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Flooding in cellar?

anonmum
anonmum Posts: 67 Forumite
First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
in House buying, renting & selling
hi,
My sellers have revealed on property info form that the cellar in the house I am buying has flooded once, 5 years ago, due to ground water. They say this has only happened once in the 15 years they have lived there.
I have a surveyor going in next week anyway (whom I have asked to take a particularly close look at the cellar) and I have raised an enquiry through my solicitor to ask sellers as to the depth of the flood water/damage caused etc etc.
Anyone got any thoughts/opinions or bought/lived in a house that the cellar has flooded in?

Many thanks,

anonmum x
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Comments

  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,871 Forumite
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    Flooding in cellars can have very little effect on the house above.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    It would probably be quite an unusual house if the cellar hadn't ever flooded to a modest depth at some point.

    I dare say there are houses built on steep well-drained hills that have dry cellars, but anyone who understands the nature of ground water and the heights it can rise to in a wet winter, will know that expensive tanking is usually needed to keep it out in all circumstances.

    If there has been 'damage' it will probably have been because the previous owners had unrealistic expectations when using the cellar for storage. There will be the odd rogue year, like 2012/13 was for my area, when springs opened-up that I'd not seen before.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,801 Forumite
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    As above, it really isn't unusual. People can have unrealistic expectations.

    Having bought and worked on many houses with cellars, the same cellar can go from appearing dry to puddles appearing or indeed, flooding through a year.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • paddyandstumpy
    paddyandstumpy Posts: 1,486 Forumite
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    You'll have to disclose to any insurer the property has flooded, you'll struggle to get mainstream cover.

    Try getting some quotes beforehand.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,801 Forumite
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    edited 2 October 2017 at 8:33AM
    paddyandstumpy wrote: »
    You'll have to disclose to any insurer the property has flooded, you'll struggle to get mainstream cover.

    Try getting some quotes beforehand.

    The property hasn't flooded. The cellar does. It's normal, being underground and provides no more risk than the house next door without a cellar who would
    know no difference when the water table rises. Telling an insurer that the property floods is asking for problems.

    You shouldn't keep anything in a cellar that you don't want to get damp anyway. It's an inappropriate environment for most things and it doesn't take long for things to get mouldy.

    I've worked in countless houses with cellars and virtually every one is affected in some way. Some even have wells in them! My in laws have had a house in the centre of Birmingham for 40 years where the cellar floods on occasion nowhere near ground level. The houses never had.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • paddyandstumpy
    paddyandstumpy Posts: 1,486 Forumite
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    Doozergirl wrote: »
    The property hasn't flooded. The cellar does. It's normal, being underground and provides no more risk than the house next door without a cellar who would
    know no difference when the water table rises. Telling an insurer that the property floods is asking for problems.

    So you're telling me the cellar isn't part of the property?

    If the insurer asks "has the property ever flooded?" the answer is yes, which will throw up red flags in the mainstream market.

    If you're suggesting not disclosing to an insurer of a property's flood history, that's poor advice. Just wait for the OP's thread "insurer voided my policy and won't cover my claim due to non-disclosure"

    Any cellar should be adequately flood proofed to prevent ingress of water. Sounds like in this case the cellar wasn't, however the flood has occurred and is disclosable.
  • Rambosmum
    Rambosmum Posts: 2,445 Forumite
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    paddyandstumpy wrote: »
    You'll have to disclose to any insurer the property has flooded, you'll struggle to get mainstream cover.

    Try getting some quotes beforehand.



    Our cellar floods (according to previous owners) only once in the 23yrs they lived there (2013). We declared to insurance on a comparison site and had no trouble getting quotes, no special terms but around £80 more expensive.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    paddyandstumpy wrote: »

    Any cellar should be adequately flood proofed to prevent ingress of water. Sounds like in this case the cellar wasn't, however the flood has occurred and is disclosable.
    Just this sentence alone shows how poor your understanding is here.

    Have you any idea how much it costs to tank a cellar? It simply isn't worth it unless it's being used as habitable space. If it is, fair enough, it should come within the bounds of insurance, but if it's low quality storage then there's nothing to insure against, because nothing of value will be placed there and the fabric of the building won't be harmed by the temporary ingress of some water.

    Nothing wrong with getting some insurance quotes, however, to see how the insurers regard the building currently.
  • paddyandstumpy
    paddyandstumpy Posts: 1,486 Forumite
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    Davesnave wrote: »
    Just this sentence alone shows how poor your understanding is here.

    I have nearly a decade as a Property Underwriter, I'm comfortable I know what I am talking about.

    Yes it's an expense, I'm not questioning or challenging that; I'm suggesting that not disclosing a flooding at the property could give the insurer a reason to avoid cover, leaving the OP uninsured.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,801 Forumite
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    paddyandstumpy wrote: »
    So you're telling me the cellar isn't part of the property?

    If the insurer asks "has the property ever flooded?" the answer is yes, which will throw up red flags in the mainstream market.

    If you're suggesting not disclosing to an insurer of a property's flood history, that's poor advice. Just wait for the OP's thread "insurer voided my policy and won't cover my claim due to non-disclosure"

    Any cellar should be adequately flood proofed to prevent ingress of water. Sounds like in this case the cellar wasn't, however the flood has occurred and is disclosable.

    This being the problem, you clearly don't understand houses. At all.

    There is absolutely no need for a cellar to be damp proofed. In fact, that causes a potentially much larger headache for insurers when people take cellars for granted. Old houses are designed to breath and cellars allowed to be wet.

    A cellar flooding does not make the house above ground a flood risk. I won't hold my breath for the 'help, my house flooded because I didn't tank my cellar' thread.

    Post above also shows that insurance isn't a problem even through comparison sites. Just answering 'yes' to the property flooding though is ridiculous when no claim ever need be made for a flooded cellar, clearly different above ground. Even then, people do get cover by mainstream insurers after floods affecting their living space. Our previous house flooded a few years before we purchased it and there was no problem - again, through a comparison site, several times.

    Your advice is scaremongering. Incorrect on both counts - mainstream insurers and how to treat cellars.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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