Subsidence, settlement and underpinning…
So, you make an offer on a house, have it accepted, but then discover it’s been underpinned sometime in its past. What does that mean then? Is it in imminent danger of collapse? Is the ground going to open up beneath our feet? Is the gable wall going to fall down in the night? Are we never going to be able to re-sell the house if we buy it? Can we get buildings and contents insurance on it?
So many questions, very few answers it seems! Our view - maybe it’s twisted - is that you take a chance on any house you buy. Despite having lots of expensive surveys, noone is ever going to be able to tell you that the house is NEVER going to fall down, or that an eight lane motorway is NEVER going to be built through the back garden. At least this house has already had a problem and it’s been put right - you could buy a house two doors down with a similar undiscovered potential problem and then have to go through the cost and upheaval if it does go wrong at some point.
Life’s just a series of gambles really. Hey ho…
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Dear James
We are very interested in your lovely website. The weather here in Amsterdam is a problem big, what with the way the heat effects you when rubber wearing .
Do you have those problems too?
The cellars have all here flooded due to the rain (3 inches one night). It’s destroyed all my collection athough most can be wiped clean.
If ever Amsterdam way please let me know, we have many good museams we can share together.
Johan
I am amazed by the numbers of weather people that are interested in my website - only the other week I had a visit from the famous UK weatherman Michael Fish!
Thank you for your kind offer to show me your many cultural and interesting museums, I will be sure to say hello when I am next in Amsterdam on ‘business’.
P.S Johan, please say hello to the Durham lot!