Q&A

The Irish Times Property Desk answers some of your property queries.

A survey mentioned subsidence

A survey of a house I am interested in mentioned that there is evidence of subsidence. If I go ahead with the purchase will I be able to get insurance? I have been reading about subsidence in the UK property press and it appears to be a minefield.

Subsidence is a bigger issue in the UK than it is here, because (very) broadly speaking whole swathes of houses there, and particularly in London, are built on clay. Here, we're mostly sitting on rock.

The dry summer in the UK has caused particular subsidence problems and the insurance industry there has formalised structures for assessing and costing insurance quotes in these cases.

Here, according to the Irish Insurance Federation, insurance for a house with subsidence is not impossible to get, but it might be difficult.

When you go looking for a quote, the minute you declare (and you are legally obliged to) subsidence then the quote process is likely to slow down considerably. Before quoting, the insurance company will request a structural engineer's report including a drainage report (at your expense).

A lot of subsidence is the result of leaking drains. Maybe the subsidence has been repaired, or maybe it's of a type that is unlikely to occur again.

Factors such as these will influence their decision to quote you or not. You may, for example, get a cover for your house that excludes subsidence, or has an excess typically of around €1,000.

As you can see it is going to depend hugely on the house in question and the extent of the problem.

A note through the door

A note from an estate agent came in to my mother's house in Dublin 14. It appeared to be handwritten, on a plain white piece of paper and it suggested (and named) three people who might be interested in buying her house. She phoned and was told that the note did not relate to her house specifically but, if she was interested in selling, she should contact that particular auctioneer. Surely this is an inappropriate way to contact people?

Auctioneers are always trying to sign up new clients and in the recent years they have taken to using mail shots - they usually arrive at just about the same time as mail from the local pizzeria and double glazers.

Usually these are printed and are clearly identifiable as such - with the company logo, details of previous sales and so on - in these cases it's clear what's going on.

We contacted the agent involved, Gannon Real Estate in Dundrum, and the manager there said that it was simply a way of drumming up business.

He also said that the note stated that their clients were interested in other houses in the area, not just the one that received the flyer. Agents are always trying to get a foot in the door and this flyer was a way of doing that (though really it would have been more transparent if it had included the word "advertisement" somewhere).

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.