House advice

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

Or phone these guys.

[Rugster]

49 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

1 hour ago, Gordon EF said:

Burn it. Set up a justgiving page. Profit.

Still reading Grimbo's autobiography I see.

It's a best seller to be fair

[AyrTroopMajor]

1 hour ago, alta-pete said:

As others have said and adding:

1. I'd be surprised if a house that has stood for 10 years started substantially moving a year after you move in;

2. The Coal Report is a requirement for most of Ayrshire. You'd have had one done when you bought the house and clearly it didn't give your mortgage providers anything to worry about;

3. Smell of dampness - do you tend to have your windows closed most of the time? Modern houses do not 'breathe' like older ones. You need to actively encourage airflow particularly around the kitchen, bathroom and he regularly used bedrooms (ie, when you're in, have the windows open); The PnB 'windows down and heating up full blast' is actually good practical advice!

4. Is the door upvc or timber? if upvc it could simply have slipped out of alignment and needs a wee adjustment. If timber, as has been said, excessive moisture/poor painterwork can cause swelling and the need for a wee plane; 

5. The flooring - if laminate type stuff and the house is not adequately ventilated (see 3.) it will absorb moisture and expand. If the fitters did not leave expansion gaps it will cause the flooring to spring.

A year and a half really, but aye. The Coal thing is a good idea but we are very close to the sea so I don't think there would have been any mines in the area.

We do have our windows closed most of the time, but have the wee vents on the PVC open. Debatable how much air will get through that though to be fair. The door is timber so you could be right there. Thanks for your response, definitely some good points to take home to my stressed out other half. Cheers.

51 minutes ago, Widge said:

Would also ask what type of construction it is, given it’s 11 years old I’m going to assume it’s a timber frame? What’s the outside clad with, it is it rendered? There will usually be telltale signs around windows and door frames if it’s actually subsidence.

Given it’s all timber elements (assuming the door is) and you’re smelling damp, I’d be inclined to side with what others have said and suggest it’s a result of expansion and contraction with the materials rather than the foundations! Having seen similar in a building more than 10 times the age, it was a leaking pipe under the floor that had caused the flooring to warp and this had a knock on effect with the door. Depending on which floor is affected and your heating system that might be a simpler explanation.

It is a timber frame, concrete ground floor and suspended timber upper floor. Outside is rendered. Should have also mentioned, there is visible bowing in the wall on the stairs where the first floor meets the ground floor. There's a slight crack above the front door but unsure if its related.

The leaking pipe idea could be the right track. Our dishwasher has packed in and the disgusting water that was floating in it while we considered whether to get it fixed has somehow vanished, so there could be a leak. Thanks for your response, hopefully you're right!

[Archie McSquackle]

A leaking pipe (internal or the external downpipes from the gutter) can also lead to settlement due to washing away of the soil below the foundation. If you've got a concrete floor slab you can't check for this without getting a cctv survey done (the expense would probably mean going down the insurance route) but are there any signs of leaking downpipes. If it's as bad as you say, the first thing a structural engineer is going to do is instruct a trial pit to be dug to expose the foundation in the affected areas. Again, probably best putting this through the insurance but you might need an engineer's report identifying subsidence to submit to them.

[mizfit]

Check outside the property to see if there is any cracking that extends below the ground, usually that’s the main sign of subsidence.

Also check under windows if there is any.

Insurance companies might be happy to send someone out to inspect it, but usually that means setting up a claim for subsidence, if it came back it wasn’t subsidence you’ll have the enquiry on your insurance for 5 years minimal, can sometimes cause issues with getting cover elsewhere or even selling the home.

Best bet is to get a builder or structural engineer in first I’d say for the opinion before approaching your insurer.

[RH33]

Ask an engineer not a bunch football fans.

[Sergeant Wilson]

6 minutes ago, mizfit said:

Check outside the property to see if there is any cracking that extends below the ground, usually that’s the main sign of subsidence.

Also check under windows if there is any.

Shite house anyway if it's got no windows.I

He should ask his neighbour if he can check her crack.

[UsedToGoToCentralPark]

Ask an engineer not a bunch football fans.

Engineers are football fans too.

[mizfit]

Engineers are football fans too.

And some work in Insurance and have the same conversation everyday.

