House flood after exchange of contracts but before completion

roger196

What caused the flooding eg heavy rain, overflowing river, blocked land drain etc
Is it possible to correct the cause of flooding.
Did their solicitor do a flood search. You can check what is likely to have been reported by going to http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31650.aspx
If the solicitor failed to do this, especially after it became known that the property flooded in 2007, there may be a claim for negligence against the solicitor. You will need to get advice from a firm who specialises in suing negligent solicitors. Be very careful about establishing the chain of events and can you provide written proof of each item in that chain.

Roger_queen

It was not on a flood plain..We were there earlier and the drainage guys came to unblock drains and he said that he had been asked to go there as a priority Job, sent by Council.

sabretoothtigger

I dont get why isnt it possible to make a house water proof at least temporarily.
Considering the massive cost of loss, arent people thinking we can get doors that seal water tight or does that not work at all

spannerzone

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

I dont get why isnt it possible to make a house water proof at least temporarily.
Considering the massive cost of loss, arent people thinking we can get doors that seal water tight or does that not work at all

It's possible of course but building standards would have to increase, brickwork, concrete etc would need sealing carefully as well as doors, airvents raised etc.

I also comes up through toilets, drains etc.....

I've had a flat flood with 3foot of river water and it's not nice.... the only good thing was that it forced me to clear out all my junk.... every single thing I owned in fact

Yorkie1

As others have said, this is unlikely to give a reason for failure to complete on the stated date.

The separate question is whose responsibility (insurance / deep pockets) [edit: it is to] pay out for the damage. You will need to check with your solicitor which version of the Law Society contract you signed (assuming England & Wales). If it's the previous version then I think it's the seller's responsibility; the current version is the buyer's.

artbaron

Roger_queen wrote: »

The property had previously flooded in July 2007 and as the Surveyor said that in his opinion it would be another 50 years before it would flood again they exchanged.

I think the surveyor would not have said this although I'm happy to be corrected. Risk has no bearing on regularity and neither can it be used to make specific predictions, so if he did say this he's an idiot and you should complain. I'm sure it won't get your daughter out of the contract but it might give him pause before he states the same thing to another unfortunate buyer.

Soot2006

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

I dont get why isnt it possible to make a house water proof at least temporarily.
Considering the massive cost of loss, arent people thinking we can get doors that seal water tight or does that not work at all

Most flooding come from under the house, not in through the door So toilets, sinks, everything ... It happens incredibly quickly and it's quite impossible to imagine it happening to a house you know well (and that isn't near a river and has never flooded), until very quickly and very suddenly, it does happen .

caeler

Rotten Luck but I only have a question to offer. Will the vender be required to put the property back to how it was when they offered before completion takes place? So actually it isn't then the buyer pulling out, it is actually the seller because the house isn't as offered?

novo_2

My guess is as well that the surveyor did not say it wouldn't flood again for another fifty years, because it is impossible to predict it this way. Instead he would have said, it has a 1 in 50 year chance of flooding, which means that every year the house has a 2% chance of being flooded. Perhaps the buyers misunderstood this.

The 2007 floods were quite bad, but this year's floods in some areas have been just as bad. If the flood was caused by sewer flooding or surface water flooding due to extreme rainfall, it could happen any year. The council could help to install some property flood protection measures. If it is the sewer flooding, it will be the responsibility of the sewer/water company to sort it out.

TastyTeeth

Rotten luck and a very difficult position.

Surely the vendor has some responsibility here in sorting the house out. When its handed over for completion, the house must be in clean and tidy condition surely? Therefore, wouldn't completion be delayed to allow the vendor to put the damage right? If they couldn't do this, then would they not be breaching a part of the contract?