Buying a flat in high risk flood zone - should I be worried?!

Frukoz

Berger_3 wrote: »

I've recently gone through a similar thing with the property I'm buying.


It was highlighted as being in a flood risk area as there is a small stream that runs along the front of the houses about 1 metre below road level.


Historically it has never flooded, I knew the stream was there when I viewed it and it didn't bother me or occur to me there was a flood risk.


If it has historically never flooded, then the flood risk probably comes form the river simply just being there, which is the case for the property I'm buying. It may never flood, but of course its very presence means you cannot ever rule it out.


Did you know the river was there before you knew the flood risk, and if you did, did it bother you?

Yes I did but for whatever reason (inexperience probably) I didn't think about it at all in terms of flooding.

- River is about 200m away
- Despite being ground floor, the flat is elevated about 2m. I actually think the estate was purpose built to be a bit above ground level. Below me are storage areas & toolsheds and things.
- Council is freeholder

Frukoz

marksoton wrote: »

To be honest this would bother me far more than any flood risk.

Lol, I've read up a fair bit about this because it was a concern at first but I'm actually not worried:

- Ground rent is often cheaper with council run buildings as councils actually tend to save money compared with say a new build.
- Council built in my experience means build to last. Everything just works and is durable. No paper thin walls.
- They recently replaced the roof on the building & also replaced all of the windows to double glazing without charging the private flats anything (apparently)
- I can't see any reason for a section 20s to come my way now that roof/double glazing has just happened.

Frukoz

Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »

Have you asked the vendor whether they have been flooded? If not, can you knock on some neighbouring doors.

Thanks - just about to. I very much doubt it

Frukoz

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Have you tried getting some insurance quotes? That might give you an indication as to how much of an issue flooding might be.

No issues with flood insurance just checked

HappyMJ

Frukoz wrote: »

Lol, I've read up a fair bit about this because it was a concern at first but I'm actually not worried:

- Ground rent is often cheaper with council run buildings as councils actually tend to save money compared with say a new build.
- Council built in my experience means build to last. Everything just works and is durable. No paper thin walls.
- They recently replaced the roof on the building & also replaced all of the windows to double glazing without charging the private flats anything (apparently)
- I can't see any reason for a section 20s to come my way now that roof/double glazing has just happened.

Are you sure the leaseholders didn't pay anything?

Were they contributing to a sinking fund and that fund was used to replace the windows and roof?

Frukoz

HappyMJ wrote: »

Are you sure the leaseholders didn't pay anything?

Were they contributing to a sinking fund and that fund was used to replace the windows and roof?

My understanding is that they did have to pay for the roof, but not the windows. Perhaps the annual service charges were enough to cover it or the council maybe even absorbed some of the cost as they were doing the rest of the estate. Service charges are fairly high for this kind of estate but it's indeed well kept and rather nice for ex-LA.

McTaggus

Having been flooded twice by a "once in 100 years" style event in the last couple of years, I wouldn't touch any property on a flood plain with a barge pole (thankfully ours is rented so we can ditch it soon). As for flats, if there's no insurance risk with the property, double-check also with your car insurer if you have one. Car parks, regardless of the property height, still tend to be below ground level or at least on the level and damage can be incurred through other ways rather than just the property itself.

charliewocka

McTaggus wrote: »

Having been flooded twice by a "once in 100 years" style event in the last couple of years, I wouldn't touch any property on a flood plain with a barge pole lf.

Flood exposure of '1 in 100 years' equates to a 1% chance of a flood event happening each year and is cumulative, i.e longer you go without more chance of it happening. It doesn't mean you will flood only once every hundred years. It's poorly worded I agree (I work in insurance and we have to stress this to clients regularly).


Flood is an inevitable event. If you're identified as being in a flood zone the event WILL happen. I would never buy a property flood exposed to either river flooding or with the potential to flood from stormwater (culverts nearby, streams that may look dry or minimal, lower lever etc). We made sure we are slightly elevated above the road by our drive rising upwards and checked for presence of any culverts that may be in the area.

[Deleted User]

Hate to say it but council properties definitely exist with paper thin walls and other problems. Council properties should never be expected to be better quality than privately built. There are risks of build quality problems with both. Council properties do tend to be larger though. A lot depends on when they were built and what was the construction fad of the time.

I remember living in one property with shared vents.., and the neighbours like to cook the most evil smelling sheep something or other I've ever known. Never been known to have smell sensitivity but as they cooked it nearly every day, it made the place unliveable and nothing I could do. I just stayed anywhere else I could and moved out as soon as possible. While its nice to rent a council property rather than private rented.., every council property I've lived in has had problems due to poor maintenance and some quite mad construction design decisions. Where I am living now (which I was very very lucky to get) the main bedroom is 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house, has damp, has two external walls and I'm pretty sure the damp is coming from an unrepaired roof next to the maisonette. Apparently this block does suffer from damp. Its just one of those things. Check out the heating system, depending on when it was built, they can be sort of communal electric storage heaters which can be a nightmare when you buy the place, and having gas central heating installed doesn't necessarily solve the problems (because the places still have hot air vents that now deliver cold air because the communal heating system doesn't work anymore).

Frukoz

deannatrois wrote: »

Hate to say it but council properties definitely exist with paper thin walls and other problems. Council properties should never be expected to be better quality than privately built. There are risks of build quality problems with both. Council properties do tend to be larger though. A lot depends on when they were built and what was the construction fad of the time.

I remember living in one property with shared vents.., and the neighbours like to cook the most evil smelling sheep something or other I've ever known. Never been known to have smell sensitivity but as they cooked it nearly every day, it made the place unliveable and nothing I could do. I just stayed anywhere else I could and moved out as soon as possible. While its nice to rent a council property rather than private rented.., every council property I've lived in has had problems due to poor maintenance and some quite mad construction design decisions. Where I am living now (which I was very very lucky to get) the main bedroom is 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house, has damp, has two external walls and I'm pretty sure the damp is coming from an unrepaired roof next to the maisonette. Apparently this block does suffer from damp. Its just one of those things. Check out the heating system, depending on when it was built, they can be sort of communal electric storage heaters which can be a nightmare when you buy the place, and having gas central heating installed doesn't necessarily solve the problems (because the places still have hot air vents that now deliver cold air because the communal heating system doesn't work anymore).

Good to know -thanks.

This property seems in pretty good nick but survey being conducted soon. Build in the mid 1980s, looks attractive too and the best part imo is that I have no neighbours on any side bar above and they seem reasonable.

Have not seen any vents either other than normal extractor fans.

I've lived in ex-council previously and was very comfortable despite a much worse building and common areas (like really bad!).

So far so good...