[Archie McSquackle]

What do the cracks look like. Settlement cracks are usually diagonal, stepped along brick coursing (mortar joints) and increase in width towards the bottom. What width are they and do they appear inside and out? A pencil line (and record of the date) across an internal crack in a discreet position allows you to monitor if it is worsening. Give it a few months and if the line has separated you should get an engineer in.

[gannonball]

19 hours ago, AyrTroopMajor said:

A year and a half really, but aye. The Coal thing is a good idea but we are very close to the sea 

Get it in the sea then.

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, MirandaR said:

solid tongue and groove style

I'm up for it!

[101]

Couldn't get anyone from my mortgage company yesterday, will they lend more than the home report value? And if not would they still need a 90% LtV rate? With me liable for the extra I want to bid?

[Honest_Man#1]

1 hour ago, 101 said:

Couldn't get anyone from my mortgage company yesterday, will they lend more than the home report value? And if not would they still need a 90% LtV rate? With me liable for the extra I want to bid?

For the first question, you’ll struggle to get one who will lend more than home report, it might be impossible to find actually as I’ve never seen it.

On the second one, yes you’ll need to pay the entire amount of anything over home report, but there are some places that offer >90% LTV, but the interest rates obviously rocket up accordingly.

[101]

36 minutes ago, Honest_Man#1 said:

For the first question, you’ll struggle to get one who will lend more than home report, it might be impossible to find actually as I’ve never seen it.

On the second one, yes you’ll need to pay the entire amount of anything over home report, but there are some places that offer >90% LTV, but the interest rates obviously rocket up accordingly.

Perfect thank!

[RH33]

The days of 110% mortgages are long gone!

[Scary Bear]

This is a very strange thread to read. Have multiple posts been deleted?

Starts off about subsidence finishes up talking about 110% mortgages. 

Is AyrTroopMajor’s house still standing?

@AyrTroopMajor

Edited August 28, 2020 by Scary Bear

[ICTChris]

We have sold our house and have had an offer accepted for one.  The property market in Edinburgh is going absolutely crazy, ours sold two days after the advert went live, we had people coming up to us in the driveway asking about it the day the sign went up.  Before we bought the house we had an offer in on one place that went to closing, we bid £20,000 more than the home report value but didn't get it.  Someone in my work told me that they knew of a neighbour who ended up paying £90,000 more than home report value for a new house.  

I saw a report on the BBC News yesterday that there's also a boom in house prices in rural Scotland, partially due to people wanting to move there and work from home, something thats obviously fairly attractive.  My wife can't work from home but if she could I'd happily go and live in the countryside, maybe commute into theoffice a couple of days a week.  In a previous job a guy I worked with lived on the Black Isle and commuted down to Edinburgh Monday morning, stayed ina  B&B until THursday night and then went home on Friday, working extended hours.  Ahead of his time.

[ICTChris]

2 minutes ago, MixuFruit said:

I've heard this from a few folk and not just Edinburgh. Why though? I have one couple of English pals who have sold up and moved to Scotland in anticipation of independence but I find it hard to believe more than a handful of people relatively speaking are doing it for that reason.

The rural properties & home working thing sounds very much more believable but it doesn't explain why city properties are selling so quickly just now. There's a glut of ex airbnbs trying to get near enough £1000 a month rent for a 2 bed flat as long term lets, and fewer and fewer people will be able to afford to pay this, so where is the demand coming from?

I think it's a combination of factors.  The tax break for the next year will drive a lot of people who have been mulling over moving in the next few years to do it now.  Also, the market was basically stopped for a few months so anyone who has been planning to move during that period has had to delay their move.  People stuck in their houses for all this time may have got sick of them and decided they want to move.  People whose work situations have changed (lost jobs, working from home full time etc) may have to sell their houses.  There's also a feeling that there's a huge economic downturn coming and people want to sell their houses before the values fall.  We made a profit on our house and we did think about holdin goff buying somewhere to see if the market falls but we aren't property speculators and need somewhere to live so didn't bother.

[101]

Looking for a bit of advice, trying to buy my first house everything my end has gone well and I'm ready to go, however, the people selling their house are pretty much uncontactable my lawyer has been chasing them up for well over a month with complete silence. Their solicitor won't even say if they have signed any paperwork, I suspect they are trying to delay things so they can buy, but I've given them a fair wack over the valuation, more than enough for a month or 2 in rent and even if they asked to delay the process allowing them to buy I would have probably agreed but now they are just taking the piss. Has anyone had a similar experience and did you get it sorted?