Geobear subsidence checker: how to use the free result

A district screen answers an area question

The Geobear checker takes the first part of a postcode, such as a district, and a response about nearby trees. Its own page limits the tool to England and Wales and explains that the result uses regional and generalised soil data. That can help someone discover that ground conditions deserve attention. It cannot distinguish the foundations of two neighbouring houses. Sharing a postcode with a recorded problem is not proof of damage, and a low regional rating cannot certify an individual building.

What the tree question adds, and what it cannot add

Asking about trees introduces information about the property that a regional soil map does not contain. It is still a customer's observation rather than a measured arboricultural or structural assessment. A yes/no answer does not establish root behaviour, foundation depth or drainage condition. When viewing, record what you actually see and ask for relevant history. Do not turn a tool's tree answer into an instruction to remove vegetation or commission remedial work without appropriate advice. The practical benefit is knowing which questions need a better source of evidence.

Comparing the datasets fairly

HouseCheckup's tool displays the available BGS ground bands, recorded landslide context and mining-risk information with their source descriptions. Those datasets also have limitations: a GeoSure cell is an area, a mining-risk polygon is not a shaft survey, and an unavailable response is not a clean bill of health. It would be misleading to call this an address-level engineering diagnosis merely because the user entered a postcode. The useful comparison is whether each tool tells you what geographical unit its result describes and which investigation remains outstanding.

A checker and a repair service have different roles

Geobear's main service is ground engineering, so a customer can move from its educational content to an assessment or a discussion of repair options. HouseCheckup sells desk reports and does not provide that repair service. That difference should be visible when choosing a next step. We have not audited Geobear's site work or compared repair quotations, and this page does not rate workmanship. Confirm the scope, qualifications, terms and proposed investigation directly with any professional you engage.

What a HouseCheckup report can establish

HouseCheckup combines the available official-source risk maps, property records and area context for a chosen address. A person reviews the report before it is emailed. A score using 6 factors is shown where sufficient data is available; missing checks are identified. Sold-price records are context, not a valuation. Planning designations are not a complete planning-application history. Ground and radon bands describe mapped areas rather than measurements of the building. Neither a postcode match nor a reassuring score proves that a property has no defects.

Our current purchase options are Lite £9.99 and Complete £24.99, paid once. We do not promise an automated valuation, title register, owner names, a contaminated-land liability opinion or a CON29M search. A physical survey and the legal searches requested by a solicitor serve different purposes. Check the illustrative sample and current offer and delivery terms before ordering.

If you are checking a purchase rather than a repair

Keep a written list of the evidence you still need: what the seller says happened, any investigation or repair records, and what an appropriate professional recommends. Our free ground-stability tool and MyPropertyScan source comparison explain two other ways online data may be presented. More map layers can improve the background to a conversation, but they cannot supply the missing physical investigation themselves.