If you have had searches carried out on your property, and have found there to be a risk of ground movement occurring, you can work through the following steps: 

 

• Full Structural Survey – 

 

If not already carried out, you may wish to instruct the services of a surveyor to inspect the property. This would involve them looking to the ground and providing an opinion in terms of ground movement. 

 

• Enquiries of your Conveyancing Solicitor – 

 

As part of the pre-contract stage, your solicitor will review all relevant documentation, together with the results of your searches/survey and raise the necessary queries with the seller’s solicitor in connection with the same. This gives your solicitor the opportunity to obtain further information on your behalf in this regard. As examples, they may ask whether the sellers have experienced any issues with ground movement and whether insurance premiums have been adversely affected as a result. If, at this stage, you have any specific queries you can raise these with your solicitor who can aim to deal with the same via the enquiries. 

 

• Physical Inspection – 

 

No doubt you have already visited the property a number of times; you are intending to purchase it, after all. Amidst deliberating on where your favourite picture frame or lamp may be positioned when you move in, we doubt that inspecting the property in terms of ground movement would be something you have previously looked on. If, on physical inspection, you can noticeably see ground movement that has taken place, you are better equipped in making a decision on proceeding with the purchase. 

 

• Further Investigation – 

 

Following a risk which has been identified, you may wish to instruct your conveyancing solicitor to conduct further searches on your behalf. Our solicitors in Preston can instruct our search providers to carry out an infrastructure report, which would provide further information on this issue. 

Ground movement may not be fatal to the property, however, where identified should be something that you consider when purchasing. If, therefore, you are experiencing issues MG Legal’s solicitors in Preston are here to help you in carrying out further risk assessment to determine whether you proceed. 

 

This was the case in one recent case our property solicitors in Preston dealt with, where there was a risk of ground movement occurring, rated as a low risk. This issue was revealed within the search results and raised within our search report. Our team outlined the issue, and the options the clients had in overcoming the same. The following steps were then taken: 

 

- The clients carried out a further physical inspection, where there was no striking evidence that any ground movement had occurred. 

 

- Our property solicitors, acting on behalf of the clients, raised enquiries with the seller’s solicitor to determine whether any issues had previously been experienced in this regard, to which the response was ‘no’. 

 

- The clients made enquiries with proposed insurance providers to investigate whether the premium they would pay may be increased. This, however, had no bearing on the quote they were supplied with. 

 

- Based on the above steps taken, the clients decided not to proceed with any further investigation in terms of further reports and/or surveys. Once the clients confirmed that they were satisfied in this regard, the purchase proceeded and swiftly progressed to Completion of the purchase, with two very happy clients in their new home. 

 

We understand that you want to be in that new home as soon as is possible, and our expert team will do all we can to ensure this happens with ease. 

 

If you are proposing to purchase a property, contact MG Legal and our conveyancing team will be on hand to help you through the process. Get in touch today at enquires@mglegal.co.uk.