Saturday, November 19, 2011

Do I need to have environmental checks for contaminated land on my new house?

Do I need to have environmental checks for contaminated land on my new house? The solictor has shown it as optional on the forms. I don't really understand what will happen tothe outcome of the search anyway. We have done a free search online which says the house is likely to have been built on a landfill and it's near and use for industrial purposes. Do I need to pay the solicitor to confirm this? What is done with the result?





I have seen some people who have posted to forums worrying that their mortgage lender will withdraw the offer due to results of such checks, but then why are they optional? Will the mortgage lender also do these checks as part of their survey?





Please help!

Do I need to have environmental checks for contaminated land on my new house?
don't buy the house if it's on contaminated land
Reply:1. Any checks which will affect the mortgage lender's decision will be carried out as a matter of course. The mortgage lender is very unlikely to do their own surveys.





2. What detail did this online search have? A landfill site underneath doesn't sound good, but was it landfill from household waste or just rubble from a motorway cutting they made 30 years ago? You don't need to worry about rubble under your house (except with the possibility of subsidence). A proper environmental check will tell you what is in the landfill, and whether or not to worry about it.





Assuming it's not too expensive, it's probably worth your while to make sure the house is a) safe and b) therefore not a poor investment.
Reply:How new is the house you are seriously wanting to buy?


Developers are now supposed to decontaminate the land as part of deal to extract permission to build. Yet only the good established developer will overcome the profit motive and do so - as most developers will not be around when the problems surface.


If the site was filled more than 10 years ago the ground would have subsided by now, although you will still face higher house insurance charges.


However the main question you have to answer is "Will I be happy and safe to live there?" Governments for the past 300+ years have been promoting the irresponsible "out of sight - out of mind" attitude to resource management resulting in health hazards from chemical cocktails.


Move elsewhere. Do not let the constraints of your current circumstances impinge on your life or right to beHappy.
Reply:Your mortgage lender may require this and you will have to pay for the survey.





You may also run into problems with buildings insurance if the property has been built on a landfill site as this may cause movement in future of the building and you cannot get insurance for this





Think wisely before you commit yourself to this purchase - get the report - if the report states that there is no chance of movement in the future you will be OK as you can send a copy of this report to any future insurance company and get buildings coverage- This would also give you "peace of mind" know that in the future your walls will not crack etc in a few years time - good luck
Reply:In the UK I don't think the mortgage lender ever requests to see the results of those checks. They are usually just interested in their surveyors opinion on the value of the property.





It might be worth getting them done though just for your peace of mind. It could affect the resale value if the land is contaminated not to mention the health hazard issue!
Reply:Well, you should be careful. I would check for contamination - even if it is optional. If you buy a house on contaminated land you may not be able to sell it in 3 or 4 years time.





If these tests become compulsory--- sooner or later they will-- any future buyer will find out from a test and you will not be able to sell.





Around here some houses built on the site of a former gasworks, are now virtually unsellable.


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