SUBSIDENCE checking

Hello, Im thinking of putting an offer in for a house. Only snag is theres a few large trees about 9-10 feet from the side of the house and a few cracks to the render. Nothing too major but I have to asume its from the roots. Im still thinking of getting a surveyor in as the damage can be repaired (at least superficialy) and theres no cracks indoors and the house would suit the family perfectly. But of course a bad buy here could wipe us out financially.
So my question is. Is there any way of finding out if the property has been brought to the attention of insurers/the council etc in the past. And peoples thought on if it's worth the £700 plus on a surveyor?
Many thanks.

Just ask the estate agents to ask the seller, they're legally obliged to declare it. But millions of house's have trees nearby, have superficial cracks and are not subsiding.

On Sussex clay things can happen ! . I would spend the £700 . I've been in Sussex all my life

Agree- £700 for the survey should buy you peace of mind, But make sure you instruct the surveyor that what you want is a report on soil type, soil condition, evidence of previous or ongoing movement including scale of movement and likelihood of future, depth of foundations, stability of walls- otherwise you'll end up with one of these 'advise you engage a tree specialist/soil specialist/magic shiny beans specialist' type reports.

Also worth trying map the drainage around the place- if you've got pipework near those root systems that could be a future problem.

You will be covered by your insurance for any damage from trees so don't let it put you off. If they belong to a neighbour, then they are responsible for any damage too - again insurers will deal with it.

Render can have common cracking which is not related to any movement of the structure. It's easy to determine. But it will still need repairing.

Be careful how you instruct a surveyor or report. A standard building survey by a building surveyor will most likely note any cracks and may well recommend a further survey by s structural engineer - at more cost. A structural engineer can report on just the cracks, but not the other stuff that a building surveyor would comment on.

So be clear on which person or survey type you want.

If you can post an image of the cracks it would be possible to say if they may be subsidence related. Not close ups, but showing the whole elevation.

Thanks for all good advice fellas.
Ive put an offer in this morning. Subject to survey of course. I am concerned that the surveyor will just advise getting it further looked at and it will drag out but the one I've got in mind says ring him first on his advert so maybe we can keep costs down.
I'll try and get a picture if the offers accepted. One thing I could try is remove the garage which is closest to the tree - I think its an extension, possibly built at the same time as the house but I think removable. And that would leave the house about 18 metres from the tree and remove some cracks.
I think the trees are owned by the council as its on the pavement alonside the house.
Just dont want to buy something you cant sell on one day.
And yes its clay around here. Not a lot of subsidence in the area that I know if though.

Just don't overly worry about trees close to houses. They are not that much of an issue