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Purchasing with subsidence?
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Originally posted by Wayne View PostThere are known issues
nzherald.co.nz/hamilton-news/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503366&objectid=11282416
but the house I am looking was not affected in last 10 years but some nearby houses (120 meters away )
were.
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Originally posted by Gary Lin View PostWhy bother going through all this trouble?
Why not just buy on a street that has no soil issues?
Soil issues, especially listed in the LIM will have long term negative stigma that can turn away some buyers in the future...
It's common sense not to buy a property built on ex-landfills etc.
May be because of Subsidence problem in the area and I want to live in myself and
wont be looking to sell it for at least a decade..
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Originally posted by Gourav View PostYou are right but I liked the house and it is affordable than other similar houses.
May be because of Subsidence problem in the area and I want to live in myself and
wont be looking to sell it for at least a decade..
What if the subsidence continues for decades to come?
Can you afford to jack up the house once every few years and repair the foundation?
Insurance company is not going to cover that if more damage as a result of the subsidence...
Even it is your own home, why buy something that may not go up in value as much as properties nearby that have no problems?
I personally think our homes are also a form of investment, and it's a bad deal if the home we buy don't increase as much as other ones in the same area.
I have done this mistake previously by buying a home on a steep slope, surrounded by large timber retaining walls (timber don't last forever), on a major busy road, and 50m from a major intersection.
Basically the house went up about 25% in value over 5 years in Auckland, but I know if I bought a house on a quiet street, on flat land, the value could have gone up 100%+!!!
So the opportunity cost for me was probably $300k to $400k because that was our first home and we didn't take into account of these negative intangible problems (problems that cannot be fixed).Last edited by PTILoveYou; 02-09-2015, 12:38 PM.
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Originally posted by Gary Lin View PostYeah but the thing about soils is it's always unpredictable!
What if the subsidence continues for decades to come?
Can you afford to jack up the house once every few years and repair the foundation?
In this case the issue was known when the houses were built.
The foundations are fine and set on a solid grounding (piled I think)
The issue is that the ground level drops as predicted and you have to build the ground back up (not repair the foundation).
So get your facts right Gary.
As to whether to buy or not - the Op is questioning the move so I'd suggest not to.
When it comes time to resell others will also have the same questions.
There are other houses around - do you need the potential stress or uncertainty?
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Originally posted by John the builder View Postas an investment property the negative could be a positive (i.e. lower purchase cost for the same rental income)
Originally posted by Gourav View PostI want to live in myself and
wont be looking to sell it for at least a decade..
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The same applies;
the buyer today with knowledge can avoid the loss in value that the current owners have Just make sure it is a bargain? you dont get the same rent but still benifit of a cheaper home as long as you are informed and pay accordingly. Be prepared for maintenance costs for affected drains and utilities
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Can you notice the subsidence yourself eg windows and door becoming effected? Brick clad? If so then cracks in brick will likely be seen.
If you cant and it's based solely on one building report then it's very likely another building report wouldnt pick it up. Im guessing its obvious around windows/doors or cracks in ring foundation for it to have been picked up in the first place.
Subsidence is normal in all house builds though. House piles rarely go down to hard gravels/bedrock. Its not a 20 storey building.
The negatives often just cosmetic and can be fixed for a few hundy by reframing around window or door (or planing a door).
If the floor is so sloping then yeah might be another story.
I had an engineer do a soil test (rod with a weight dropped onto it, 'penetration test' I think he called it) on a hutt valley house that had 2cm cracks in brack due to uneven subsidence. Building report made small mention saying minor uneven subsidence evident, and quoted a few hundy to straighten up the wood framed windows. I offed about 25k less and used Uretek quotes for underpinning so they sold to someone else who was happy to pay 25k more than me.
The engineer said the soil was soft for over 1.5m until it hit old river bed, but said he's done hundreds in lower hutt, upper hutt and very few are any better.
If its not brick clad, and windows/doors or floor slope isnt obvious I really wouldnt be that concerned. Prehaps get another building inspector to look at the house, just the subsidence issue (so not full report) and get his idea of how bad it is compared to average. All it takes is one inspector fresh out of uni taking things a bit too serious to get an outlier report.
Sorry, just read that building report was clear, but engineers report found it, so guessing issue not evident from windows,doors, sloping floor...
From the engineers point of view, he wants to make it seem like his high fees are paying for something, so he'll flag it as an issue. He could also have contacts that do the work or are involved in repairing, again another reason to make a big deal about it. The builders report most likely is more relevent, if the weather tightness are not comprimised and its not noticible then it actually isnt a problem. And subsidence can actually even up over time. I've read issues around ground water level changes effecting things (upheaval) temporarily. If I owned this there is no way Id pay for a repair at this stage as it doesnt sound like its a problem.Last edited by marklowes; 02-09-2015, 03:40 PM.
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There is a street in Sandringham, Auckland, called Begbie Place.
The street is full of units, but the big thing that makes the street unappealing is because of land subsidence issues with the ex-landfill/swamp at Gribblehurst Park.
Those properties are worth about $100k+ less than similar properties in the same suburb.
Also in light of the subsidence issues, ask your broker/bank if that has any impact on lending!Last edited by PTILoveYou; 02-09-2015, 03:39 PM.
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Rotorua and taupo have been in news in the past too with suburbs sinking due to something to do with geothermal movements underground. But I think if you looked at these houses (and those Begbie place houses) you'd notice it from the side of the road and it would be at a whole other level due to abnormal underground conditions.. Im guessing the OP's house is nothing this bad. Wouldnt stop you using the report to get another 10k off the price though, make sure the agent knows his legal obligations to now disclose this new info to any other parties interested in the house now that he is aware of it.
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