Would you buy a house near a river?

namecheck

grahamgoo wrote: »

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).

Yes, exactly. Like most other posters I would not buy a property near a river, mainly because insurers seem to be getting very picky about precise locations and either decline to quote or load the premium.

horseman43

I have a house near a river. I bought it in 2006 and have no problem, not counting damp, but i bought a Tagema 900 (device against it, btw, it is quite good) and since that i enjoy my view from my balcony, friends like to visit me every year, especially during holiday : )

SternMusik

I just bought a house by a river (distance to the river is ca. 65m). I love living by the water, it really is what makes this location. However I live in an inner city setting, so there are thousands of properties nearby and flood defences are good. According to the local EA person for our area, most of the surrounding area would flood before I do so I am not really concerned. My quality of life is fantastic.

bilbo51

I live on top of a hill. No chance of flooding before Noah comes back, and fantastic views.

Imp

What about the rats, they like living near water too.

HeatherintheHills

Imp wrote: »

What about the rats, they like living near water too.

I live up in the hills, rats like living here too. I used to live very near a waterway, the advantage there was that waterfowl hate rats and mob them whenever possible, especially during the breeding season. I've yet to see a rat out-swim an angry coot.

In the OP's situation I'd get loads of insurance quotes and if they were not too bad, and it is meant to be a forever home, I'd go for it. But not if I planned to sell in a few years time.

housebuyer2

It's difficult to say, I was considering it once, and being near a river and in a flood plain wasn't necessarily a deal breaker, in the end I decided to go for another house but that was after considering lots of other factors unrelated to the river/flooding. It all depends on the situation, I.e how much you love the house, how risk averse you are etc etc

Good luck with whatever you decide

Kynthia

I know someone who bought a house that had a stream behind the houses on the other side of the road. One insurance company was a bit funny so they found a broker who actually investigated and used some common sense. As the house is on a hill, this little stream would need to flow uphill and get to a depth that would submerge the houses opposite before it touched their driveway!