Mortgage declined after disclosing historic subsidence – anyone experienced this?
Hi all, looking for some advice or similar experiences.
My wife and I are in the process of buying a semi-detached house in South London. Early in the conveyancing process the seller disclosed that there had been historic subsidence over 30 years ago, affecting the front porch.
Because of how long ago it was, the seller couldn’t provide any original paperwork, so they commissioned a structural engineer’s report. That report stated the property is structurally sound and mortgageable. Our building survey also showed only minor standard hairline cracks for victorian houses and no on going movement.
Alongside this, our lender carried out an in-person valuation and initially issued us a mortgage offer.
Our solicitor formally notified the lender about the historic subsidence (as they’re legally obliged to). Since then, the lender has withdrawn the original mortgage offer and down-valued the property (we’re still waiting to find out by how much).
This has all come as a bit of a shock and is pretty stressful as we were due to exchange this week and only found out a few days before.
Has anyone been through something similar?
Is this likely to result in a nil valuation, or just a reduced one?
Do lenders sometimes reverse decisions like this with more information, or is it usually final?
Would trying a different lender be the best next step? The rates atm are about 1.5% higher than what we got in January!
Any advice or experiences would be hugely appreciated.