When it comes to owning a home, subsidence is something you never want to face – the word alone is enough to cause a panic. Luckily, there’s a way to solve subsidence issues and that, as you may have guessed from the title, is called ‘underpinning’.
Underpinning a property seems no problem, despite the big costs and time involved, until it comes to selling the property. Then the panic sets in and you start to question ‘does underpinning devalue a property?’
Well, wonder no more as we have the answers you need right here!
As well as answering ‘does underpinning devalue property’, we’re also going to talk you through the cost of underpinning a house and the ‘warning signs’ you need to look out for when deciding whether your house is at risk of subsidence.
You can use this menu to guide you if you have a specific question. Or, you can ignore the menu, and take it all in:
Underpinning is a technique used to correct properties that suffer from or have suffered from subsidence. It’s necessary in strengthening a property’s foundations after they have been weakened by subsidence.
The underpinning process involves digging into the soil under the property, which has been moving away, causing weakened foundations which has resulted in the property moving. The soil is then replaced with stronger materials and deeper footings beneath the foundation to help stabilise the property and its structure.
There are different types of underpinning, which we have listed below to help you decide which is suitable for you:
A house needs underpinning when it has suffered from subsidence. Subsidence occurs when the ground beneath your house sinks, causing the foundations of the house to move, meaning your house will sink.
The ground beneath the property can sink at different rates, causing the house to appear ‘wonky’.
There are certain ‘warning signs’ to look out for, which will indicate your house is at risk of subsidence:
Underpinning will devalue a property but by how much will depend upon how severe the subsidence was and also how recently it occurred. As a general estimate underpinned property is worth around 20-25% less.
Despite it being worth less, don’t let the fact the property has been underpinned put you off. More often than not, as a result of the underpinning, the underpinned property is more stable than houses who have never previously had any subsidence issues, due to the reinforcements.
If you are buying a house with a history of subsidence, it’s important to get as much information as you can about what the property’s current state is – find out whether the subsidence has been fully treated, get as much paperwork as you can from seller, have a full structural house survey which will help you decide if there’s still a risk of further subsidence and, if there is still a risk, how high the risk is.
When buying a house with subsidence, you could use this to your advantage. By this, we mean use the underpinning as a ‘bargaining card’, allowing you to put in a cheeky offer.
Does underpinning affect mortgage?
There’s no reason why a lender can’t offer a mortgage on an underpinned property, as long as the survey shows the work has been done to a good standard and there are no ongoing structural problems or a very high risk of more subsidence. Having said this, a house with current subsidence issues will be unmortgageable.
If a property is unable to get house insurance on it, then a lender will also not be able to lend on the property. This is because one of the requirements for a mortgage offer depend upon a property being able to be insured.
Do you have to declare underpinning?
Underpinning must be declared by the vendor or estate agent. If you’re buying a property and you have been misled about any historical work which has been done to the property then you may be able to take the vendor to court, as buyers are protected by ‘The Misrepresentation Act 1967’.
If information about an underpinned property comes to light and hasn’t been declared, a seller would have to prove that they didn’t know about it, although it’s unlikely they wouldn’t have known as there’s always lots of paperwork and information laid out in house purchases.
If you’re selling your underpinned property, meaning you’ve made a claim for subsidence in the past, it may be a good idea to pass on the insurer’s name so you can allow the new buyer to continue under the same cover – especially just in case another subsidence claim is needed to make in the future.
As you may expect, the cost of underpinning a house will differ from job to job, after taking into consideration the size of the job, how long it will take, how easy it is to access and whether the problem is aesthetic or a real fundamental issue.
The following is a guide of how much it would cost to underpin a wall, which you will need to multiply by the number of walls you have to get a better idea of the full extent of the cost of underpinning a house:
Job description | Duration | Mass concrete | Mini piling | Resin injector |
Underpinning a single wall in a 2-bed terrace (4m) | 3 weeks | £6,000 | £10,400 | £4,800 |
Underpinning a single wall in a 3-bed semi (5m x 4m) | 4 weeks | £13,500 | £23,400 | £10,800 |
Underpinning a single wall in a 4-bed detached house (8m x 6m) | 6 weeks | £21,000 | £36,400 | £16,800 |
Statistics from ‘Myjobquote’
There may also be added costs in the event of needing some extra professional help. A structural engineer may be needed to inspect the house regularly, even before any work is carried out. They may need to examine the soil further and run further tests, as well as organise the paperwork that may need to be submitted to planning permission.
A lot of instances of subsidence are normally insured and so some, or all (hopefully), of the cost of underpinning a house will be covered by your insurance. You won’t be able to claim for underpinning if your property is experiencing subsidence whilst being covered by the ‘new building warranty’, which should come with a new build house. In those situations, the builder will be responsible for stabilising the property.
And there you have it! Everything you need to know about underpinned property and subsidence, including the answer to the all-important ‘does underpinning devalue property’?! Have you got some insight to give? Or want to have a go at writing an article yourself? Whatever it is, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Millie is perfectionist with a passion for property and writing articles. You’ll find her researching the latest housing trends and the newest up and coming areas worth investing in. Read more about Millie here.
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