Everything gone

[Phil]

I have been a bit quiet of late on the forums. I have good reason for this.

A few years ago my wife inherited our house.

Until last week that is.

Cracks appeared above the bedroom window and door and above the landing window. The bedroom door was hard to sticking slightly. It was obvious that the whole front of the house had dropped by a couple of mm. What do you do? You phone your insurers of course. So I did.

Then I walked around the house and noticed gaps between the flags in my yard. It looks like the drains have collapsed. The cost of repairing drains isn't included in the insurance policy and would run to over £10 grand but I would be happy to pay that. The situation is much, much worse.

The water from them is the reason for the house movement. They have obviously been leaking for years and the land under the houses is basically mud into which the houses are sinking. Unfortunately there is an exclusion clause in my insurance policy for subsidance caused by water escape from the home which includes the drains. The houses are not covered by insurance.

The loss adjuster is coming out next Tuesday. I suspect he will spot the broken drains immediately and that will be that. The insurance will not pay and we will be the owner of a worthless, dangerous and unsaleable house we cannot afford to repair.

So from a family with a great future we are likely to end up looking for somewhere to rent, We can't afford to pay £500 a month rent for a house in a semi-decent area on my wage so we will probably end up in some rotten sink estate with ASBO neighbours. I don't think there is anything recoverable from this situation.

I havn't eaten or slept since I found that exclusion clause. I am prone to attacks of shaking, get chest pains and the lack of food and sleep mean I feel close to collapse. I am unable to function as my thoughts are always on the situation I find myself in. My wifes blood pressure which was under control has shot up, she keeps having angina attacks and is at risk of a stroke. This couldn't have come at a worse time as my kids are halfway through uni and could do without any massive changes to home life.

Please, please check your drains and insurance policies. Don't end up like me.

God help us,

[Jack Kane]

Phil, I can't think of anything to say to help your situation at all, other than I'm thinking of you all and I hope there will be some kind of positive outcome from it all. Maybe there is something you have not spotted that the loss adjuster will.

Keep your chin up and keep us informed how you get on.

[Ian Rienewerf]

Bad news Phil,
Two doors down said it was accidental damage which broke their drains - new fencing or something trivial.
So maybe something can be salvaged out of the mess.

If that explanation don't work, you maybe able to get the houses rebuilt to a higher spec, then sell one or two off to pay the bills.
Either way it's a bad time to have the rug pulled from under your feet.
You have my best wishes.

[superscaff75]

phil i cant help but think there is more to this problem than dodgy drains, for the houses to suddenly drop after all these years , also if the drains are so bad the earth around them so wet that houses are sinking you would surely have noticed or at least a nieghbour possibly while gardening , also the problem must be effecting something or someone close by it has to be as water finds its own natural level. if i were you i would forget bout drains for now and investigate what deveopments have been happening in your area over the past decade houses, roads, industry, quarrying , land clearance or landfill then cross reference this information with the local lands natural waterways, water tables also i only vaguely remember a conversation with some chap with a similar problem as you who had remote control cctv surveys of the drains and sewer systems near him , the results of the investigation were amazing it proved mother nature was the culprit some of the older parts of the system literally had trees growing through it what had been small plants years ago were now huge trees with massive roots growing in, on and through causing collapses and blockages, also check for old mine works which may possibly be struggling with our change in weather even just different methods of farming or types of crops grown could be to blame.

only you know the area phil , type of ground and lay of the land around the said properties unless you live in low land or poss a natural bowl like area , water always heads towards sea level wether it is heavy soil, clay, rock or even granite water finds its level the type of ground only determines how fast it gets to its level . find some older people born and bred in the area especially farmers or outdoor type of people and ask questions, advice, their views on past and present , what used to be there thats not now, what used to be done thats not now etc etc

i hope everything works out for you phil, your answers to peoples posts on here were always full of good facts dates regs laws times methods and always presented as you find them written in original form. i know its easier said than done but put this to the back of your mind.then try to look and think of this problem logically, from different angles and most importantly think with your head not your heavy heart . i wish you good luck and if possible will ask some people advice for you

[ScottD]

Nothing more to be said Phil except remember your health, you won't be much use to your wife or kids of you do not look after yourself.

keep us updated mate, just as a sounding board if nothing else, they say it helps to get it off your chest.

