Zak S

How about if he pays out of the sale proceeds ie I buy of him with the condition to get the rectification work to be done and he pay for it.

I am talking about removing the extension altogether and then rebuilding it with proper auger piles of 11m deep. There are two wall so probably 6piles should be enough but something to be designed by the SE. Then finish with ring beam and extend roof over it. Size of extension requiring the rebuild is 5m by 3.7m. I want to stay away from underpinning as dont want the record tainted as it makes the property difficult to sell, relatively speaking. It's just par with market value, may be slight edging on the higher side. The price was agreed in June and due to vendor passing away, I am having to wait for probate. All the banks valuation and the legal work is done. I did not do the structural valuation as was planning to knock it down but no reconsidering it and hence dont want to be in a situation where it becomes a liability.

It's the cracks in the tunnel area picture 1,5,7 and 8. What I meant was that they would need to pay for the work. I can manage the work. But question is how best to approach it?

Thanks all for your comments.@ToughButterCup @tonyshouse and @Adsibob I have heard from the vendor and he accepted that there is subsidence in the extension and that it was there when the extension was built before 1995. They bought the house in 1998 and that the crack has not widened since then which I find really hard to believe. My thinking is that if the house has subsidence history it becomes difficult to sell and insure. I am paying c30k higher than next offer (there were multiple offers by the developers who were all interested mainly in the plot so they are indifferent to the subsidence given they all want to knock it down). I am thinking that I should only buy the property if the vendors agreed to fix this issue via piling in that area and rebuild of the walls which is probably going to e unlikely? The option the vendor would have is either to relist the property and some developer would probably match or pay slightly less than me or agree to carry out the work for me or reduce the price for the work required. What are your thoughts as to best way to deal with this issue in most intelligent way possible ?. Thing that go in my favour in negotiations with Vendor: 1. Been ready to exchange since Sep (when the vendor passed away and waiting for probate which is due imminently) 2. Significant rise in the material price restricting any developer counter offer 3. Potential impact of interest rate rise on the property market (probably developer would buy this for themselves or their family so immune to interest rate rise as cash rich) 4. Impact of recent geo political situation on property prices. 5. Argument regarding difficulty to mortgage and insure the property with subsidence issue. Things that go against me for negotiation with vendor to pay for rectification: 1. Significant interest by developers in the banglow with potential to redevelop 2. I might come across as fussy and vendor might not want to continue the headache 3. Given the issue was there before they bought it so they might not feel obligated to rectify it. Please could you let me know your thoughts on the vendors response and how best to deal with this situation and what is the best course of action and how to best present argument in this negotiations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Photos of the main house attached. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi. Please see attached the images relating to cracks in the extension areas. Internally the entire wall is covered by the wall paper and I cannot see any crack other than some minor cracks on the ceiling here and there (potentially age related). Cracks are the most significant in the extension. On the main house, there are cracks on the external render mainly around the top and bottom of windows/door either side. The images below are only for the extension. I will post separately crack on the external render of the main house. Please could you let me know your thoughts if this could isolated to only extension and if can be fixed by rebuilding with local piles in the extension area without need to underpin the entire house? Also, based on the second post below, are the cracks on the remainder of the bungalow something to worry about? PS: I will be contacting the structural Engineer for his opinion. The purchase is expected to complete in Mar 2022. I did not go for the structural survey initially as I intended to demolish the house but the plan to refurbish it initially and see how things progress hence keen to ensure that structurally any issues are identified and dealt with before completion.

Yes definitely worth doing it. Thanks. I will speak with piling specialist if this is something that he can fix rather than underpinning. I will then ask the vendor to pay the cost.

How did you determine it. What is the right amount for which it would be something worth taking. Should I show to foundation specialist. One option I was thinking that how much would it cost remove the walls and put in the piles and then rebuild the walls instead if underpinning. The issue seems to be on one side only in the extension used as utility room (pic attached). There are crack along the lentils, along the DPC (quite wide that its causing dampness in that area) and in the boundry wall to the side of utility room. The rest of the property seem perfectly fine.

We, especially me, is hugely emotionally invested in the project. It would really hurt badly hence trying to figure out any other options which might work.

