Is it possible for building surveyor to spot evidence of subsidence in the past?

[localsearch]

Hi

I am buying a property. The seller declares there is no subsidence issue in the past. They are only lived in the property for 2 years. They also said that the previous owner declared to them there was no subsidence in the past. My full building survey has also reported there is no sign indicating any movement of the property.

I am wondering the possibilities of there was actually a subsidence issue that happened in the past 30 years or more and the issue was fixed. Could it be possible all the evidence is gone because it was a long time ago that the surveyor is not able to spot it?

The property is 120 years old victorian end terrace which is in an area of moderate to high ground stability.

I am worried about it because I have evidence someone has requested a quotation on a building insurance comparing website saying there was a subsidence issue in the past for that property.

Many thanks!

 

[mattylad]

You can only go off what you can see, if an issue has been repaired and that repair is not noticeable then it seems that there was no subsidence.
How old is the evidence? If it's from before the current owners then you cannot really do anything about it.

Are you able to comment on the website, hoping that the original author gets a notification and can get in touch with you to find out more?
Then you can show it to the surveyor before they go.

 

[localsearch]

Thanks, Mattylad!

I have contacted the website customer support they are not able to trace the date of the quotation so it is unknown. But the website started in 2006 so it must be in the recent 15 years.
The website is not like a forum. There is a form you can fill in all the questions before you buy home insurance and then it will give you the list of quotations from different insurance providers.
It happened to me when I try to use the website to get quotations for the property and the questions of previous subsidence were prefilled as "yes".
The Website customer support confirmed to me it is prefilled yes because someone has got quotations by answer yes to the question asking if there was subsidence.
Maybe it was just a mistake or someone want to know how much higher if the property has subsidence in that past.

I am interested to see how possible if a subsidence issue in the past could be repaired and no evidence or trace remains after decades.
As my building survey comes back with no subsidence evidence. Can I assume it is unlikely there has been any subsidence in the past?
I think I should stop worrying about a quotation on a website that can be made by anyone.

thanks again

 

[HERTS P&D]

What's the website called? I want to try it.

Andy

 

[localsearch]

Can I dm you? Not sure if I can put the name here.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Have you asked the owners why they are selling?

Have you asked the neighbours if their house has any foundation problems?

Andy

 

[localsearch]

the current seller is up sizing due to new family member
I haven't asked the neighbors but I think I should do it this week.

 

[Old Salt]

Do you have any visible signs of potential problems?

 

[^woody^]

So if I wanted to be micheavious, I can just get some quotes for the homes of people I don't like or someone whose selling, tick the box for past subsidence, and then it ****s up their sales when it shows up on a search and buyers who don't know any better get into a right tiz and pull out?

Subsidence repair can be evidenced by a surveyor. Whether the surveyor is good enough to see it, is another matter.

 

[localsearch]

> Do you have any visible signs of potential problems?

There is a hairline crack at the top corner of a window. The surveyor confirmed that was because of the weak lintel. Other than that, he confirms there is no signs indicating any movement of the house.

> buyers who don't know any better get into a right tiz and pull out
It is true, anyone could do this.
Maybe only buyers like me who can easily get worried will be affected by this.
I believe most buyers won't be affected by a random insurance comparison website if the survey report came back very good.


> Subsidence repair can be evidenced by a surveyor.

I believe my surveyor is a good one but I am not able to judge as a layperson
He did mention if the repair is decades ago it may be difficult for him to notice.