House in flood high risk area

zacattack_2

We are in the process of buying a house and our solicitors have done a flood search and discovered the area is considered to be high risk for flooding - we have already gotten insurance quotes and they seem reasonable so it doesn't seem to have a major bearing on that element.

We have asked our solicitors to find out via the seller's solicitor if the property has ever been flooded or ever been issued with a flood warning from the Environment Agency/local authority - is there anything else we should consider?

Thanks
Jason

evoke

I had a high risk of surface flooding but it made no difference to my buildings insurance. As a precaution, I did pay for a "Homecheck Professional Flood Risk Report" online and that was emailed to me the same day in PDF form. It showed the risk as some distance away from my property and it's never really bothered me.

Your solicitor would normally recommend you get a full-blown flood risk report (which costs additional money) - most of the info you'll need for insurance purposes will be in that report.

Of course, all this depends on the exact type of flood risk that your potential home is under.

lincroft1710

Look for obvious causes of any flood, e.g. near a river, brook, stream or lake and property not much above the level of the banks; in a valley. If the property is a long way from a water source or is situated well above water level then less likelihood of flooding.

Remember that Environment Agency's charts are on the pessimistic side. Also remember that a sudden and prolonged "monsoon" type downpour can cause a flood if the storm drains are inadequate and can't cope.