Amber ground water flood warning

Marky82

Hi all. I'm in the process of buying a house. It has been part exchanged so is currently owned by Bellway. The environmental searches came back with an amber ground water flood risk. This seems to affect an area to the front and rear of the property but not the house itself. There is an area where water could pond at the end of the drive if the drain overflowed but from what I can see the whole street would have to be underwater for it to reach to house due to a two brick threshold. The estate is slightly higher compared to the surrounding area too, so I can't see how that could happen. I have linked to the environment agency flood map below so you can see where is affected. Is this something to worry about? What do people think?

We initially said we didn't want to continue but Bellway have knocked another 5 grand off what was already a good price.

I can't post links so replace GOVUK below with: .gov.uk to make it work.

Https://flood-warning-information.serviceGOVUK/ong-term-flood-risk/map?easting=430166&northing=570154&address=47101462&map=SurfaceWater[/url

[Deleted User]

I suppose the big question might be would you have any problems insuring?

[Deleted User]

Sorry, couldn't get the link to work (even when I did the replacements).

Why not ring up a few insurance companies and see what they say? Best to know these things before you finalise the sale.

My parents used to live in an area where there had been some flooding (though not to their particular house) when flood defences had collapsed, and it did affect their premiums. The drains also regularly filled up and spilled out onto the road during Winter, because the level of ground water was already so high that it just didn't absorb heavy rain well. The high water table also affected their garden (trees and bushes died because their roots were sitting in water) so they ended up gardening in containers only. (So, that's something to check).

The other thing that you have to think about is the future and how long you're going to stay in that house. Winters are getting wetter, water levels are rising. Any area that has even a hint of flood risk is not going to lose it - it's only going to get worse. So, it has to be your decision if you want to risk it.

I thought it was also interesting that the house was part-exchanged (why didn't it sell by the usual route?) and that Bellway knocked £5,000 off the price so quickly.

[Deleted User]

The other thing I forgot to say was - have you checked the actual map itself? Sometimes a one-off flood problem can "contaminate" the forecast for the whole area.. For example, if I look at a nearby area, I know that there was some flooding there 15 years ago when the flood defences collapsed but they've since put in new ones, including a more efficient pumping station etc. and there have been no more incidents. Only a couple of lower lying roads were affected but, because of that, the whole area is an Amber flood risk area. So, check the map - you may find that the Amber label is misleading. You never know.

Marky82

Thanks for replies.

I rang Aviva and Direct Line this morning and neither had any concern about insuring the house, I did mention the results of the search but it didn't make any difference to them. They just used the postcode which according to their data was not an at risk area. The only thing that would seem to affect the premium is if it ever flooded, so I guess it's down to us to decide if that is likely to happen in the future!

There are houses behind us that are a good 3 or 4 feet lower than ours. The back garden slopes away from the house, so as far as I can tell, our house would only flood if the whole street was under water. My biggest concern at this stage is what would happen if we wanted to sell it. We do hope to be in the house a long time so maybe that's not something to worry too much about.

dpearson86

Aviva and Direct Line both partake in the Flood RE scheme which is what I was going to suggest you make sure if you hadn't (full list of insurers on http://www.floodre.co.uk/homeowner/find-an-insurer/)

I would say if it's a house you like and can get at a good price and have an insurer who is on the Flood RE scheme go for it, maybe make sure you get Flood defence doors and Flood defence air bricks. Putting in Flood defences now will ease your peace of mind and be attractive to sellers in the future as you've done that work.

dpearson86

Argh, won't let me edit my post on mobile, it will be attractive to buyers in the future if you have the Flood defences sorted.

Marky82

The insurers didn't consider it a risk so no need for flood RE. I just need to get over my own worries about it, which are mainly to do with resale value. The estate seems to be selling well but most of it is clear on the environment agent flood map. I can't bring myself to walk away from this house, but I can't fully convince myself to go with it either. I'm so stressed out about it.