Thanks. How do you calculate this. Where is the profit in the equation. Purchase price + redevelopment cost is around 1.7m. Assuming half half for plot and construction costs. The redeveloped value might be between 1.8-2m on prudent basis. So not great deal of profit. Remodelling the existing banglow sort of goes out of window unless the sinking of the wall of extension is isolated issue which, it seems, it might be.

Update: on the visit today I found that couple of walls on the far right hand side (extension) are sinking and clearly indicates subsidence on the one side. This was not picked up by the big standard valuation by the bank. Completion expected end of March. Please could somebody help with best course of action. Option are: Proceed with Purchase without mentioning it vendor or bank. Risk is that property would be nonsellable as is without redevelopment. Redevelopment is not guranateed Ask vendor to claim on their policy and correct the issue with the risk that any underpinning would reduce the value significantly of the building and would hinder any future sale (if redevelopment cannot be done for any reason). Ask the vendor to reduce the price off the record (not sure by how much) and accept the risk. Please could somebody help. I am at a point where this project seems a bit doubtful.

@saveasteadingWould the improvement in Ground (like pushing stone in the ground) for the summer house result in improvement of ground drainage ie ability of water to be soaked in the ground?

Just out of interest if I don't do any other work other than remedial work in the garden for the excess water; would this be classed as 'New Development'? Given the area is marked for a summer house, Ideally I need to find a solution to move the water elsewhere. Another issue is as this particular area in question is adjacent to neighbour I will be bringing their water into my Garden if I divert the water to another place in the garden.

Thanks. I think I need to test by digging the hole and see what's happening. I think the water only stays there for around 24hrs after the rain and then disappears but slowly. A landscaping contractors suggested to remove the top layer of the garden about 3 to 4 ft and add hardcore and then sand and topsoil to improve it. Given the size of the garden, its going to be significant costs hence thinking if Severn Trent allows to drain the water to mains then we can improve the drainage to an acceptable degree. If the water was to surface level then I agree no point for drainage to improve the situation.

No there are house behind the garden. The area was called Coppice with lots of trees which was developed partially in 1950-60s but all the trees have blanket TPO.

Thanks. There were three holes dug; one on the front and two at the rear. The banglow was built in 1955-1960

Please see below the topographical survey with flooded area marked out. This corner is also where I intend to install decent size summer house as it gets decent amount of Sun. Any _2021-20-1 Topographical Survey - with waterlogged area marked.pdf

I spoke with the landscaping/tree specialist and he said any water feature need to have the water recycling ability to ensure it does not stay stagnant and become smelly. I intend to install a summer house in that corner. He did suggest River Birch but not sure if it would survive in clay.

I am having a quote for the existing kitchen to be spray painted but as the carcass is quite dirty as has been there since 1980 hence not if OH would like it. I think B&Q flat pack might just tick the box. Issue with use cabinets is that its a lot of work removing, moving and reinstalling (limited by existing space) in the kitchen but I will definitely explore this.

Hi. I am wondering if there are any design ideas you guys can suggest which can work with the existing building without the need to demolish and rebuild (which I am sure would be the best and cleanest but costly option). I have attached the existing measured building survey and topographical survey which I commissioned in Dec last year. You might have seen from some of my other posts including the Ground Investigation Report that: Ground is very soft and clayey hence the piles would be required for any extension work and some clever structural planning. Water table is at 1m. Existing foundation are 400m to 1m and hence determined to be unsuitable for second story unless some clever design ideas are required if I am to use the existing building structure. Demolish and build would not be done right away as needs to move in and complete couple of other project as well as sort the planning issue first. I would need to move in from April hence would need to do refresh of the property either including plastering/redecorating/kitchen/bathrooms. _2021-20-1 Topographical Survey and Street Scene Layout.pdf _2021-20-2 Existing Plans, Elevations & Sections Layout.pdf

Thanks. I am assuming you decided not to demolish but to remodel. That's where we are. I will be posting some plans to see if there is a clever way to use the existing structure but I have lots of issues including inappropriate foundation for the existing banglow.

Where did you buy from?

Thanks. Just to clarify, are you saying drains would work. Where do the sharp sand come into it. How do I use it? Do i remove top soil and clay and mix with sharp sand?

Great Idea. The grass seems to be very spongy. So basically instead of spending money on Frend Drains make a water feature and suitable plants. Is it because French drain dont work or too expensive?

Thanks. Is that for traditional using hand. If spraying then what is expected range per sqm?