Previous insurance claim on property

[sean_smillie 0]

I have booked to view an investment property but the estate agent has just sent me this; 

There is a note on this property that I need to make you aware of as follows:

A claim on the buildings insurance in 2016 due to subsidence caused by faulty drainage, it was subsequently investigated repaired and internal and external light repairs and redecoration completed summer 2017.  There was no under pinning.

The letter of structural adequacy from Crawford dated 15th September 2017 states that RSA would provide insurance for the next purchasers

 

Should I still view the property or forget about it to avoid a potential problem down the line? Whether it be with insurance or further subsidence issues.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Sean

 

[Stuart Phillips 254]

If you need a mortgage then its going to be a nightmare. It sounds like its fine, but everyone is going to pick through those reports and will probably expect you to commission a new structural engineers report at a cost of over £500. I doubt the vendors will pay because they have the above saying its fine. Dont be surprised if you spend 6 weeks back and forth with lender and surveyor only to find it declined because its not as definitive as some underwriter requires.

If its cash, i guess i'll let other chime in with their opinion, but i'd want to see the current insurance documents and policy cost as well as any specific exclusions.

[julia urquhart 173]

If you are put off by this (and I would be) then so will future purchasers. The only time I would buy this would be if I was going to hold if for a considerable time and I got a pretty big discount on the price.

My first rule when purchasing property is 'Don't buy a problem'!

[EvolutionBlogger 81]

I wouldn't touch a property with subsidence. Right now the seller has a problem. If you buy the property, then you'll have a problem

[alastairkennedy 25]

There are differing cause of subsidence; drainage is localised and if the drain has been repaired (survey / CCTV) you have evidence the cause has been remedied, and if the brickwork has been repointed and no further cracking has occurred (and no floor unevenness, etc), you can point to the drain repair having been effective.  As said above, it will likely require a report ~500. 
 

Worth buying, so many don’t understand buildings and run from these defects, despite someone else having done the work fir you.  Is there a risk, maybe, all buildings move, all drains fail eventually - disclose to insurers, take insurance out. Get some advice, understand the issue, use it to negotiate. 

[tpayne1987 2]

It depends, as the comment above said, some causes can be ignored while others it's better not to touch.