Property is with 50m of potential flood risk

crazygal_2

We have received an environmental search report/certificate from the solicitors. At the bottom it says 'the site is located within 50m of potential surface water flooding'.

I am worried and dont know if this means that we should not buy the property??? Does anyone have any advice please?

Its all very confusing and im not sure if this means a high risk etc?

Thanks

Sam

Gleeful

We had this, and we didn't buy the property as insurance was too high.

DVardysShadow

crazygal wrote: »

... it says 'the site is located within 50m of potential surface water flooding'.

This is a classic unhelpful and worse than useless statement. What matters with flooding is the vertical distance every time. You could be 500m away horizontally, but just 0.1m above the flood risk level and be at far more risk than being 15m away horizontally and 5m above the flood risk level. It is a very lazy - or worse, a very ignorant way of making a flood risk assessment.

In your position, I would be sending the report back to the solicitor, making a comment based on my first paragraph and complaining that the flood risk assessment is not fit for purpose.

Richard_Webster

This is a classic unhelpful and worse than useless statement. What matters with flooding is the vertical distance every time. You could be 500m away horizontally, but just 0.1m above the flood risk level and be at far more risk than being 15m away horizontally and 5m above the flood risk level. It is a very lazy - or worse, a very ignorant way of making a flood risk assessment.

In your position, I would be sending the report back to the solicitor, making a comment based on my first paragraph and complaining that the flood risk assessment is not fit for purpose.

I agree with these sentiments.

However, very occasionally you can get flooding from surface water coming from a higher level. If a stream overflows its banks the water may chose a more direct route downwards and that could be through your house. It is unlikely but sometimes possible.

As a solicitor if I get this sort of comment on a environmental search I simply forward a copy together with the Environmental Agency 1:10000 Floodrisk plan (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/37837.aspx) with the comment that the client could have a further Floodrisk report with more details of the risk factors. Most poeple look at the Env Agency plan and can't see any possibility of nearby flooding as suggested by the Environmental Search and ignore it. Thing is as solicitors we have to do this kind of thing simply because every now and again there is a problem later on down the track and we can get blamed for not flagging it up.

DPJames

It's not very forthcoming with detail is it. Is the risk from a burst river bank or just surface water gathering in a dip after a heavy downpour?

DVardysShadow

Richard_Webster wrote: »

... However, very occasionally you can get flooding from surface water coming from a higher level. If a stream overflows its banks the water may chose a more direct route downwards and that could be through your house. It is unlikely but sometimes possible.

I take your point, but even in this case a 'safe' looking horizontal separation of say 250 m would be hiding a negative height above the water in question ...

ItMightBeUsefulOneDay

crazygal wrote: »

I am worried and dont know if this means that we should not buy the property??? Does anyone have any advice please?

Go on-line and do a home insurance quote on the house. Remember that if the house cannot be insured, you won't get a mortgage on it either. Do NOT rely on the current occupier (EA or any other interested party) telling you they have insurance on it and it's fine.

Be careful, it sounds like the survey is doing a bit of **se covering in case your new home fills with water. While this might be an over-reaction in these litigation infested times, it might not.

Gleeful

ItMightBeUsefulOneDay wrote: »

Go on-line and do a home insurance quote on the house. Remember that if the house cannot be insured, you won't get a mortgage on it either. Do NOT rely on the current occupier (EA or any other interested party) telling you they have insurance on it and it's fine.

We had this. The current owner was very patronising to us over the insurance. We genuinely only found one place willing to insure us. They obviously hadn't declared the flood risk when they insured it. The seller was trying to hammer the sale through as quickly as possible, ringing alarm bells for us!

We pulled out. The house went back up for sale. It was Sold STC a while back, then back up for sale again a few days ago....

SuperBOB

I just bought a house in a floodplain, both home report & independent valuation did not flag it up.