Would you buy a house near a river?

ukcarper

Being next to a river is not always a problem. In the 1968 floods in Surrey my friends house which was about 50 feet from the river did not flood while property half a mile from the river did.

murphydog999

Strapped wrote: »

The very fact that you are wondering about it means that, when you come to sell, other buyers will be put off too.

Hmmmm. That's another good point.

thegirlintheattic

The fact these changes have been made to the house suggest it has flooded badly in the past; otherwise it is usually uneconomical to do the work.

I would not buy it, especially as flood risk is set to increase over the next few decades.

murphydog999

We have decided, the search continues........

SailorSam

I'd love to live overlooking a river, but after seeing some of the floods we've had i'd be taking a lot more care before buying.

DVardysShadow

murphydog999 wrote: »

........ and even after all the downpours this year, the level was only to the bottom of the garden - which is about 25/30mts away from the house.

I know you have decided. But I will just make the point that the horizontal distance is not as significant a factor as the vertical distance

dizziblonde

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I know you have decided. But I will just make the point that the horizontal distance is not as significant a factor as the vertical distance

Sounds like where my parents live - the house is so elevated within the plot of land that the highest water has ever got is to the very bottom of the drive. They still came up against the insurance issue for a while - took them getting a broker to do some serious ringing around to get somewhere to look on actual reality and not blanket postcode flood risk.

Personally - it's not for me, the access issues, compounded with the local youths hanging around on the "quiet" riverbank make all summer mildly annoying, plus the young couples getting car windows steamy most evenings parked up along the riverbank put me off much more than any percieved flood risk.

HappyMJ

murphydog999 wrote: »

Thanks all. I have a copy of the vendors current buildings and contents insurance, so no problem there, although it's more expensive than our current one, it's certainly not eye-watering.

The other measures that have been mentioned have already been done. Ceramic floors, sockets and electrics further up the walls, plus the small wall flood defence around the property has a 1.25 depth underground, as well as being higher than any other previous flood recorded, and the construction has been authorised and verified by the environment agency.

What are the river levels like? a 1 in 75 year chance is a bit risky but precauctions have been taken. As long as you have a plan in place to move everything to higher ground within a short period of time (i.e an hour or two) then it should be OK.

phoebe1989seb

We bought our 200+ year old house with a river running across the bottom of the garden last year. It is approximately 75m from the house and there are steps down from the terrace to the lawn and then this slopes gradually towards the waters edge, although I'm not sure how much higher the house is than the water level.

There is no history of flooding at all in our area though - we know this because prior to us buying the house, someone had applied for planning permission to build a house in the garden of the neighbouring property (which he owned but doesn't live in) and he was turned down for a number of reasons. One objection was on the grounds of the proximity of the river and the likelihood of flooding - the new-build would have been within 25m - but the council stated that there had never been any flooding in the area so would not refuse PP for that reason......although he was ultimately refused anyway

We have recently had to change insurers and had an increase in our premiums, but ths is because we are in a thatch rather than because of the river.........

With all the rain of late we have noticed the river level rising and the lower end of our lawn has been very damp, but it hasn't burst its banks at all.

Also, we are fortunate not to have to worry about kids hanging around the riverbank, because the other side of the river are watercress beds and the land is private We do have a very inquisitive and adventurous puppy though, who regularly disappears upstream and we have to wade in after him, lol!

Previously we had been unsure about buying a house close to a watercourse with all the floods in recent years, but it does definitely depend on a number of factors and in our case the proximity of the river is not an issue.........

LeafGreen

the thing with insurance is that it may be OK now, but what if underwriting criteria change a few years down the line and it becomes un-insurable, hence un-mortgageable, and unsellable (without significant reduction in price).