you won’t need to bother arranging for the repairs and can pass the issue to the new owner.

The other option is to repair the property. In this case, you would arrange for stabilisation work to be completed prior to putting the house on the market. The benefit here is that the house price is unlikely to be affected. The potential number of buyers increases as the majority of mortgage lenders will finance a purchase on a property that has had structural movement but since been stabilised.

Do you want to buy a property with subsidence unresolved or where there is structural movement?

If you are a home buyer and are aware that a property you are looking to purchase has experienced structural movement and not been stabilised, you need to consider how the purchase will be financed. Should you be looking to secure mortgage financing, then you will need to speak to a lender directly to understand their policy on lending for these kinds of properties.

As a cash buyer, you will make the purchase and subsequently pay for the property to be stabilised. This is becoming more common as with methods such as Geobear’s, you can stabilise property in one day, with no excavation.

If you are considering purchasing a property and require a quote for repairs, we will need to visit the site and compile a proposal, therefore this would require a fee. Please contact us if this is something you would like to arrange.

Buying and selling a property that has previously had a subsidence or structural movement issue

Selling a property that has been stabilised

If you own a property that has been stabilised following structural movement, you may be asked about this during the sale process. Be prepared to share any documentation you have with the conveyancer or lenders valuer.

The current Law Society TA6 Property information form (4th edition) (2020) asks a question relating to warranties or guarantees relating to underpinning. If your property has been repaired or is being repaired using geopolymer injection, this is not considered underpinning.

However, a more recent version of the form is being tested: Beta: TA6 Part 1 preliminary information form (1st edition) (2021), within this form question 21.3 asks: Has something happened in the property that a buyer would want to know about or might influence their decision to purchase? In this instance, it would be your decision whether to declare any previous subsidence or structural movement issue and the repair.
Link: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/en/topics/property/transaction-forms

If you have declared the previous movement in documentation, or verbally to a valuer, you need to provide relevant documents. If you used Geobear, you will need to provide your Certificate of Structural Adequacy and guarantee. The Certificate of Structural Adequacy is the critical document as this is issued by a Chartered Engineer and validates the work; without this it the value of your property could be affected.

Buying a property that has been stabilised

If you are buying a home that has been stabilised through underpinning, ensure your conveyancer has requested any documentation available from the buyer.

Where Geobear has stabilised the property you are purchasing, the property owner should have an insurance backed guarantee and a Certificate of Structural Adequacy.