Is it wise to buy a house with subsidence?

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Imagine this: you’ve found your perfect forever home. It’s in a great location and has just the right amount of space, including a garden to die for. The catch? It’s been identified as having subsidence. The question is, do you buy it or walk away?

Most of us would simply walk away. But whether that’s the right decision or not depends on a few different factors. Here’s how you decide if it’s wise to buy a house with subsidence.

Consider what the survey says

It’s impossible to work out whether you should buy a house with suspected subsidence unless you get a survey. Ideally, you want to get a detailed survey done and enlist a knowledgeable builder or structural engineer to view the property with you. If the house is situated in an area with a mining history, it’s also worth getting a mining report done.

It could be that the house has had some historic movement and is considered structurally sound. Or it might be that there is substantial subsidence that will require a lot of work, such as underpinning.

But unless you take these initial steps, you won’t be able to work out the extent of the problem and what the cost implications are. So, it would be hard to determine whether the house purchase is a wise one.

Lost Gardens of Heligan wild flower field with sea in the distance

Work out the extent of the problem

With the outcome of the survey and the initial input from your builder or structural engineer, you should have a better idea of how difficult the problem is to fix. The more work that needs doing, the more time it will take and the more disruption there’ll be. So, if you’re looking for a home that you can move into straight away, it might not be the right option for you.

However, if you’re prepared to put up with the necessary building work and the mess it creates in order to get the home you want, then it shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re planning a complete house refurb, then a bit of extra building work on top might not be that noticeable. That said, even if the extent of the problem doesn’t faze you, the costs involved might.

Calculate the funds you’ll need

The cost of fixing subsidence is often the thing that puts buyers off. There’s good reason for this as along with the purchase price of the house, you’ll have to have enough money to cover the repairs and remedial work such as plastering.

Some subsidence issues aren’t as expensive as you might think. If it’s a collapsed drain, this is often repairable for between £800 and £4,000, depending on how easy it is to access and what other damage it’s caused. However, some subsidence can be more substantial. So, you may need to factor in underpinning costs. In extreme cases, you may need nearer £50,000 for the repairs.

Of course, this can be off-putting. But this isn’t necessarily a reason to dismiss the idea of buying a house with subsidence. To decide whether the repair costs are worth it, you should also consider the purchase price of the house. If it’s listed at a much lower price than the market value, or you can negotiate a better price with the current owners, then you won’t be out of pocket. In fact, it could be the most affordable way to move into a more desirable area.

There is one more financial aspect you’ll need to consider before you can work out whether it’s feasible to buy a house with subsidence. And that’s whether you’re relying on a mortgage to buy your new home. It’s usually a lot trickier to secure a mortgage on a house with structural problems. However, if you’ve already sold your current home and have the cash in the bank or can raise the money another way, this won’t be a problem.