My partner and I have been looking at a property on a relatively steep sloping block in the Victorian mountains, and today the junior sales agent let it slip that the property has had underpinning!
Is underpinning on such a block something that should stop us from making the purchase? Is this something that would need to be done again in the future, and at much expense given the slope of the block?
The property is already expensive (perhaps the owner wants to recoup his structural expenses?) – so we are weary of purchasing something that may need vast sums of money down at it in the future.
Thoughts? Should we just walk away?
Hi Citizen,
My best mate has just bought his first home (PPOR) and it needs underpinning because of the movement in the Adelaide Hills. It has cracked the slab badly in some areas with noticeable slopes/fall away in a couple of rooms. My understanding after talking to him about it is once it is done its all good. It needs to be engineered properly though as its a massive job.
For yourself, make sure you ask all about it. What has been done and why. Chase up the engineering documents so that you can see its been done properly and by someone qualified. Even find out who the company was that did it and chat to them. Underpinning is definitely something an agent should tell you about if you are planning on buying a property.
IMO, it shouldn't have to be a deal breaker as long as you do your research and fully understand the situation.
Good Luck.
Mikal
Citizen wrote:Thoughts? Should we just walk away?Yep. There's never a guarantee that site re-engineering will solve a problem indefinitely. Hillside properties (especially steep ones) with existing problems are potential bankruptcies in the making.
You need to go to the enth degree with DD when it comes to hillside properties.
Thanks Freckle – that what I was fearing. Better to have asked, than to have bought a potential disaster.
Ill ask for full documentation of what work has been undertaken, and also try to speak to the contractor responsible for the work. If I don't like what I hear, then we will walk.
Pity, it is a stunning property. Better to have a small heartbreak now, than a crippling one later, I suppose.
In general, should steep sloping sites be avoided altogether, because of the potential for future structural movement?
There are exceptions to the rule but in general you buy on the hill for status and view. Don't misconstrue that for lifestyle because managing and caring for a hillside property is a bitch and expensive. Subies will charge 3 – 5 times normal because of access and safety issues. Hill side construction is multiples higher than flat land properties consequently ROI usually sucks big time.
Thanks for your sobering advice Freckle, that all makes perfect sense. I was sure that any work done a hillside property would cost more – but I wasn't quite sure of the exact degree.
Your warning is heeded, and we will (or will not) proceed with extreme caution. ROI is, of course, a key concern (we're not here to burn money).
i owe you one, buddy. Thank you.
Just to screw with your head places like inner Sydney can be that exception. Geologically it sits on a sandstone base with a clay overlay in parts. Many of the inlets and bays are sandstone which makes them extremely stable but expensive to build on. So combined with stable land and lots of water access with views the assumptions have to change. I've seen builds where they've spent 2 mil in site prep to build a million dollar house. Access to some is so precarious you can only get to them by water, inclinators or lifts. Because of water, views and stable sandstone foundations there is a completely different market view of Sydney hillside residential. Much of Sydney is hills so it's a taken when the market looks at prospective properties. Virtually all the high end of the market are on hills.
Freckle wrote:Just to screw with your head places like inner Sydney can be that exception. Geologically it sits on a sandstone base with a clay overlay in parts. Many of the inlets and bays are sandstone which makes them extremely stable but expensive to build on.and they still build on waffle pods!
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Thanks for the tips guys.
What's a waffle pod?
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