[WillPool]

Phil

So sorry to hear your bad news.

I cant add much more than has already been said.

Hope it works out for you and if you need anything, give me a holler

[Coolcat]

I really do hope that it is not as bad as you think. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your wife.

[Lisa_]

The only positive I have to offer is my thoughts and hopes.

Thinking of you and yours

L

[Alexis]

Dear Phil, I am so sad to hear this. Scaffy has come up with some good suggestions there which may help you look outside the box as it were.

I can understand how you, your Wife and family feel destroyed at the moment, but perhaps the loss adjuster will have a few different ideas.

I don't know how to console you at the moment, but please just know that I will say a little prayer for you all with lots of meaning attached to it.

Look after your health Phil.

[hazelina]

I can't think of anything more useful to add to what everyone else has said. Except to reiterate that this is an awful (economic) time fro this to happen, although there could never be a good time for it to happen.

The best I can say is to look after your (and your family's) health and happiness. There may not be much to be happy aboutjust now but if you still have your health and love each other then financial crises can be weathered and, eventually, overcome.I know that sounds a bit rubbish but (to quote a good friend of mine) I wasn't always a millionaire!!! And to quote lots of hippies "money can't buy love or happiness" (to quote me "it can surely help though")

My best wishes to you and yours and the very best of luck.
Keep fighting, no matter how bad it gets...

[superscaff75]

no wonder my fingers were sore this morning , i could talk under water have you seen what time it was aswell. Anyway back to basics phil im all over this problem of yours like a rash im googling everything and anything i can think of and speaking to mates in the civils engineering sector and some who work for enviromental and water board, i must have had a whole google server nearing meltdown by 2 am this morn (up for work at 6 am) but i now need some info from you , its not very personal stuff but you may want to pm which is ok im only really asking the questions publicly on the board so others may add questions i have not thought of or point things out that i might or might not know basically so anyone who wants to help can , obviously it goes without saying anything you pm me stays with me. im only saying this as when i clicked on your username you havnt put your location or anything down at all, for all i know you could be 500 yrds down the road.

questions
a) your location (as close as you can )
b)when the properties were built
c)type of properties ( terrace, semi etc)
d)what surrounds your properties( when you look north what do you see, south,east,west)
e)what are properties built on
f)what is the water like ( hard or soft)
g)describe local area ( rural, urban, flattish, hilly, etc)
h)main type of industry over last 25 yrs or so (mining, textiles,pottery,farming)
i)what is the ground made up of in your opinion down to poss 10 mtrs
j)is there many waterways, springs or lakes or resevoirs nearby

thats bout it for now, some questions will answer themselves once we have location and stuff, also when did the movement start happening as most people i have spoken to think like me why now if houses been there long time without movement, the flash flooding we now see reguarly is highlighting how man has upset natures drainage balance the estate i live on is 5 yrs old for the 1st 3 yrs 4 properties around the corner had floodwater problems due to field drainage i live in a village , 20 yrs ago 2 fields up from the estate there used to be a wet marshy kind of area which was reguarly used by various people to dump non household rubbish like rubble, soil, clay building rubbish type stuff and it eventually disappeared now you can walk over it an its just like a grass field, but it hasnt really gone has it all the older generation know and told the developer they would have water problems if they didnt put drainage in the field. because the marsh is still there isnt it , its probably about 8ft below ground now so during wet weather it doesnt soak water up as it now has a ceiling so the water still does what comes natural and heads down the field under ground till it surfaces where there was once a ditch, that ditch is now not maintained so doesnt do what it was that it did steer the water towards the stream (which is now dry) the water for the first 3 yrs literally washed the gardens including patios and paving away and the water crashed down between the houses and the estate road used to look like a fast flowing river, i might poss be able to get some video footage of it if i can i will try to post it for all to see. the point im making is you could have water being forced under your properties phil.

you may find this worth a read http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/p ... urance.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and this http://www.bgs.ac.uk/britainbeneath/haz_soluble.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Phil]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. I am waiting until tuesday to see what the loss adjuster says.